This paper explores the everyday use of metaphors in Swedish upper-secondary levelhairdressing and floristry education, with a specific focus on the craft processes ofworking with organic material (hair and flowers). The aim of the study was to investigateuse of (verbal as well as potential non-verbal) metaphors in interactions and how it mayinfluence epistemic positioning (Melander & Sahlström, 2010) in a broad multimodalcontext (Öhman, 2017; 2018). Simply put, a metaphor in this context, is understood as“experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another” (Lakoff & Johnson, p. 5). In likemanner, the current research aimed to address the following question: In what ways dometaphors mediate interaction in hairdressing and floristry education, respectively?Methodologically, the study draws on work by Mondada (2019; 2021a, 2021b) andGoodwin (2018), adopting an ethnomethodological approach to analysing socialinteraction (Eilittä et al., 2023). Moreover, the study offers a methodological discussion ofthe use of line drawing as an analytic tool in the context of (multimodal) interaction,unpacking the local ecology of the classroom setting (Laurier & Boelt Back, 2023).

Since 2022, all teachers in Sweden must use a norm aware approach. Regardless of whether the educationtakes place at school or at a workplace, it must develop the students' abilities to critically examine how norms,values and structures can limit the power of women and men in society (Skolverket, 2022). Developing norm-criticality is particularly important for vocational education, since workplace cultures shaped over time aremore difficult to change (Hedlin & Åberg, 2013; Hedlin, 2014). Norms become problematic when they excludecertain students and reinforce prejudices or discrimination (Kärnebro, 2020). Teachers often lack awareness ofnorms (Skolinspektionen, 2018) and may support problematic patterns (Kontio & Evaldsson, 2015). Teachersmust counteract norms and patterns that limit their students’ learning, choices, and development (Skolverket,2022). VET teachers’ norm awareness is in this sense crucial for their students’ Bildung. We see that there is aneed for a validated tool for measuring teachers’ norm awareness, both in VET learning contexts and otherschool contexts. The NORM-survey will also give insights into how this concept relates to issues of importancein schools today, e.g., equity, justice, and democracy, as well as teachers’ relational competence (Aspelin2018).The NORM-survey will be distributed to VET teachers at several educational institutions in Sweden and Finlandduring 2023. The survey consists of 59 variables in total written in Swedish. It is based on the operationalisationof norm awareness in six themes (Blomberg, 2020), structured in accordance with levels of knowledge: 1)Values and readiness to act, 2) Declarative knowledge of norm awareness, 3) Procedural knowledge about howto act in accordance with norm awareness, 4) Conditional knowledge of norm aware strategies for dealing withsituational needs, 5) Collegial awareness and openness, and 6) Collegial support to address norm-based issues.The construct validity of survey will be tested using two types of factor analysis: exploratory and confirmatory(Taherdoost, 2016) to see if and how predefined themes can be found and if these are consistent acrosseducational contexts. The first, exploratory factor analysis, will explore all variance in the data set. The second,confirmatory factor analysis, will show whether the hypothesized factor structure of the levels of knowledge issupported by actual data (de Vet, Adèr, Terwee & Pouwer, 2005). Both discriminant and convergent validitywill be tested (Taherdoost, 2016).

References

Aspelin, J. (2018). Lärares relationskompetens: vad är det?: hur kan den utvecklas? Liber.Blomberg, N. (2020). Skapa plats: en normutmanande bok för en mer inkluderande skola. Ekvalita, Finland.https://ekvalitaeducation.fi/sv/skapaplats/ [2023-02-14]de Vet, H.C.W., Adèr, H.J., Terwee, C.B., & Pouwer, F. (2005). Are factor analytical techniques used appropriately in thevalidation of health status questionnaires? A systematic review on the quality of factor analysis of the SF-36. Quality of LifeResearch, 14: 1203–1218. DOI 10.1007/s11136-004-5742-3.Hedlin, M. (2014). When they’re practically crying out for men – An ethnographic study of male health and social carestudents’ minority position. Nordic studies in education, 34(1), 59-72.Hedlin, M., & Åberg, M. (2013). Vara med i gänget? Yrkessocialisation och genus i två gymnasieprogram. Rapport 2013:23.Institutet för arbetsmarknads- och utbildningspolitisk utvärdering (IFAU).Kontio, J., & Evaldsson, A-C. (2015). “Last year we used to call it a Man’s Hammer.” (Un)doing masculinity in everyday use ofworking tools within vocational education. International Journal for Masculinity Studies, 10 (1), 20–38.Kärnebro, K. (2020). ”Om man inte står ut med att folk driver med en då passar man inte in” I A. Panican (Red.),Yrkesutbildning på undantag? Att bryta den låga attraktionskraften (s. 383–415). Studentlitteratur.Skolinspektionen. (2018). Sex- och samlevnadsundervisning. https://www.skolinspektionen.se/beslut-rapporter-statistik/publikationer/kvalitetsgranskning/2018/sex--och-samlevnadsundervisning/ [2023-02-07]Skolverket. (2022). Nytt i läroplanens inledande delar 2022. https://www.skolverket.se/undervisning/kallsidor/nytt-i-laroplanernas-inledande-delar-2022#skvtableofcontent4567 [2023-02-07]Taherdoost, H. (2016). Validity and Reliability of the Research Instrument; How to Test the Validation of aQuestionnaire/Survey in a Research. International Journal of Academic Research in Management, 5.

