View in EDS

Exploring the Vocational Identity of Slovak In-Company Trainers: Validation of a New Concept

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Exploring the Vocational Identity of Slovak In-Company Trainers: Validation of a New Concept
Language: English
Authors: Peter Gavora, Adriana Wiegerová
Source: International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training. 2026 13(2):186-210.
Availability: European Educational Research Association / European Research Network Vocational Education and Training.Am Fallturm 1, Bremen, 28359, Germany. Tel: +49-421-218-66336; Fax: +49-421-218-98-66336; e-mail: ijrvet@uni-bremen.de; Web site: http://www.ijrvet.net
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 25
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Career and Technical Education, Corporate Education, On the Job Training, Trainers, Professional Identity, Questionnaires, Construct Validity, Factor Analysis, Self Efficacy, Values, Professional Development, Professionalism
Geographic Terms: Slovakia
ISSN: 2197-8638
2197-8646
Abstract: Purpose: In-company trainers are company employees who are responsible for planning and teaching vocational skills to young people. They also teach them about the company's values, thus fostering a sense of belonging and alignment with company goals. However, there is limited understanding of what constitutes their vocational identity. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to a) theoretically and empirically develop a concept of the vocational identity of in-company trainers, (b) transpose this concept to a newly developed tool, The Vocational Trainer Identity Questionnaire, and (c) assess its construct validity. Beyond the focus on the validity, the study provides descriptive data on how in-company trainers rate the vocational identity components and how their ratings relate to demographic factors. Methods: The Vocational Trainer Identity Questionnaire was developed and validated through a multi-stage process. This included workplace visits, interviews with trainers, a literature review, and analyses of existing vocational education and training questionnaires. To ensure validity, three rounds of factor analysis were conducted. The study involved 300 in-company trainers from a wide range of companies across Slovakia, who participated as respondents. Results: A four-components model of vocational identity resulted from the data, comprised of self-efficacy, company values, professional improvement, and task perception. They correlate positively, which indicates that they create a consistent unit, albeit with components that are still conceptually independent. Self-efficacy, accounting for 19.4% of the total variance, emerges as the strongest component in the vocational identity model for in-company trainers. The other three components contribute to a lesser extent: Company values account for 11.3%, professional improvement for 11%, and task perception for 8.5%. Combined, these four components explain 50.2% of the total variance. With regard to the descriptive data, on average, in-company trainers scored above the midpoint of the five-point scale across all four identity components. The relatively high mean scores suggest that self-efficacy, company values, professional improvement, and task perception are strong elements of their vocational identity. Conclusion: Data were collected from in-company trainers across a wide range of vocational fields, making the resulting model an empirically validated step towards clarifying the construct of the trainers' vocational identity. The Vocational Trainer Identity Questionnaire addresses a gap in the literature and provides opportunities for conducting longitudinal studies and exploring the reciprocal effects between perceived vocational identity and related concepts. The questionnaire is available for validation and use in other countries.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1505928
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
CustomLinks:
  – Url: https://eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=EJ1505928
    Name: ERIC Full Text
    Category: fullText
    Text: Full Text from ERIC
Header DbId: eric
DbLabel: ERIC
An: EJ1505928
AccessLevel: 3
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Exploring the Vocational Identity of Slovak In-Company Trainers: Validation of a New Concept
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Peter+Gavora%22">Peter Gavora</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Adriana+Wiegerová%22">Adriana Wiegerová</searchLink>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22International+Journal+for+Research+in+Vocational+Education+and+Training%22"><i>International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training</i></searchLink>. 2026 13(2):186-210.
– Name: Avail
  Label: Availability
  Group: Avail
  Data: European Educational Research Association / European Research Network Vocational Education and Training.Am Fallturm 1, Bremen, 28359, Germany. Tel: +49-421-218-66336; Fax: +49-421-218-98-66336; e-mail: ijrvet@uni-bremen.de; Web site: http://www.ijrvet.net
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: Y
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 25
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2026
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Career+and+Technical+Education%22">Career and Technical Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Corporate+Education%22">Corporate Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22On+the+Job+Training%22">On the Job Training</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Trainers%22">Trainers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Professional+Identity%22">Professional Identity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Questionnaires%22">Questionnaires</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Construct+Validity%22">Construct Validity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Factor+Analysis%22">Factor Analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Self+Efficacy%22">Self Efficacy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Values%22">Values</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Professional+Development%22">Professional Development</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Professionalism%22">Professionalism</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Slovakia%22">Slovakia</searchLink>
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 2197-8638<br />2197-8646
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Purpose: In-company trainers are company employees who are responsible for planning and teaching vocational skills to young people. They also teach them about the company's values, thus fostering a sense of belonging and alignment with company goals. However, there is limited understanding of what constitutes their vocational identity. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to a) theoretically and empirically develop a concept of the vocational identity of in-company trainers, (b) transpose this concept to a newly developed tool, The Vocational Trainer Identity Questionnaire, and (c) assess its construct validity. Beyond the focus on the validity, the study provides descriptive data on how in-company trainers rate the vocational identity components and how their ratings relate to demographic factors. Methods: The Vocational Trainer Identity Questionnaire was developed and validated through a multi-stage process. This included workplace visits, interviews with trainers, a literature review, and analyses of existing vocational education and training questionnaires. To ensure validity, three rounds of factor analysis were conducted. The study involved 300 in-company trainers from a wide range of companies across Slovakia, who participated as respondents. Results: A four-components model of vocational identity resulted from the data, comprised of self-efficacy, company values, professional improvement, and task perception. They correlate positively, which indicates that they create a consistent unit, albeit with components that are still conceptually independent. Self-efficacy, accounting for 19.4% of the total variance, emerges as the strongest component in the vocational identity model for in-company trainers. The other three components contribute to a lesser extent: Company values account for 11.3%, professional improvement for 11%, and task perception for 8.5%. Combined, these four components explain 50.2% of the total variance. With regard to the descriptive data, on average, in-company trainers scored above the midpoint of the five-point scale across all four identity components. The relatively high mean scores suggest that self-efficacy, company values, professional improvement, and task perception are strong elements of their vocational identity. Conclusion: Data were collected from in-company trainers across a wide range of vocational fields, making the resulting model an empirically validated step towards clarifying the construct of the trainers' vocational identity. The Vocational Trainer Identity Questionnaire addresses a gap in the literature and provides opportunities for conducting longitudinal studies and exploring the reciprocal effects between perceived vocational identity and related concepts. The questionnaire is available for validation and use in other countries.
– Name: AbstractInfo
  Label: Abstractor
  Group: Ab
  Data: As Provided
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2026
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: EJ1505928
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=EJ1505928
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 25
        StartPage: 186
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Career and Technical Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Corporate Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: On the Job Training
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Trainers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Professional Identity
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Questionnaires
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Construct Validity
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Factor Analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Self Efficacy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Values
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Professional Development
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Professionalism
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Slovakia
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Exploring the Vocational Identity of Slovak In-Company Trainers: Validation of a New Concept
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Peter Gavora
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Adriana Wiegerová
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 01
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 2197-8638
            – Type: issn-electronic
              Value: 2197-8646
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 13
            – Type: issue
              Value: 2
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training
              Type: main
ResultId 1