Velferdsteknologi i helse- og oppvekstyrker: Digitalt kompetansebehov i yrkesfaglig utdanning

Abstract

The fast-paced changes of the Western world community require vocational education and training (VET) that meets the future working-life needs for competence. One challenge in Norwegian health education is the lack of up-to-date teacher competence in welfare technology and digital competence. This article is based on a case study of how vocational teachers in health education programmes (HO) meet the future needs for competence in welfare technology. This research questions what can be changed in VET with these new technologies and how the technology challenges the vocational content of health and education work, and VET. This need for technological competence is also linked to the renewal of curriculum in Norwegian VET, which entails requirements for previous vocational specialisation. The study involved qualitative methods and development experiments. The results show examples of how vocational teachers and students at HO can meet the future needs for competence in welfare technology related to ethics. The results indicate the need for close collaboration between school and working life to meet the new technology-competence need in the content in both the HO education and the health care occupations. Didactical planned internship in companies using welfare technology, were important for the participants learning about digital tools.