| dc.description.abstract | This master's thesis seeks firstly to analyze the experienced self-determination, autonomy, competence and relatedness of apprentices during their apprenticeship program. Secondly, it looks on how these experiences are influencing the pursue in their profession. The self-determination theory of Deci and Ryan (1985), is one of the main theories applied. This theory also includes cognitive evaluation theory and organic integration theory. Academically the thesis is based on interpretive phenomenology and constructivism, and through qualitative interviews and a concept-driven coding that selectively highlights the essence in the transcripts. Within the theory of self-determination, the psychological needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness can be seen as something crucial in the workplace, because they can inhibit or promote inner motivation and contribute to people feeling self-determined. Tasks can not only be based on internal motivation, and therefore it is also necessary to have knowledge of external motivation because much of the activities in a workplace is based on requirements and expectations. This thesis explores four apprentices' subjective experience of autonomy, competence and relatedness as crucial to staying in the profession. They were asked about choice, freedom of choice and expectations in relation to autonomy. They were also asked about their experience of competence in the form of mastery, optimal challenges and positive feedback and finally how they experienced their relatedness in the form of well-being, their own expectations and external expectations. The findings of this study show that the experience of the psychological needs are fulfilled in the apprentices' everyday work, and organizational socialization can help to promote or inhibit the psychological needs. The conclusion shows that they had a desire and interest to stay in the profession, and it can be seen in relation to internal motivation and self-determination but that they still saw the future as uncertain. The conclusion also points out that even if the psychological needs are met, they can still only be seen as crucial to a certain extent because the profession itself sets some limitations. The apprentices must be given opportunities in the profession, which values them as skilled workers in light of the psychological needs. | |
