Samenvatting

To provide high-quality education, teachers in vocational education are expected to keep their knowledge up to date. Vocational teachers’ knowledge includes both teaching knowledge and knowledge about the vocational practice teachers educate their students for. Research on teachers’ knowledge predominantly focuses on classroom practices in the context of primary and secondary education. There is significantly less research on vocational teachers’ knowledge and to the full extent of their teaching vocation within and beyond classroom practices. A study with repeated measures was conducted to explore what characterises vocational teachers’ knowledge. Over 3 years, 22 experienced vocational teachers annually constructed concept maps to articulate their knowledge. The content and nature of these concept maps were analysed using a framework developed in previous research. Results show that the nature of vocational teachers’ knowledge can be characterised as concrete, specific, and complex. The content of vocational teachers’ knowledge comprises knowledge about the process of teaching and coaching students, students’ vocational practice, organisational knowledge both inside and outside school boundaries, and knowledge about navigating between stakeholders and contexts. These results may inform professional development programmes and teacher education and stimulate an ongoing dialogue on professional standards in vocational education.