• Charles Sturt University academic launches new book to support the workplace learning of vocational and further education teachers     
• The book is available in hard copy and online from Tuesday 19 April  

A Charles Sturt University academic has published a new book that provides practical and progressive approaches to assist the learning of vocational and further education teachers in the workplace.

The book, Supporting the Workplace Learning of Vocational and Further Education Teachers: Mentoring and Beyond, is available from Tuesday 19 April and focuses on helping people understand, and make changes to, the arrangements in the workplace that enable and constrain teacher learning.

 Author and Senior Lecturer in Adult and Vocational Education in the Charles Sturt School of Education Dr Susanne Francisco said she wrote the book because a lot of learning can happen in the teaching workplace.

“These workplaces can be set up in ways that enable or constrain teacher learning,” Dr Francisco said.

“This book, supported by research with vocational education and training teachers, shows how teachers learn in the teaching workplace while discussing what teachers learn and what we can do to better support that learning.”

Dr Francisco said the book provides an accessible, research-based, and practical guide to making changes in the workplace to enable teacher learning.

“Written specifically for vocational and further education teachers and managers, the book is underpinned by rigorous research with these teachers and managers. It focuses on practical strategies and approaches, and these are illustrated through vignettes that tell the stories and experiences of real teachers in workplaces,” Dr Francisco said.

An element of the book focuses on the importance of mentoring as a component of teacher learning.

“The book outlines a range of practices and approaches for developing arrangements in the workplace that support teacher learning, including the key role of mentoring,” she said.

Dr Francisco noted the universal applicability of the book at a group or individual level.

“The strategies and ideas provided in this book can be implemented at a whole-of-organisation, teaching department, small team, or individual level.”

Supporting the Workplace Learning of Vocational and Further Education Teachers: Mentoring and Beyond is available for purchase here from Tuesday 19 April 2022.   

ENDS