* / 61 CHARACTERISTICS OF VOCATIONAL EXCELLENCE: CASE STUDY WITH FINNISH WORLD SKILLS COMPETITION PARTICIPANTS Petri Nokelainen
University of Tampere
Research Centre for Vocational Education
Finland
* / 61 CHARACTERISTICS OF VOCATIONAL EXCELLENCE: CASE STUDY WITH FINNISH WORLD SKILLS COMPETITION PARTICIPANTS Petri Nokelainen
University of Tampere
Research Centre for Vocational Education
Finland
* / 61 Research team Adjunct professor Petri Nokelainen
Professor Pekka Ruohotie
Adjunct professor Kari Korpelainen
Reija Palttala
Mika Puukko
Markku Tasala
* / 61 Acknowledgements The study was funded by a grant from Finnish Ministry of Education.
Authors would like to thank all Finnish 2007 Shizuoka and 2009 Calgary team members, Immo Pylvänen, Eija Alhojärvi, Heikki Saarinen, Seija Rasku, Mika Tammilehto, Atte Airaksinen, Juha Minkkinen, Matti Kauppinen, Martti Majuri, Tuomas Eerola, Timo Lankinen, Veijo Hintsanen, Hannu Immonen among others for their invaluable support.
* / 61 Introduction A two-year (2007-2008) “Modeling of Vocational Excellence” (MoVE) project was funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education.
During the study, a sample of Finnish World Skills Competition (WSC) participants (2005 Helsinki, Finland and 2007 Shitsuoka, Japan), their personal trainers, working life representatives and parents (total n = 67) was collected.
* / 61 Introduction Semi-structured interview was carried out to answer the following research questions:
What characteristics specify WSC participants?
How the WSC participants’ characteristics differ during training period, competitions and working life?
What characteristics specify WSC participants’ initial interest towards the work field, perseverance in acquiring a vocational skill and mastery of the skill?
What characteristics specify WSC participants’ employer?
* / 61 Introduction Survey was carried out to answer the following research questions:
(5) What are the WSC participants’ most essential natural abilities?
(6) What are the WSC participants’ most essential self-regulatory abilities?
(7) What is the influence of home and school atmosphere to the WSC participants talent development?
* / 61 Theoretical framework Bloom: Talent development taxonomy (1985).
Ericsson: Development of expertise (1993, 2006).
Gagné: Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent (2004).
Gardner: Multiple Intelligences (1983, 1993, 1999).
Greenspan, Solomon & Gardner: Cognitive and social skills on talent development (2004).
Pintrich: Intrinsic and extrinsic goal orientations, control and efficacy beliefs (2000).
Midgley et al.: Patterns of adaptive learning (2000).
Zimmerman: Sociocognitive approach to self-regulation (1998, 2000).
Weiner: Attributions for success and failure (1986).
* / 61 Theoretical framework: Adaptation of Zimmerman’s Self-regulation Model (Zimmerman, 1998; Nokelainen, 2008)
* / 61 Theoretical framework: Differentiated Model for Giftedness and Talent (DMGT) (Gagné, 2004)
* / 61 Theoretical framework: Causal order of components in DMGT (Nokelainen & Ruohotie, 2009; Tirri & Nokelainen, in press)
* / 61 Method: Participants Four Finnish WSC 2005 medalists and four WSC 2007 participants (n = 8) were interviewed
Six males (Mage = 21 years) and two females (Mage = 20 years)
in addition to their trainers, working life representatives and parents (n = 22).
WSC participants in this study represent four skill categories, which are linked to the Multiple Intelligence theory (Gardner, 1983):
IT/Software Applications (logical-mathematical).
Web Design (spatial, logical-mathematical).
Plumbing (bodily-kinesthetic, spatial).
Beauty Therapy (interpersonal, bodily-kinesthetic, spatial). INTERVIEW
* / 61 Method: Participants Finnish Shitsuoka team (n = 25)
16 males and nine females (Mage = 22 years)
and their parents (n = 12) responded to surveys.
WSC participants represent 20 skill categories, which are linked to the MI theory, for example:
Landscaping (environmental, bodily-kinesthetic, spatial).
Floristry (environmental, spatial).
Polymechanics, IT/Software Applications (logical-mathematical, spatial).
Nursing, Beauty Therapy (interpersonal, bodily-kinesthetic). SURVEY
* / 61 Method: Instrument Textual empirical data was collected in 2007 with a semi-structured interview.
The interview concentrated on two major aspects:
Influence of self-regulation and cognitive and social skills on talent development (Greenspan, Solomon & Gardner, 2004; Zimmerman, 1998).
Importance of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in initial participation to the training, perseverance and mastery of the skill (Bloom, 1985). INTERVIEW
* / 61 Method: Instrument Numerical empirical data was collected in 2007 with the following self-rating instruments:
Multiple Intelligences Profiling Questionnaire (MIPQ III, Tirri, K., Komulainen, Nokelainen & Tirri, H., 2003; Tirri & Nokelainen, 2008).
Abilities for Professional Learning Questionnaire (APLQ, Nokelainen & Ruohotie, 2002).
Self-attitudes and Attributes Scales (SaaS, Campbell, 1996; Campbell, Tirri, Ruohotie & Walberg, 2004).
Family and School Influences Questionnaire (FA, SA, Campbell, 1996). SURVEY
* / 61 Method: Design The measurement model is described in Figure 1.
The boxes that have a green dotted borderline, represent qualitative methods (semi-structured interview) that operationalize both the influence of non-domain and domain specific individuals and trainee’s affective, conative, social and cognitive constructs in the model.
The boxes that have a blue squared borderline, represent quantitative methods (APLQ, SaaS and MIPQ surveys) that operationalize affective, conative, social and cognitive constructs in the model.
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* / 61 Results: Interview 1. What characteristics specify a successful WSC participant?
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