Describing a vocational educator's pedagogical constructs: A co-constructed account

Abstract or Summary

In this paper, we report on how we used constructs elicitation and repertory grid analysis to externalise the second author’s (SA’s) pedagogical meaning-making in the context of his creating spaces for learning for at-risk pre-apprenticeship students in vocational training in electrical engineering in the tertiary sector in New Zealand. We argued that the act of externalising his pedagogical constructs was in itself a critical-reflective act which could potentially raise his awareness of these personally held meanings. Next, we used a repertory grid to explore implicative dilemmas in SA’s meaning-making in relation to the focus of convenience of the grid (i.e. teaching at-risk pre-apprenticeship students in electrical engineering). We concluded that eliciting constructs and exploring implicative dilemmas were sound processes in making sense of the trainer’s pedagogical practices and challenges, and establishing an agenda for professional development. A shorter version of this paper, complying with the journal stylesheet, has been submitted for peer-review and publication.