When drivers' training-courses are shared by different trainers

Résumé En

This paper aims to analyze the consequences of a specific organization of work in driving schools: in France, in some driving schools, several trainers may successively train a single trainee. Consequences on training duration and on trainer activity are analyzed based on data collected in the course of three studies. We show that the duration of driver training increases in the case of multiple trainer switches during a training course. Trainer switches during the course also have consequences on the activity of trainers, since they must, as a result, engage in asynchronous cooperation. We analyzed this cooperation from two points of view: one focused the use of a collective tool, the Trainee Record Form (TRF) designed as a tool for communication between trainers of the same trainee, as well as with the trainee; and one focused on the characteristics of trainer diagnosis at the beginning of a lesson, when he trains someone for the first time. We observe various uses of the TRF, ambiguous written comments that may be read by the future trainer or a lack of collective use. Our data also suggests difficulties in elaborating a diagnosis: with a new trainee, trainers systematically delayed their decisions regarding didactical objectives: to carry these out, they needed to watch the trainee drive. The results of these three studies are discussed in terms of their consequences for training organization and training of driving trainers.