Abstract

The aim of this study is to explore the professionalisation of vocational education and training (VET) practitioners. Responding to a gap in empirical research the study undertakes a case study analysis of VET national reforms and initiatives in Finland, Ireland and Australia. The study engages with VET practitioners to gather their perspectives on the realities of practice and teaching in the VET sector, their experience of CPD, identifying issues, challenges, barriers and enablers that might inform future developments in the area of professional practice and benefit countries currently embarking on a policy agenda of sectoral reform. The research is driven by a constructivist philosophy and employs the research methodological choice of case study. During the operational design phase the study was guided predominantly by the seminal works of Robert Stake The Art of Case Study Research (1995) while also referencing Sharan Merriam Qualitative Research and Case Study Applications in Education (1998) and Robert Yin Case Study Research Design and Methods (2014). In terms of data gathering the study incorporates participant interview and document review. The works of Myles, Huberman and Saldanas Qualitative Data Analysis (2014) informed the data analysis phase. Validity and reliability was approached through a process of triangulating the perspectives and experience of practitioners across three countries: Australia, Finland and Ireland.