**6. Discussion**

The conclusions drawn in our study are supported by the quality of the research conducted. A key aspect of the quality of a Group Concept Mapping study is the number of participants per phase. Rosas and Kane [28] suggested a minimum range of 20–35 participants per phase. Our study included significantly larger participant groups (see **Table 1**), ensuring that the study's quality in this regard was adequately maintained. The clustering of statements resulted in the identification of seven distinct clusters, each representing a different theme. The different themes are in line with the work of Porter et al. [30], who emphasised the need for an institutional approach to blended education, going beyond course-level development. Such an approach requires strategic planning, structural changes, and adequate support at the university or college level. The nature of the statements may have been influenced by the timing of the data collection. The study was conducted during the midst of the pandemic, when teachers were grappling with

the transition from classroom-based lessons to online activities. It is highly likely that the statements were influenced by the daily experiences of both students and teachers. This transition can be characterised as substitution, where the content and pedagogical approaches remained unchanged, but the modality shifted from the classroom to the online environment. This aligns with the perspective of [9], that characterised the online education during the pandemic as a form of emergency remote teaching. We presume that as students and teachers become more proficient, leading to the implementation of advanced types of online learning and teaching, their perceptions regarding the benefits of online education will also be influenced.

In general, our findings suggest more moderate opportunities for educational change compared to the more transformative views expressed by [14], that consider the pandemic as a catalyst for significant educational change. Our study highlights the potential for a blended approach to teaching and learning, combining both classroombased and online modalities, with the classroom retaining its prominent role as the primary mode of instruction.

## **7. Limitations**

While we conducted our study among students and teachers at a single university of applied sciences, caution should be taken when generalising the findings. However, it is worth noting that during the pandemic the daily experiences of teachers and students of various institutes across Europe and beyond exhibited striking similarities [3, 11, 12]. Given that the collected statements were deeply rooted in their daily experiences, we assume that our findings hold relevance for other institutes in the field of vocational and professional education as well. One of the main advantages of Group Concept Mapping is its ability to gather statements from large groups of participants. However, it is important to acknowledge that there is no direct interaction between the researchers and the participants, as is the case with interviews, for example. Therefore, the thoughts, beliefs, concerns, and considerations of the participants that influenced the formulation of the statements, or the reasoning behind the sorting and rating of the statements, remain unknown in the context of Group Concept Mapping. When the objective is to gather more comprehensive background information, it is advisable to employ other methods, such as interviews.

### **8. Recommendations**

The different nature of the statements suggests the need to apply an integral approach at the institutional level for taking the next steps in developing online teaching and learning as part of blended education. An approach that includes strategy, structure and support [30]. The strategy focuses at the creation of an institutional definition of blended education, at the goals of blended education (e.g. enhanced pedagogy, increased access and flexibility, improved cost-effectiveness and resource use) and at the advocacy of blended education among management, administrators, teachers and other institutional personnel. The structure refers to the need for establishing the necessary technological infrastructure, the governance, and the systematic monitoring of the implementation to generate frequent feedback that enables evidence-informed further development of blended education. The support refers to the need for technical and pedagogical support, including the professional

#### *Perspective Chapter: Online Learning in Professional and Vocational Education – Seeking… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112513*

development of teachers and other stakeholders, including students, since their ability and/or motivation to participate in online education may vary.

It is important that the institutional approach includes a view on the desired ambition level of blended education. Van der Klink and Brand-Gruwel [31] argue that the levels of ambitions of colleges and universities to implement blended education may vary and they distinguish three levels, ranging from Low Impact Blend, Medium Impact Blend to High Impact Blend, respectively (see also [32]). Low Impact Blend refers to adding extra technology-based activities to an existing classroom-based course. Characteristic for Medium Impact Blend is the replacement of classroombased teaching and learning by online activities. Finally, a High Impact Blend implies a full redesign of an existing classroom-based course. In general, most colleges and universities will presumably strive for a Medium Impact Blend. Though a Low Impact Blend requires less efforts, its benefits are modest as well. Moreover, there is a danger that the addition of activities may increase the workload of teachers and the study time of students [32]. In contrast, a Medium Impact Blend offers more benefits (e.g. more flexible course delivery) but requires also more investments to achieve the benefits. A Medium Impact Blend allows an incremental design in which teachers gradually replace course components, by experimenting with different approaches to learning and various tools.

It is very likely that the pandemic will eventually pave the way to a more prominent place of online learning in the repertoire of vocational and professional education. Based on our experiences in this study, we would like to recommend a careful and thoughtful approach to further developing online learning as part of a blended education. Blended education will definitely improve the flexibility of educational programmes to, for example, attract employees who want to upgrade their competencies or allow full-time students to combine their study with a job. But how high or modest our online ambitions may be, we always must remember to reflect the voices of teachers and (future) students in these ambitions. Here we would like to emphasise the need to involve students in our endeavours [33]. Students have the potential to inform the development of blended education in ways that other stakeholders could not. Therefore, methodologies that incorporate these voices, such as GCM, deserve our attention when it comes to designing and evaluating blended education.
