Competition among students has been found to support motivation, learning, and knowledge if interrelated with collaboration. In this chapter, it is argued that the development of constructive competition is closely related to competitive intentions and material resources. Drawing on activity theory, learning is understood as materially mediated activity in a collective cultural setting and involving transformation of novel concepts and objects. The presented findings in this chapter are based on a field study, where students and teachers participate in activities of vocational learning and preparing for apprenticeship. The findings show that the students' competitive intentions for achieving recognition of their cooking skills mediate engagement and vocational learning for students at risk of dropping out. Findings further suggest that the students' participation in and conceptualization of vocational activities are materially mediated through competitive actions and deployed artifacts like "timing" and use of food ingredients. A central conclusion presented in the chapter is that it is important to take into account the particular competitive intentions and the related mediating artifacts of constructive competition, through which student engagement and learning is developed. © 2015 by IGI Global. All rights reserved.
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