Työssäoppiminen koulutuksen ja työelämän rajavyöhykkeellä

Authors

• Tuulikki Ukkonen-Mikkola Tampereen yliopisto, Finland
• Henriikka Turtiainen Tampereen yliopisto, Finland

Keywords:

learning at work, työssäoppiminen, boundary work, rajavyöhyketoiminta, activity system, toimintajärjestelmä, early childhood education, varhaiskasvatus, teacher training, opettajankoulutus

Abstract

This study is linked to the activities of the early childhood education (ECE) partnership network coordinated by the University of Tampere. The aim of the study is to
explore the activities, which takes place during the learning at work processes of the
ECE students in the boundary space of the university and of the kindergarten. The
theoretical framework of the study is linked to boundary work, and the boundary
space is analyzed by using the factors of activity system described by Engeström.
The study is qualitative and the data consists of the students', mentors´ and teachers' interviews, the focus group -interview of the steering group of the regional
partnership network of ECE, and the students' narratives. The results show that the
boundary work activity appears during the students' learning at work process in
many ways in the encounters between the university and the kindergarten. Common
ECE orientation of the organizations and commitment of the actors helped in the
reaching the shared objective, which is the development of student's professionalism. Conflicts and development needs were also apparent in the boundary space.
The results of the study can be utilised in the development of the learning at work
process and the whole ECE teacher education.