Apprentice or Student? The Structures of Construction Industry Vocational Education and Training in Denmark and Sweden and their Possible Consequences for Safety Learning

There is a notable difference in occupational injury rates in the two Scandinavian countries, Sweden and Denmark, with the latter having a 40% higher rate of fatal occupational injuries in the construction industry. This study explored differences in the vocational education and training (VET) systems between Sweden and Denmark that may be important for students’ safety learning and practice during VET. In both countries, students participate in full-time education, and the curriculum includes school-based as well as company- based training. However, during company- based training Swedish students retain their student status, whereas Danish students are employed as apprentices. From a perspective of viewing safety as a social practice developed through interactions of different social and institutional bodies, the analysis points to this difference in employment status as important for their safety practices and also for the teachers’ position to influence safety learning and practices during company-based training. An analysis of interview and survey data focusing on how VET students enact safety ‘knowings’ across learning sites, suggest how different forms of connectivity models in VET promote various forms of safety learning among students.     

The effects of m-learning on motivation,achievement and well-being: A Self-Determination Theory approach

From the lens of Self-Determination Theory, this study investigated the effects of a mobile application tool for identifying species on biology students’ achievement and well-being. It was hypothesized that the mobile application, compared to a textbook, would enhance feelings of competence and autonomy and, in turn, intrinsic motivation, positive affect and achievement, because the mobile application’s built-in functions provide students with choice and volition, informational feedback, and optimal challenges. Fifty-eight second-year students were randomly assigned to use either the mobile application or a textbook for a learning task. Well-being was assessed before and after the learning task, and intrinsic motivation, perceived competence, perceived autonomy and achievement were assessed after the task. Results indicated that the mobile application, relative to the textbook, produced higher levels of students’ perceived competence, perceived autonomy and intrinsic motivation. Further, the mobile application had indirect effects on positive affect through autonomy, competence and intrinsic motivation, and on achievement through competence.