This study is a description of one ESF-funded project in one Finnish secondary vocational education institute during three years (autumn 2000 - spring 2003).

The Preventing Drop-out by Anticipating Learning Difficulties project has sought measures to help students to complete their vocational studies by developing methods to identify learning difficulties at an early stage. To solve the problems new teaching and learning methods in the project have been used. The project has enhanced the potential of young people to acquire personalized support and guidance in their studies. The aim has been to promote professional cooperation between teachers and the student care staff at this vocational institute. Teachers have been trained to meet different learners. The project has experimented with flexible arrangements that will strengthen students' vocational skills and theoretical studies. Besides of these concrete aims the project has also wanted to prevent educational exclusion of young people (cf. Re-enter, 2001). At the same time with the description of action and progress of the project this study has by means of interviews also clarified frames of encountering "different learners" more generally in the institute.

The study is based on thirty thematic interviews (employees of the project, management and teachers of the institute, staff of student welfare, and students) and different kind of written data (reports of the project, feedback inquiries, e-mails etc.). Frame analysis (Goffman, 1986) as an analysis method of the data has produced three action frames: frame of problems, frame of anticipation and frame of development (Huhtala, 2003). Frame of problems is usual in everyday life of vocational education. Students have a lot of days of absence, difficulties in their studies, unfinished tasks, maybe their motivation is lost. These students are encountered through their problems: what to do, how to help, how to support, how to make their studies proceed. In the frame of anticipation students participate in tests of dyslexia and mathematical tests so that their possible difficulties or need of support in their studies are found out as early as possible. Students are offered individual or small group instruction or there can be two teachers in the class at the same time. Frame of development is a way to support students in their studies by considering students as individuals who learn in many different ways and not "different" or coming "problems" whose difficulties have to be anticipated or whose problems have to be solved. This means different kind of thinking and needs some changes in the system of vocational education. The project has got further financing until autumn 2005 and concentrates on the activities in frame of development through teachers' in-service training and through different smaller development projects these teachers carry out during the training.

References:

• Goffman, E. (1986). Frame Analysis. An Essay on the Organization of Experience. Boston: Northeastern University Press.
• Huhtala, S. (2003). Kohtaamisia lähihoitajakoulutuksen arjessa. (Encounters in everyday life of practical nurse education.) Helsingin kaupungin opetusviraston julkaisusarja A4 : 2003. (City of Helsinki. Publication Series A4 : 2003.) [in Finnish]
• Re-enter final report. (2001). Improving transition for low achieving school leavers to vocational education and training. University of Flensburg.