Promoting VET teachers’ individual and social learning activities: the empowering and purposeful role of transformational leadership, interdependence, and self-efficacy

Background This study explores the interaction between organizational and psychological factors that play a role in professional teacher learning. More specifically, how teachers’ engagement in learning activities (e.g. keeping up to data, self-reflection, and experimenting, respectively, asking for feedback and information sharing) is influenced by the organizational factors transformational leadership and perceived interdependence, and the psychological factor self-efficacy. Methods The study is conducted in the context of Vocational Education and Training (VET) colleges in the Netherlands, using a survey among 447 VET teachers working in 66 teams. Results Results showed that self-efficacy and task interdependence directly, and positively, influence a variety of learning activities. Task interdependence influenced self-efficacy positively. Goal interdependence influenced self-efficacy positively, but from the learning activities it only affected information sharing and social reflection positively. From the transformational leadership practices vision building positively affected goal interdependence, and consideration and stimulation positively affected task interdependence. Conclusions In general, two configurations for the facilitation of teacher learning were found: one that empowers individual teachers to acquire new knowledge, and another that helps teachers to focus on shared goals and binds them to social learning. Teachers’ engagement in learning activities, and consequently VET colleges’ change capacities, is optimally facilitated by empowerment and purpose.