A phenomenographic study of competence in baking: foundations for learning study

Purpose The study aims to identify a hierarchy of conceptions of competence in baking that can serve as a foundation for applying learning study and improving teachers' professional development in teaching pastry and bakery modules. The study was guided by the question: Using phenomenography, what are the qualitatively different ways of experiencing competence at work among apprenticeship students, teachers and expert practitioners in baking? Design/methodology/approach Using the interpretivist perspective, this phenomenographic study draws on semi-structured interviews with 25 participants, including apprenticeship students, teachers, and bakers or pastry chefs in Brunei Darussalam. Participants were purposefully selected to represent varied experiences, with data collected over six months. Findings From a phenomenographic analysis of all the interview transcripts, an outcome space of four categories of competence in baking was revealed. From these, we can see that the categories represent four qualitatively different ways of experiencing competence in baking, which also reveal the students' conceptions and misconceptions of baking. This approach provides a foundational framework for structuring a learning study within pastry and bakery modules. Originality/value By revealing how students understand baking, the study offers actionable insights for teachers. By applying variation theory and learning study, teachers can design targeted interventions to shift students' conceptions. This supports more effective teaching and enhances competence development in technical and vocational education.