Good practices for differentiated instruction in vocational education: the combined perspectives of educational researchers and teachers

Teachers are increasingly encouraged to meet students' individual learning needs through differentiated instruction (DI) and the body of literature regarding the teaching practices constituting effective DI continues to grow. Although it could be argued that vocational education has certain characteristics that enhance the importance of DI, the amount of studies exploring this approach in the vocational education context is very limited. The aim of this study was twofold: (1) to identify the perceptions of educational researchers and teachers regarding the extent to which previously identified DI principles inform good practices in vocational education (2) to identify which challenges vocational teachers encounter in the implementation of DI. To this end, we conducted focus group interviews - structured around vignettes - with 15 participants from the Netherlands and Flanders, Belgium. Our findings imply that the principles identified in other contexts are perceived as relevant in vocational education, but that this context requires a somewhat different implementation of these principles and additionally results in specific challenges that teachers need to address. The insights obtained in this study can be used in the (re)design of professional development initiatives targeted at improving the DI practices of vocational teachers.