Syftet med studien är att utforska hur elever inom gymnasieskolans Vård- och omsorgsprogram uppfattar sexuella trakasserier som kan förekomma från vårdtagare samt bidra med kunskap som kan vara användbar i gymnasieskolans vård- och omsorgsutbildning. Studien bygger på fokusgruppsintervjuer med elever inom Vård- och omsorgsprogrammets tredje år. Eleverna beskriver en mängd situationer som i hög grad handlar om att manliga vårdtagare utsätter kvinnliga praktikanter och personal för sexuella trakasserier. En del av de män som utsätter personal för sexuella trakasserier har demensdiagnos, men eleverna beskriver också trakasserier från vårdtagare utan kognitiva nedsättningar, och även anhöriga, ägnar sig åt sexuella trakasserier. Av elevernas beskrivningar att döma framstår beteendet som normaliserat i vårdmiljön. Frågan behandlas sparsamt inom utbildningen, enligt de deltagande eleverna: varken lärarna, läroböckerna eller praktikplatserna tar enligt eleverna upp frågan om sexuella trakasserier från vårdtagare på ett tillfredsställande sätt.

Redan innan coronapandemin slog till 2020 hade besöksnäringen en utmaning att hitta personal. Idag 2022 vittnar många inom branschen att det är svårare än någonsin att hitta rätt kompetens. Besöksnäringen har stort behov av att uppfattas som attraktiv för såväl nya unga som för kunniga medarbetare med lång erfarenhet. 

Samtidigt har söktrycket på gymnasiets yrkesutbildningar som riktar in sig mot besöksnäringen minskat. Inför läsåret 2021/22 sökte 125 000 elever till ett nationellt gymnasieprogram. En dryg tredjedel (36 procent) sökte till ett yrkesprogram. 1 800 elever sökte till restaurang och livsmedel, 700 till hotell och turism. Det finns flera olika anledningar till ett vikande söktryck. Att utbildningarna inte gett högskolebehörighet är en. En annan kan vara att anställningar under coronapandemins två år uppfattades som osäkra och att arbetsuppgifterna förändrades med restaurangernas ansvar under restriktioner.  

Erfarenheter från unga som utbildar sig för ett arbete inom besöksnäringen kan bidra till bättre förståelse för både vad utbildningarna och företag som tar emot praktikanter (och även andra arbetsgivare inom näringen) kan förbättra för att bli en mer attraktiv bransch för unga (alla) människor. BFUF utlyste våren 2019 medel till forskning på temat Jämställdhet i besöksnäringen. 

Ett av forskningsprojektet som BFUFs styrelse beslutade finansiera 2019 var Social hållbarhet för framtida medarbetare inom hotell- och restaurang, som genomförts av forskare vid Linnéuniversitetet. Syftet med forskningsprojektet var att bidra med kunskap om hur elever inom gymnasieskolans hotell- och turismprogram och restaurang- och livsmedelsprogram förstår de sexuella trakasserier som kan förekomma från gäster inom de yrkesområden eleverna utbildar sig till samt att bidra med kunskap om hur utbildningarna kan arbeta för att förebygga problemet.  

Studien bygger på gruppintervjuer som genomförts 2021 med kvinnliga och manliga elever som gick det tredje och avslutande året på hotell- och turismprogrammet och restaurang- och livsmedelsprogrammet.

