Learning environment at VET schools

The learning environment at vocational schools has a significant impact on students' learning and well-being – and consequently on completion rates (Thapa et.al., 2013; EVA, 2017; Wahlgren & Mariager-Anderson, 2017; Rambøll, 2018; Epinion/DPU, 2020; Aarkrog, 2022; Wahlgren & Aarkrog, 2023; Jørgensen & Warring, 2023). While physical settings and organisational factors can also have an impact on the learning environment, our focus in this project is on the psychosocial and instructional context in which learning takes place.
The project’s overall objective is to help ensure more students enrol in and complete a vocational education and training programme by focusing on learning environmental conditions that are important for students' motivation, well-being, and learning. Improving the learning environment at vocational schools is a way of improving the quality of the study programmes and making them attractive to prospective students.
Research on the learning environment at vocational schools has identified the teacher as a significant factor in developing a supportive learning environment. In the project, we will analyse how instructional and social processes and interactions between teachers and students contribute to the establishment of a learning environment.
The project will provide new and practice-relevant knowledge concerning how instructional, professional, and social processes are established and develop over time, their impact on the learning environment, and the competences that teachers need to support a positive learning environment.