“Professional, approachable, and fair” – Students’ perceptions of the vocational education teacher’s authority

Authors

  • Anne Koski-Heikkinen Kainuu Vocational College
  • Kaarina Määttä University of Lapland
  • Satu Uusiautti University of Lapland, Finland

Keywords:

vocational education, vocational education teacher, vocational education student, professional identity, teacherhood, teacher authority, method of empathy-based stories

Abstract

How do students perceive vocational education teachers and their authority? The purpose of this study was to describe the vocational education teacher’s authority and the basis of authority relationship. Finnish vocational education students (N = 65) were recruited in this study. They were asked to write about vocational education teachers through a method of empathy-based stories. The students depicted the authority relationship by describing a good or unsuccessful teacher’s actions in vocational teaching situations. The data were analyzed with qualitative content analysis method. In the students’ writings, the teacher authority were viewed from four dimensions that were pedagogical skills, professional expertise, social skills, and personal characteristics. Based on the results, a typology of vocational education teacher’s authority was created and presented in this article. The typology can be used in teacher training and as a tool for vocational education teachers to contemplate on their position and to develop a functional authority relationship with vocational education students.

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Author Biographies

Anne Koski-Heikkinen, Kainuu Vocational College

PhD, Head of vocational education and Study advisor, Kainuu Vocational College, Kajaani, Finland

Kaarina Määttä, University of Lapland

PhD, Professor, University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland

Satu Uusiautti, University of Lapland, Finland

PhD, Researcher, University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland

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Published

2014-08-15

How to Cite

Koski-Heikkinen, A., Määttä, K., & Uusiautti, S. (2014). “Professional, approachable, and fair” – Students’ perceptions of the vocational education teacher’s authority. Journal of Human Sciences, 11(2), 446–463. Retrieved from https://j-humansciences.com/ojs/index.php/IJHS/article/view/2927

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Education