Projektets resultat visar att eleverna ger uttryck för att sexuella trakasserier från gäster är vanligt förekommande inom hotell- och restaurangbranschen. Forskarna har tillsammans med lärare och elever på olika skolor diskuterat resultaten av intervjuerna och gemensamt arbetat fram förslag på hur utbildningarna kan arbeta för att förebygga problemet. I rapporten MAN BLIR PAFF summeras deras resultat och rekommendationer. 

För att uppfattas som en attraktiv bransch att arbeta och göra karriär i är det av stor vikt att besöksnäringens företag och organisationer aktivt adresserar frågor om anständighet och värdighet inom branschen. Jämställdhet är en fråga om rättvisa som också påverkar företagens lönsamhet. Forskning pekar på att ett jämställt arbetsklimat är mer produktivt och ger mer nöjda medarbetare. Detta leder till lägre personalomsättning och lägre sjukfrånvaro, vilket gör företagen mer lönsamma.

Jämställdhet och att motverka sexuella trakasserier är strategiskt viktiga frågor både för företagen och besöksnäringen som bransch.   

Sexual harassment by guests is part of the vocational culture in many workplaces within the hospitality industry. In this study, we investigate vocational students' descriptions of sexual harassment by guests in the hospitality industry and how these instances can be understood in terms of objectification. The empirical material consists of focus group interviews with upper secondary school students who are training to work in the hospitality industry. The students describe four categories of sexual harassment: appearance comments, private and intrusive questions, leering, and physical contact. In the descriptions, men are sexually harassing female students or employees. The types of objectification in the descriptions are reduction to appearance, reduction to body, instrumental approach, denial of autonomy, denial of bodily integrity, and denial of subjectivity. Regardless of the type of objectification involved, a dilemma arises for the girls who have been taught that being courteous to guests is part of the professional role, while the guests are treating them as sexual objects.

The purpose of this study was to investigate and analyse how young people's perceptions of sexual harassment and unwelcome flirting from customers in the hospitality industry are affected by the customer's age. Sixty-nine young women and men training for occupations in the hospitality industry were interviewed. The young people were 18-20 years old. The results show that the customer's age was crucial for how the participants perceived unwelcome sexual interest and advances. If the person who offends was a child, the behaviour could be described as harmless, innocent and thus not as sexual harassment. Unwelcome flirting by a young man towards a young woman of the same age could be perceived as sexual harassment, but at the same time it is in line with the heteronormative ideal and could be understood. When the customer was older, that is, a middle-aged man, the young people's descriptions of the occurrence were particularly negative.

Research topic/aim: This study investigates how students training for jobs in the hospitality industry describe guests that subject staff to sexualharassment. The research question that guides the study is: Who are the guests who expose staff in the hospitality industryto sexual harassment, according to the students?

Theoretical framework: Sexual harassment is a widespread problem that occurs worldwide. It is mainly women who are subjected and most often it is men who subject them (Latcheva 2017; Svensson 2020). Young women employed in the hospitality industry have beenidentified as particularly vulnerable, those who target them are mainly male guests (Svensson 2020). Drawing on genderstudies, sexual harassment that men subject women to can be understood as an expression of the unequal gender order thatprevails in society (Connell 2009). Nowadays, however, there is a widespread belief that gender equality has been achieved.A post-feminist discourse that asserts that gender inequality belongs to the past. Thus, society is presented as genderneutral. Neither gender, class nor other factors are said to play any role in a person's opportunities and future livingconditions. Within the post-feminist discourse, the individuals are seen as responsible for both their successes and failures.Referring to things like inequality, gender discrimination and gender-based violence is therefore not possible (McRobbie2010; Pomerantz & Raby 2017). The discourse is closely linked to neoliberal ideology and has gained a prominent position within the Western world, not least within the Nordic countries, which are also often highlighted as successful examples whenit comes to gender equality (Magnusson et al. 2008). On the one hand, sexual harassment that male guests subject femaleemployees to in hotels and restaurants is extensive and well known. On the other hand, the post-feminist discourseconstitutes an obstacle to understanding sexual harassment as an expression of gender inequality.

Methodological design: The empirical material consists of focus group interviews (2-8 participants) with female and male students at the Hotel andtourism- and the Restaurant Management and food program in Sweden.

Expected conclusions/findings: The results show that the guests that the students highlight as the people who expose staff to sexual harassment are primarydescribed as older men [“gubbar”]. In the case of this group, the descriptions are particularly negative and the concretesituations numerous. According to the students, sexual harassment also occurs from boys their own age. In addition, it isemphasized that women can also subject men to sexual harassment, which, however, appears to be more hypothetical andcontradictory.

