Ett år med arbeidslivsfaget

• Published in: NOVA Rapport 1/12 2012
• Main Authors: Bakken, Anders, Sletten, Mira Aaboen, Smette, Ingrid, Dæhlen, Marianne, Haakestad, Hedda
• Format: Report
• Language: Norwegian
• Subjects: NOVA

A new practical subject – Arbeidslivsfaget ("working life course")– was introduced as an option for a selected number of lower secondary schools in 2009 and 2010. It is a practical oriented course where students are to learn developing products and services and get early experiences with working life and practical training. The subject is linked to the vocational education in upper secondary school. One goal is to give students who want to work practically an opportunity to explore their interests for vocational training. Another goal is to offer an alternative way to enhance academic motivation, as well as to develop basic skills. Students can themselves choose the subject, as an alternative to learning a foreign language. NOVA – Norwegian Social Research – are commissioned by the Directorate of Educational and Training to evaluate the attempt to implement this subject in the 119 schools starting the course in 2010. These schools will be followed until 2013. During the evaluation period we shall identify organizational challenges and opportunities associated with the implemention of Arbeidslivsfaget, and how managers, teachers and students experience the subject. The evaluation shall also examine the characteristics of students who choose Arbeidslivsfaget, and will shed light on whether Arbeidslivsfaget fulfill the goal of enhancing students' academic motivation and developing basic skills. The evaluation will be completed by a final report in autumn 2013 after the students have finished working the subject three-year course of training. In this second project report we examine how students who have participated and the teachers who have taught in Arbeidslivsfaget experience this new subject after one year’s experiences. The report answers three main questions: 1) What are the characteristics of teachers and students who participate in Arbeidslivsfaget? 2) How is the subject implemented and practiced in the schools - it is a practical subject? 3) How do students and teachers themselves evaluate Arbeidslivsfaget – what are the learning outcome for the students? The report is based on two major surveys with high response rates aimed at teachers and students who have participated in Arbeidslivsfaget, as well as on qualitative data collected through observations and interviews in six of the participating schools. The findings show that we are dealing with a subject that is strongly desired by both school leaders, teachers and students. In most schools, Arbeid