CONTINUING VOCATIONAL TRAINING FOR TEACHERS IN BEAUTY AND HAIR CARE – TEACHERS ACT AS ACTIVE DEVELOPERS OF THEIR WORK AND ENGAGE IN TRANSFERRING GOOD PRACTICES TO THEIR STUDENTS

This paper describes the experiences of students and organizers of the HIKAT (Hair and beauty care, the prevention of health hazards) project which offered nationwide continuing vocational training (CTV) for teachers in beauty and hair care to be further disseminated in vocational secondary schools.
The development of occupational skin diseases is one of the most important health risks related to the exposure to chemical and physical risk in hairdressing. The prevention of occupational skin diseases is the overall aim in European countries.

The aim of the HIKAT project was to increase hair and beauty care teachers' skills to guide students - future professionals - to work safely. Another aim was to increase teachers' knowledge and help them develop good practices in their own work.
The studies in the project were based on the Learning by Developing (LbD) model as a part of students’ competence development. Laurea University of Applied Sciences created the LbD model based on authenticity, partnership, experiential learning, creativity and research. Learning is related to development projects that are genuinely rooted in working life.

The project was carried out in two phases mainly as multiple learning and on-line. The studies were based on a theoretical approach – using literature, written assignments, lectures and group work. In addition, the participating students practically developed the theoretical background, first testing the pedagogical methods and then adopting the best practices into their own work. Assignments were designed so that they were transferred directly to the participating teachers' own classroom. Materials and tools were integrated into the vocational schools’ practical teaching, so that the pupils created practical exercises relevant to their future occupation. Participating teachers also complied portfolios, which were presented at the end of the studies.

Studies were performed in four modules. The students were allocated to four groups that reflected on and shared on-line experiences of the assignments. The topics of the modules were 1) Cosmetic ingredients, cosmetics legislation, microbiology, and allergenic ingredients 2) Occupational skin and respiratory diseases and allergies 3) Ergonomics and safety of the workplace 4) Health and healthy lifestyle. The students’ experiences were collected using feedback questionnaires after each module and at the end of the project.

25 teachers completed the studies of 20 credits. The opportunity to act as developers in the work environment supported the teachers’ professional competence development. By working in a multiple learning environment and co-operating with other professional groups in the haircare and beauty sector, the teachers created new operation models and demonstrated them to their peer students and work community. In the feedback and discussions several teachers reported that the developments in the project were disseminated and adopted widely as new practices in their vocational schools. Portfolios and a project summary presented the strong development of occupational and cognitive competence, especially in the field of work safety and wellbeing. One of the main results from the educational institutional point of view was the successful combination of three different levels of education: vocational school, university and research institute. This led to the synthesis of expertise which was directly disseminated to vocational school students.