3 Basic Programme - start-up

It is typically a motley collection of students that starts a basic programme, each with his or her own background and expectations. Vocational colleges make great efforts - also before the programme actually starts - to ease transition, focusing on student well-being and on practical and logistical considerations such as transfer credits, room assignments, student grants and loans, and the potential need for remedial Danish classes.

Introductory sessions

Introductory assessment

Many schools invite coming students to introductory sessions that take place before school starts. These sessions typically take place in June for those students who will be starting in August, and in December for those starting in January. These introductory meetings are organized in varied ways. Some schools focus on a general introduction to the school and the basic programmes; others organize individual meetings between students and their contact teachers and an introductory student assessment as preparation for the personal education plan.

In general, introductory sessions focus on:

• informing the student about what it is like going to a vocational college compared to what it was like going to primary and lower secondary school, in order to attune student and school expectations
• introducing the student to the vocational college's rules and procedures, and informing the student about the content of the various programmes
• clarifying that parents of minors (under the age of 18) share responsibility for their children's education and personal development
• spotting students with potential problems; those who are unclarified about their plans, those at risk of dropping out, and those with problems such as dyslexia or other reading disabilities that demand extra support
• clarifying questions of credit transfer

Compulsory introduction

Since participation in these sessions varies quite a bit, some schools are making introduction sessions compulsory. This means that the students have to cancel if they are unable to attend.

"Phase-in" consultations

Some schools offer “phase-in” consultations with students, using the student's personal education plan as a point of departure. The goal of these consultations is to clarify the student's expectations and competences, to identify any needs for special pedagogical support, and to get an idea about the student's coming choice of programme and specialization. Students are asked to bring their lower secondary school graduation certificates with them, so that the vocational college can get an idea of their formal achievement level.

The first weeks

Logistics in order

It is important that students arriving at a vocational college be made to feel at ease, and that all logistics be in order. Where and when classes are held, distribution of materials, the first meetings with the contact teacher and with other students - none of these must be chance events. Schools know that if logistics are not in order, then students easily get lost and are more prone to develop a negative attitude.

Assessment of prior learning

Vocational colleges use a range of methods in the initial phases of the basic programme to assess students' prior learning. The central issue is what the students really can do, and not what they have learned, in relation to the goals of the educational programme. Workshop activities, where vocational teachers can observe the students, can be a tool for assessment. Practical workshop experience also helps students find out if they are on the right pathway. In addition, most schools test students for their achievement levels in Danish, mathematics, and sometimes English. All of this ensures that students begin at the proper level and are neither bored nor find the work too difficult. In order to plan learning activities so that they fit student backgrounds and prerequisites, a few colleges test so as to ascertain individual students' learning style.^[5]

Students draw up the rules

Vocational colleges balance in different ways the need to start teaching the profession with the need for students to get to know one another. Some schools let the students decide what values and rules are to apply, so that everyone can get along and function together. The Technology and Communication programme at Northwest Jutland Education Centre in Thisted allows students to decide upon rules for the use of mobile phones and computer games. This is based on the observation that rules that students have formulated and agreed upon - that phones can be on but must be in silent mode, and that SMS and game activity is restricted to breaks between classes - are more likely to be respected than rules that have been imposed from above.

Vocational colleges agree that once students have teamed up in classes or in groups, it is a very bad idea to disband these - for example in an attempt to create homogenous groups as a response to poor results on a Danish exam. Students who do not thrive socially are more likely to drop out.

Fixed teaching teams

It is important that students meet their contact teachers right away, and equally important that students always have the same small teaching team working with them. Students appreciate the fact that teachers know their name and who they are, and knowing who to go to gives the students a sense of belonging. Most contact teachers have their initial student consultations during the first weeks of the programme. These consultations are held in order to create student-teacher trust, but often also focus on what it is that the student expects of the programme, and what the student will have to accomplish in order to graduate. Consultations can deal with everything from long-term goals, programme requirements, and apprenticeship applications, to personal behaviour and appearance.

Foot note

5) The test of learning styles is based on Howard Gardner's multiple intelligence theory.

This page is included in the publication "Retention in Vocational Education in Denmark – A best practice study" as chapter 3 of 7
© The Ministry of Education 2004