Practors promote research in VET Schools

In many VET schools, teacher teams link research to practice in a new concept: practors and practorates.  Teacher-researchers (practors) have formed a multi-disciplinary teacher team (practorate). Practors operate as mediators between research and education practice. They entice teachers and students to join a practorate to participate in a research project or reflect on potential reforms in teaching and learning. Demand-based and practice-based research should lead to innovation in vocational programmes or raising the quality of teaching and learning. Roughly speaking, there are two types of teacher teams (practorates):

• those specialised in an occupational domain such as social media, catering, logistics, mechatronics, care, welfare;
• those specialised in an education topic and/or didactic theme: citizenship, media literacy, work-based learning.

Practorates for every VET school

This initiative is now widely acclaimed and adopted by many VET schools, supported by the foundation Ieder MBO een practoraat (Every VET-school a practorate). In 2021, a total of 60 practors have been appointed and more than 10 practorates are in formation. These 60 practorates and practors are spread over 50 VET-schools. The concept is even welcomed as a milestone in the process of transforming VET-schools into centres of knowledge, operating as platforms for programming practice-based research and exchanging of knowledge and research experiences in schools.

Motivating teachers

The title practor, a neologism based on lector (the Dutch term for an academic lecturer) and practice, was coined in the VET school Mediacollege in Amsterdam nine years ago. This school appointed a teacher in the position of researcher to develop, in close cooperation with colleagues, a series of online lessons on media literacy. One of the main findings was that teachers can be more motivated to use social media in the classroom when hearing from colleagues (instead of experts) about successful practices or after positive feedback from their students.

Applying research to practice

Following this concept, a practorate links research and its application in school practice, by applying practice-based professional learning. Research is focused on questions raised in the education practice by teachers or the school management. New and creative forms of knowledge dissemination are used to spread the findings in the organisation. Practors might conduct research projects themselves and transmit the findings, but they are also expected to encourage colleagues to participate in research projects developing new knowledge through active participation.

TERRA MBO hosts the practorate for nature-inclusive farming

Developments in professional practice are accelerating. In the three northern provinces, all kinds of area stakeholders are working together on a more sustainable countryside where agriculture and nature reinforce each other. The knowledge institutions, including Terra, wo

rk closely together to contribute to projects and other initiatives in the field of nature-inclusive agriculture within the framework of the North Netherlands Regional Deal. This is based, among other things, on the ambition formulated by the Agroagenda Noord-Nederland to assume a pioneering position. An active contribution is especially expected from agricultural VET education, all the more so because our students and graduates will now or later play a major role in making agriculture more ‘nature-inclusive’.

The teachers and students of Terra are therefore challenged and enabled to contribute to this agricultural transition. By analogy with the professorships in higher professional education, the practorate in VET education ensures an active network to develop and share knowledge so that education is well aligned with national and regional developments in professional practice. There are also many opportunities and challenges in the field of Lifelong Development, in combination with making agriculture more nature-inclusive. From the I&O team, the practor fulfills the role of figurehead, researcher, inspirator, booster and connector.

Original Source: https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/news-and-press/news/netherlands-promoting-research-vet-schools