The Danish part of the questionnaire

The Danish part of the questionnaire was settled at the Centre of Visual Communication at SDE,
Odense. 18 VET teachers at the Centre filled out the form with the questions about andragogue
techniques, coaching, entrepreneurship and innovation, distance learning and self-study, social
media and web 2.0 tools, and ICT tools for learning and networking.

The profile of the Danish respondents is:
-    they are teaching in IT programming, graphic design and communication at VET level?
-    6 of them have a background with vocational training and a pedagogical education
-    7 of them have a teachers education, shortcycle and BA
-    5 of them have an university-master degree
-    61% have been working as VET teachers in more than 5 years and 22% in less than 1 year
-    61% are more than 45 years old
-    about 72% are male
-    about 28% are female


The most remarkable results and figures from the Danish part of the questionnaire are:
-    nearly 50% knows and uses the mentioned methods and techniques for teaching adults
-    less than 20% don´t know any of the andragogue techniques

-    surprising big number knows and uses elements and techniques based on coaching
-    very few don´t know anything about coaching

-    E-portfolio is wellknown, but still far from 100% in use
-    about 1/3 of the respondents knows E-portfolio, but do not use it

-    less than 1/3 don´t know anything about tools for innovation
-    surprising few uses or promote competencies for selfimployment and for preparing businessplans

-    about 1/3 don´t know anything about distance learning and self-study

-    very few of the respondents uses Facebook and Twitter in their lessons
-    about 20% uses Facebook og no one uses Twitter

-    more than 75% knows blogs, but only 10% use it frequently
-    another 10% don´t know anything about blogs

-    surprising little use of web and online communication in the lessons
-    more than 65% uses e-mails and more than 10% don´t use it at all
-    Power Point is well known and widely used with 50% of the respondents as users,
and less than 50% as frequently users
-    82% of the respondents doen´t use Smartboards, even if the Smartboards are available

At the last question the respondents choose an area of education approach to improve, and the
Danish respondents shows a big interest in the two areas of coaching and IT tools. The lowest
interest was given to the social media.


The most surprising answers
At our presentation for the members in the DETVET project, we in particular emphasized the surprising results at five areas:
-    We were surprised that coaching turned out to be a well known concept. A big number of the Danish respondents are using coaching elements, and less than 10% don´t know anything about coaching.
-    We were surprised that we are not near to 100% on the use of E-port folio. Around a third of the respondents know E-port folio, but don´t use it.
-    We were surprised that a third don´t know anything about distance learning and self studies
-    We were surprised that so few use web and online communication in their lessons. Only a fifth use Facebook and no one Twitter. More than three fourths knows blogs, but only 10% use it regularly, and another 10% don´t know anything about blogs.
-    And finally we indeed were surprised that a fourth of the respondents point out coaching and IT tools for improving, and very few (less than 10%) takes an interest in the Social Media

Something in common – cross culture and cross nationality

At our presentation in Italy we compared the Danish answers with the Swedish results, and we noticed some identically tendencies. In the Swedish questionnaire we recognized the same big interest in coaching, and exactly like the Danish respondents, the Swedish teachers show a low interest in E-port folio, online communication and Social Media.

The Swedish respondents have more females (46,66%) than the Danish, and the Swedish respondents are older (46,66% more than 55 years old) than the average age of the Danish respondents. With all our prejudices we could use sex and age to explain the great Swedish interest in the (humanities-like) coaching, and less interest in the field of online communication, distance learning and social media. But with the Danish results, the prejudices won´t do. The Danish respondents are younger and more males. The Danish are even teaching in the field of IT and communication, and still they are pointing out coaching and takes less interest in online communication and social media - Here we saw a challenge and a task to work with.

The tendencies in the answers from both the Danish and the Swedish respondents, show us an opposition among the teachers to the online communication and the social media. At the meeting in Italy, the countries presented their results and figures from the questionnaire, and all six countries saw and agreed on the need for working with the online communication and the social media. All six countries have different ways and attitudes to the everyday pedagogical practice, and still all six questionnaire indicated a kind of cross-nationality opposition to the new medias. We all have a struggle with – our personally, as well - attitudes and scepticism towards changing methods and practice.


To do is to develop and to learn 

We all have learned that the social media is more than just another technology. The social media is a question about changing behaviour and way of doing. One of the important headlines in the Finish presentation about social media at the meeting in Italy, emphasized that to learn and develop the social media is to use it. There is no “teach,” there is only do, it says in the presentation (see photo below) In other words you have to learn and develop your own use of the media, and the only way to learn it, is to use it. In the DETVET group our difficulties in using and communicate via our blog, demonstrate clearly for us the need of doing!!! The challenge to learn by doing, is to cross the barriers to the doing. The question is: Do we know the barriers and how do we cross them?

There is no “teach,” there is only do
– The Finnish presentation, Italy, spring 2010

Quantitative and qualitative researches
The questionnaire has pointed out the task, and it is to define and cross the barriers to the use of the social media. But we still don´t know how to do it. The questionnaire, as we have formed it, can´t give us any ideas to handle this task. Our questionnaire tells us how many of the questioned teachers knows or wants to know a certain method or technique. But our questionnaire is quantitative oriented, and can´t tell us how to approach a new technique and how to start a new practice.

In a way our DETVET project is qualitative oriented. The spirit of the DETVET project is to inspire cross the boarders, and our meetings are not a question about e.g. number of participants, but more like a question about how we exchange experience and ideas. To support this exchange of experience and ideas we could have choosen a qualitative research (like e.g. focus group interviews), instead of our quantitative questionnaire. However, we didn´t take the discussion and the consideration about quantitative versus qualitative in advance, and at that time we probably haven´t been able to point out or agreed on the main themes and main questions for an qualitative research. In a way it is what our questionnaire has given us: A theme and a task. Next step is to work with the qualitative content and make use of our common experience and ideas to cross our barriers to the social media. Much easier to say than to do, I think?

Look at the figures

Kaare Jørgensen

Please find the Finnish figures here
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