Relevance to Nordic educational research: All the Nordic countries want to counter sexual harassment in schools and education. Research has, however, shown thenotion that gender equality has been achieved as an obstacle to understanding gender issues (Lahelma 2012; Magnusson etal. 2008; Svensson 2020).

This study attempts to understand the creation of identities, especially focusing on vocational identities within the vocational education and training (VET) for hairdressers. To be trained for a vocation like hairdressing means that more has to be learnt other than to do nice haircuts or other treatments. The handicraft is one part of the vocational knowing of hairdressing, but to be a hairdresser is about something more besides handicraft. Identity in this study is understood from a sociological perspective influenced by Richard Jenkins’ (2004, 2008) theoretical model of social identities. This is used together with the Bourdieu-inspired concept of vocational habitus (Colley, James, Tedder, & Diment, 2003). The method is inspired by ethnographic research and the empirical material consists of interviews and observations. Based on this material personal portraits have been created of four students. The intention is to focus on the students’ perspective about the everyday activities in school and their experiences of being trained for a vocation in school. The analyse shows that students are trained to develop a vocational habitus, to look, move, talk and feel like a hairdresser is expected to. The students encounter these expectations differently, depending on their identities as hairdressers, students or identities established in other contexts. A main finding of the study is that student identities and vocational identities sometimes are in conflict with each other.

The contribution of the study is an increased understanding of identity creation in vocational education. It also contributes to a better knowledge of young people in vocational education and their relationship with their vocational education and upcoming vocation.

The aim of the dissertation presentation here is to contribute knowledge on how adolescent girls in VET for hairdressers negotiate and perform (vocational) identities from aclass- and gender perspective with special focus on femininity. This is done through ethnographical fieldwork. Theoretically the study is inspired by feminist poststructuralist theory together with theory of how working-class women act to become respectable.The main results show that the hairdresser student is positioned as a female entrepreneur, that is constructed through two different discourses. One depicts the vocation as a glamorous profession to love. The other as hard work, low wages, and a craft that requires many hours of education. One conclusion of the thesis is that traditionally feminine coded performances, such as caring,being nice, and doing good is reshaped in a neoliberal time where notions of a competitive, strong, and self-governing girl is the one that has become the ideal hairdresser. The position of a self-governing girl neglects issues of class and gender, since discourses of Girl Power position girls in a way that the individual subject owns their success, and that we are living in an equal society.

Historically, vocational training followed a master-apprentice tradition whereapprentices besides from learning vocational tasks were socialised into a vocationalculture and identity. Nowadays, Swedish VET is primarily school-based, and instead of amaster, VET-teachers teach students their future vocation. Interview studies with VETteachershave revealed that they cross boundaries between an identity as a teacher andan identity related to the vocation he or she teaches. However, there is limited researchon how VET-teachers are positioned by their students and how, in turn, they positionthemselves in relation to the students in school-based VET. Such knowledge is essentialfor understanding vocational identity in contemporary VET. This study aims to explorehow vocational teachers' positioning is negotiated in VET, focusing on interactionsbetween students and vocational teachers. Drawing on ethnographic material fromSwedish upper secondary school's hairdressing education, preliminary findings identifyseven subject positions: the VET-teacher as: a friend; a colleague; a teacher; a boss; arole model; a mother; a personal hairdresser.

Young people training for work in the hospitality industry learn that the occupation involves taking on a role in order to handle the emotional demands of guests. This article, based on Hochschild’s theory of emotional labour, focuses on young women’s experiences in the Swedish vocational education and training for the hospitality industry. The aim of the study is to analyse and critically examine ideas about good service such as putting on an act and how this role-play is shaped by gender. The data are derived from focus group interviews with 52 young women in hospitality training programmes. In these programmes, service behaviour ideas about what constitutes good service in terms of subordination, femininity and heterosexuality are normalised. The young women do not unreflectively absorb the conditions that service work entails. However, the education gives them little opportunity to gain knowledge about societal gender order and the possibility of understanding their life with that insight. One conclusion is that service behaviour in the form of putting on an act that students learn in vocational education and training is problematic, as it reinforces power hierarchies and leaves young women to single-handedly manage problems that arise in service work.

