(549)THE WORKPLACE AS A LEARNING ARENA FOR APPRENTICES

摘要

Many young persons enrolling in vocational training do not complete upper secondary education andtraining. Research has categorised some characteristics of the non-completers, such as socialbackground, gender, ethnicity, pervious school outcomes and truancy. The lack of education hasmajor personal and societal consequences. Hence many schools are actively pursuing measures thatcan help to increase the number of completers. As Vocational Education in Norway involves a twoyearapprenticeship at a workplace, there is also a need to examine the workplace as a learning arenafor apprentices. This paper presents findings of how three apprentices within three different trades areafforded to participate in the day-to-day work according to their interests and priorities. Two distinctparticipation patterns were identified: a collaborative participation pattern and an executiveparticipation pattern. Departing from these two participation patterns, we point to factors that canimprove learning and thus help more students complete their upper secondary education and training.