Volume 4,Issue 6
From Predicament to Possibility: Attenuating the “Strict Superego” in Higher Vocational College Classrooms
Higher vocational colleges (HVCs) educate heterogeneous learners whose classroom interactions sometimes manifest as silence, withdrawal, perfectionism, or oppositionality. Reading these responses through “strict superego” highlights how internalized punitive injunctions can convert ordinary setbacks into identity‑threatening experiences. Yet a solely deficit focus risks disempowerment. This research proposes an integrative, practice‑oriented approach that uses front-line teachers’ insight diagnostically to identify affective injunctions, mobilizes Piagetian constructivist principles to design learning sequences that support successful accommodation, and applies Bourdieusian recognition strategies to convert students’ practical capital into symbolic capital recognized within the institutional field. The approach reframes student difficulties as opportunities for competence building and trust restoration, delivering concrete, ethically cautious strategies for improving engagement, transfer, and student countenance in HVC contexts.
[1] Ryökkynen S, Pirttimaa R, Kontu E, 2020, Interaction Between Students and Class Teachers in Vocational Education and Training: ‘Safety Distance Is Needed’. Nordic Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 9(2): 156–174.
[2] Kang C, Wu J, 2022, A Theoretical Review on the Role of Positive Emotional Classroom Rapport in Preventing EFL Students’ Shame: A Control-Value Theory Perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, 13: 977240.
[3] Rajan S, Herbert S, Polly D, 2023, Mental Health Stressors, Affective Risk, and Student Persistence in Post-Secondary Career and Technical Education Contexts. Proceedings of the ACTER Conference, New York.
[4] Bathmaker A, James D, 2017, Teaching in Further Education: The Changing Context of Post-Compulsory Education (4th ed.). UCL IOE Press, New Jersey.
[5] Meinokat P, Wagner I, 2025, Classroom Disruptions and Classroom Management in Learning Factory Settings at Vocational Schools. International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training, 12(2): 266–288.
[6] Lange C, Costley J, 2022, How Sequencing Content and Fading Instructional Support Reduce Extraneous Processing. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 59(3): 253–262.