The aim of this thesis is to contribute with knowledge on how adolescent girls in VET for hairdressers in Swedish Upper Secondary School negotiate and perform (vocational) identities from a class- and gender perspective with special focus on femininity. This is done through ethnographical fieldwork where 18 female students and their vocational teachers were observed for four months. Theoretically the study is inspired by feminist poststructuralist theory together with theory of how working-class women act to become respectable, since class and gender must be fused together to produce an accurate representation of power relations. 

The results show how the girls position themselves as beauty experts and this expertise involves transforming people to appear in accordance with gendered- and classed beauty norms.  To be recognized as a hairdresser-girl the students are supposed to look nice and feminine. The hairdresser’s body and image are described as a trade-mark to be used to look profesional. Moreover, through cleaning-tasks the girls are expected to act as hardworking respectable subjects and to make the practice respectable. The hairdresser student is also positioned as a female  entrepreneur, that is constructed through two different discourses. One depicts the vocation as a glamorous profession to love. The other as hard work, low wages, and a craft that requires many hours of education. The meanings of men's absence in VET for hairdressers are also explored. The girls maintain the men’s privileged positions through stories which describe male hairdressers as more skillful. A school class consisiting of girls only is described as problematic where conflicts and ‘drama’ were explained by gender, and caused by the absence of boys. One conclusion of the thesis is that traditionally feminine coded performances, such as careing, being nice, and doing good is reshaped in a neoliberal time where notions of a competitive, strong, and self-governing girl is the one that has become the ideal hairdresser. The position of a self-governing girl neglects issues of class and gender, since discourses of Girl Power position girls in a way that the individual subject owns their success, and that we are living in an equal society.

Detta paper är en del av ett pågående avhandlingsarbete vars övergripande syfte är att bidra med kunskap om hur elever inom gymnasieskolans frisörutbildning förhandlar identitet och femininet i relation till frisöryrket och dess utbildning. För att bli en frisör förväntas elever i gymnasieskolans frisörutbildning bland annat lära sig olika hantverkstekniker, att bemöta kunder samt att göra diverse företagsekonomiska beräkningar (Skolverket, 2011).  De förväntas också att göra allehanda uppgifter som inte framgår tydligt i läroplanens skrivningar, men ändå utgör centrala arbetsuppgifter i frisöryrket. Ett sådant exempel är att städa, tvätta och diska, det vill säga traditionellt kvinnligt kodade, men många gånger oberättade arbetsuppgifter (Ambjörnsson, 2018). Olika former av städning är också arbetsuppgifter som pekats ut som rutinartade, icke-produktiva och med låg status (Ambjörnsson, 2018). Samtidigt har det historiskt gjorts försök att få kvinnor att uppskatta sådant arbete och det har tillskrivits som ett av kvinnors ansvarsområden (Skeggs, 2000).  Framförallt har städning för kvinnor med arbetarklassbakgrund varit en central del i att göra dem respektabla (Skeggs, 2000), något som är  relevant för studien eftersom en stor andel av eleverna i gymnasieskolans frisörutbildning är tjejer vars föräldrar arbetar med så kallat okvalificerat arbete inom produktion och service (Broady & Börjesson, 2008).

Med detta som bakgrund undersöks hur elever i frisörutbildning identifierar och/eller disidentifierar sig med städning som en av utbildningen utpekad arbetsuppgift. Hur kan, ska och bör elever i frisörutbildning prata om och förhålla sig till städning? Preliminära resultat visar att städning kan framställas som såväl en meningsfull syssla där städandet är ett sätt att göra sig själv, salongen, liksom frisöryrket respektabelt, men också en syssla som möter motstånd. Att på olika sätt förhandla bort städning framstår då som ett verktyg att använda för att disidentifiera sig med frisöryrket och frisörutbildningens normativa femininitetsideal.

I studien inspireras jag av poststrukturalistisk teoribildning där kön skapas genom performativa praktiker (Butler, 2007), samt av Beverly Skeggs (2000) arbete om hur tjejer med arbetarklassbakgrund skapar kön som skiljer sig från högt värderade femininiteter inom medelklass. Det empiriska materialet baseras på etnografiskt fältarbete vid frisörutbildning i två gymnasieskolor där jag har följt elever och yrkeslärare i deras skolvardag.  

