Assessing the Impact of Teacher Design Teams on the Professional Development of Vocational Education Teachers

Vocational students in European secondary education face a high dropout rate. Research shows that although general subjects are essential for preparing students for their future lives, increasing the time allocated to these subjects in the curriculum also leads to higher dropout rates (e.g., Hall, 2016; Hermann et al., 2013). The professional development of general subject teachers through active and long-term initiatives can improve their attitudes, beliefs, and instructional practices (Merchie et al., 2016). These changes can enhance vocational students’ engagement and motivation, thereby reducing early school dropout (e.g. Van Houtte & Demanet, 2016). This study explores the influence of Teacher Design Teams (TDTs) on teachers’ attitudes, beliefs, and instructional practices in general subjects for vocational secondary education. Throughout two school years, three TDTs have been investigated in the context of an interdisciplinary course. Data collection involved conducting interviews with nine teachers and collecting the designed curriculum materials. These data were analysed using thematic analysis. The results show that the teachers improved their instructional practices and particularly their digital skills. Teachers’ attitudes and beliefs also developed after the implementation of TDTs. The designed curriculum materials exhibited diversity with varying levels of consistency across the different components.