A Future-Oriented Educational Model for Health and Social Care – Research – Department of Teacher Education
A Future-Oriented Educational Model for Health and Social Care in Upper Secondary Education: Accompanying Research on the Implementation of the HO 2.0 Model
The demand for qualified personnel in the health, care and education sectors is high and increasing. This is particularly true for skilled workers with relevant professional competence, the ability to collaborate, and the resilience required for a demanding working life. In response to this need for competence, the HO 2.0 project at Cissi Klein Upper Secondary School was initiated and funded through a collaboration between NTNU and Trøndelag County Council.
Project periode
15.09.2025-15.09.2031
Funding
- NTNU
- Trøndelag county authority
Research group
About the project
HO 2.0 is a new and alternative educational model for the two-year school-based component of the Health and Social Care programme, one of ten vocational education programmes in Norway. The model is characterised by a strong practice-oriented approach to learning and Bildung, where students receive training in authentic professional settings two days per week throughout the entire school pathway (Vg1 and Vg2). During each practice period, which lasts for half a school year, the entire class is placed at the same workplace together with their teacher.
This practice-oriented organisation requires close collaboration between the school, the practice field, and various levels of leadership and supervision. The model combines health-promoting learning environments, pedagogical entrepreneurship, and digital technology, with the aim of educating young people who are professionally competent, resilient, and capable of managing both their own lives and a future career in the health, care, and early childhood education sectors.
The purpose of the accompanying research project is to develop new knowledge about how the HO 2.0 educational model is experienced in practice by those involved. The research project aims in particular to contribute knowledge about:
- how authentic learning environments and health-promoting learning environments can contribute to educating resilient, innovative, and vocationally competent skilled workers
- how such learning environments can support competence development and student completion in vocational education
- how digital technology (e.g. apps, virtual reality, and simulation-based learning) can strengthen students’ vocationally relevant skills and subject-related understanding
- how students’ professional competence and collaborative competence can be developed to contribute to quality and sustainability in the health, care, and early childhood education sectors
Publications
- Nord University
- St. Olavs hospital
- Trøndelag county authority
- Trondheim Municipality
External participants
- Birgitte Bjørngaard, Assistant Professor, Nord University