In the hairdressing occupation emotional labour has often come to overshadow other vocational skills. The present study, using ethnographic methods, explores how students and teachers in vocational education and training (VET) for hairdressers in Sweden describe and explain the emotional labour being carried out when a hairdresser perform good service. The results show that to look happy and smile has a central position in students’ and VET teachers’ descriptions of how an ideal service worker is expected to act. A positive attitude and a special voice are other signs that characterise the hairdresser who provides good service. The happy ideal is both reproduced and challenged from students in the hairdresser education. One conclusion is that an ideal service worker reinforces femininity norms to act as a professional, which is in line with the requirements of the hairdresser education and the customer’s and employers’ expectations. At the same time, the happy ideal limits students’ opportunities to challenge and question prevailing power structures, which is also part of the Swedish upper secondary school mission.

This study focuses on how teachers' work-related boundaries are challenged in relation to students' parents. Historically,good relationships between teachers and parents have been regarded as a success factor for students' school results. This isalso how parents' involvement in their children's education often has been discussed in research. In recent years, however,teachers' parental contacts in Sweden have come to be discussed as problematic for teachers. The teachers' union reportsthat teachers feel that parents make unreasonable demands (Lärarförbundet 2020); e.g., attempt to control teachers byexpressing opinions on their grading, or show what is perceived as excessive solicitousness for their own child. Teachersdescribe this as a problem that has intensified over time (Hedlin & Frank, 2022). Against this background, the aim is tocontribute knowledge about teachers' work-related boundaries in relation to parents and how these are maintained andchallenged.Theoretical frameworkIn this study, boundary theory is used to identify how teachers' work-related boundaries are created and maintained(Aronsson, 2018). Boundless work can mean freedom and be experienced positively. At the same time, it can contribute tofeeling the demand of always having to be available, which might be stressful. Individuals can use strategies to safeguardtheir private life by trying to keep work and leisure separate, segmentation. A segmenting strategy can mean not answeringe-mails at home. Other strategies can be about reducing the friction between work and leisure, integration. Betweensegmentation and integration, there is a spectrum with great variation.Female teachers are more exposed to parental demands, because teachers' work is associated with norms of femininity inthe form of expectations to provide care, and prioritise the needs of others (Widding, 2013). Therefore, boundary theory iscombined with Connell's (2009) gender theory, which describes how the verbal, bodily and material aspects of socialrelations create gender patterns, a gender order. Methodological designThe presentation is based on 15 semi-structured interviews with teachers. During the interviews, participants reflected onvignettes that illustrated fictitious cases of teachers' parental contacts.Expected conclusions/findingsPreliminary results show that teachers' work-related boundaries in relation to parents are maintained and challenged byideals of good relations with homes, availability, care for the students, and collegiality.Relevance to Nordic educational researchThe Nordic countries stress the importance of parental involvement in their children’s schooling. Much research has focusedon parents’ opportunities to engage in children’s schooling, but Nordic educational research has also highlighted thatteachers’ professional responsibility can be weakened by too much parental cooperation (Dahl, 2017).

Aronsson, G. (2018). Gränslöst arbete: En forskarantologi om arbetsmiljöutmaningar i ett gränslöst arbetsliv.Arbetsmiljöverket.

Connell, R. (2009). Om genus. Daidalos.Dahl, K. (2017). Too much parental cooperation? Parent–teacher cooperation and how it influences professional responsibilityamong Danish schoolteachers. Power and Education, 9(3), 177-191

Hedlin, M., & Frank, E. (2022). “They Want a Reply Immediately!” Teachers’ Perceptions About Contact Between Home andSchool. Journal of Teacher Education and Educators, 11(2), 271-288.

Lärarförbundet (2020). Varannan lärare utsätts för orimliga föräldrakrav.Widding, G. (2013). "Det ska funka" -Om genus betydelse i relationen hem och skola. Umeå Universitet.

This study explores vocational didactics and embodied knowledge in hairdressing education by studying how perceptive sensoriality is used by teachers and students in creating shared understandings of vocational knowledge. Among multiple actions, touch is distinguished as a central resource in learning the vocation, as it emerges in interaction between teacher and student related to the ongoing teaching and its assignment. The data is based on video-recordings displaying how touch is used in manipulating objects and material, or in assessing qualities and defects. In such instances, touch becomes a  diagnostic criterion (Goodwin, 1997) to investigate how the material worked with can be evaluated and handled. To bridge the gap between individual and collective vocational knowledge, metaphors are of use. The results show two approaches to the teaching of perceptive sensoriality. In order to learn the vocational subject content the teaching need to provide for and practice the individual’s embodied sense of touch as well as the vocation’s verbalised collective feel. This is the core of the didactical challenge.