Le transfert au sein de l’alternance travail/formation et conceptualisation de son étude On the concept and the design of a study on learning transfer at the core of dual structured vocational education

Résumé

La finalité de la formation professionnelle en alternance en France ou système dual en Allemagne est de professionnaliser les apprenants en les dotant de savoirs, de compétences et en leur permettant de s’intégrer dans des collectifs professionnels. Sur le terrain, cette intention se concrétise de différentes manières et pose la question, longtemps débattue par les spécialistes de ce champ, de l’organisation pédagogique de ces dispositifs qui pourrait faciliter la mise en relation, les apprentissages et le transfert des savoirs scientifiques, méthodologiques et pratiques par les apprenants. Dans cette contribution, nous mobilisons certains travaux francophones et nous opérons l’ouverture vers les recherches de provenance allemande (Komplementaritätstheorie der Bildung, initiée par Jongebloed et Bank) et de provenance anglaise (Connectivity theory, mené par Guile et Griffith). L’examen de ces différentes théories mène à l’hypothèse que le lien entre la théorie et la pratique se réalise par le transfert des apprentissages. Cette hypothèse est soumise à une étude pilote qui s’est déroulée dans une région allemande : la Saxe. Dans cette contribution, nous nous intéressons au point de vue des apprenants. Nous avons retenu l'étude de 5 cas d’apprenants. Les données retenues pour l’analyse proviennent des interviews réalisés avec des personnes impliquées : les apprenants.

Mots-clés :

• Système dual,
• complémentarité,
• connectivité,
• transfert

Abstract

The end of professional education in alternating (France) or dual structures (Germany) clearly consists in professionalising the learners by offering knowledge, developing competences and in enabling them to get integrated into the communities of practice. This aim is realised in professional schools and at the workplace, from which arises the question – discussed in this field of research for decades – on the nature of the relationship between the learning in academic and working contexts. There have been given quite a number of answers to this also in the French speaking discourses.

This paper, however, will concentrate on additional answers as suggested by research of Anglo-Saxon origin (connectivity theory, by Guile and Griffith) and by German origin (Komplementaritätstheorie der Bildung, by Jongebloed and Bank). The discussion of the different theoretical approaches leads to a hypothesis, in accordance to which the nexus between the learning of theory and the learning of practical tasks is realised by transfer learning. This hypothesis is first tested in a pilot study that has been carried out in interviewing some of the persons involved: the apprentice-students.

The end of professional education in alternating (France) or dual structures (Germany) clearly consists in professionalising the learners by offering knowledge, developing competences and in enabling them to get integrated into the communities of practice. This aim is realised in professional schools and at the workplace, from which arises the question – discussed in this field of research for decades – on the nature of the relationship between the learning in academic and working contexts. There have been given quite a number of answers to this also in the French speaking discourses. This paper, however, will concentrate on additional answers as suggested by research of Anglo-Saxon origin (connectivity theory, by Guile and Griffith) and by German origin (Komplementaritätstheorie der Bildung, by Jongebloed and Bank). The discussion of the different theoretical approaches leads to a hypothesis, in accordance to which the nexus between the learning of theory and the learning of practical tasks is realised by transfer learning. This hypothesis is first tested in a pilot study that has been carried out in interviewing some of the persons involved: the apprentice-students.

Keywords:

• dual system of vocational education,
• complementarity of bildung,
• connectivity,
• learning transfer