Studies in Vocational and Continuing Education – serie

Against the background of increasing qualification needs there is a growing awareness of the challenge to widen participation in processes of skill formation and competence development. At the same time, the issue of permeability between vocational education and training (VET) and general education has turned out as a major focus of European education and training policies and certainly is a crucial principle underlying the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). In this context, «hybrid qualifications» (HQ) may be seen as an interesting approach to tackle these challenges as they serve «two masters», i.e. by producing skills for the labour market and enabling individuals to progress more or less directly to higher education. The specific focus of this book is placed on conditions, structures and processes which help to combine VET with qualifications leading into higher education. This volume assembles articles by researchers from Switzerland, the Netherlands, France, Australia, Canada, Scotland, England, Denmark, Austria and Germany.

In this collected edition, globalization and its consequences on vocational education systems are described and, at the same time, combined with the question of whether new phenomena of inclusion but also of exclusion are produced. Inclusion and exclusion are differentiations that predominate in all kinds of (vocational education) systems, regardless of their national background. These terms base on the requirements of the system itself but also on shortages, particularly when supply and demand are dehiscing. Vocational education developed out of the requirement to integrate large parts of society into a broader or more extended education and, consequently, into an economic and social process. Besides the so-called «social question», gender-, status- and generation-specific characteristics and also the participation in higher education are under discussion. Depending on each country – this volume features contributions of Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Denmark, France, Finland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the USA – this debate generates a different development which is described by the authors in their different research areas. Collectively, a multifaceted overall picture arises which illustrates the importance of inclusion and exclusion.

In the context of renewed global interest in the development of vocational skills, policy makers in many countries as well as representatives of technical organisations often hope to reform existing training systems by borrowing models and policies that seem to work elsewhere. One of these prominent models is that of ‘National Qualifications Framework’, the use of which now spans the entire globe. On a much smaller scale, the ‘Dual Model’ of vocational training – a systematic combination of school and workplace-based learning that is common in a number of countries in Western Europe – has also gained attention in international cooperation.Bringing together contributions from authors involved in both the theory and practice of vocational skills training development, this volume analyses the challenges that are tied to the transfer of these two dominant models in the context of international cooperation, sheds light on how they are being implemented, and discusses alternatives to the standard approaches to policy transfer.

Education and work are moving towards an open, but uncertain future. Research on vocational and continuing education constantly needs to reassure the conditions of educational systems, current concepts of VET and work, educational policies, and its own assumptions in ascertaining theory of VET. In this context, modernisation is a significant paradigm. It refers to new ideological, socio-economic, structural and institutional qualities.This volume analyses interdependencies and complexities of research, politics and practice of vocational, further and continuing education. With contributions from European VET researchers it assembles critical reflective, empirical, cross-cultural and historical perspectives. The volume discusses the dynamic changes of work and education both in regional and global labour markets. Central issues are transformations of vocational education and work, the impacts of gender, ethnicity, culture and globalization as well as the anticipation of possible futures of vocational education and work.

Understanding today’s Vocational Education and Training (VET) systems requires a comprehension of the rise and development, i.e. of the foundations of topical VET. This book provides a comparative view of its development in Europe. The contributions of renowned authors give insight into conceptual questions, cases and challenges in this field.

Internationalisation have recently featured in discussions and initiatives related to various fields of higher education. Educational leaders, institutions and national policy-makers, but also international actors, such as the European Union and UNESCO, have promoted the internationalisation of higher education. Increasing emphasis on internationalisation has diversified also teaching and learning contexts in higher education and has given rise to a growing need for searching appropriate cross-cultural pedagogical approaches. However, internationalisation in the context of higher education is a multifaceted concept and involves more than just one international dimension in institutional or pedagogical activities. These recent developmental features are examined in the book with the conceptual lense of emerging pattern of internationalisation.

Vocational education and training has played an important role in the struggles between Work and Capital along history and today; there are examples of such tensions worldwide. The first section of this book provides illustrations of different countries from the 18th to the early 20th century. The authors explain and exemplify the education of the workforce and its political engagement, contributing to the formation of the working class. The chapters provide relevant approaches to how young apprentices and adult workers developed a class consciousness through vocational education. The second section illustrates practices of resistance and transformation within policies and practices of vocational education nowadays in Central and Southern Europe and South America, addressing the needs of people with disabilities and dispossessed populations. The final section analyses how theories and policies intertwine resulting in the idiosyncrasy of vocational education practices across the world, through tensions between logics and institutional actors. The book addresses the political dimensions of Vocational Education and problematizes its mere consideration as an instrumental tool in skill formation.

The book captures the development and variety of vocational training institutions in Australia, Ireland and the United Kingdom since World War II from a comparative perspective. While all three countries have undertaken several attempts to reform training from classical craft apprenticeships towards modern dual apprenticeships, their reform processes have yielded divergent results: In the United Kingdom training became largely organized around a publicly financed "training market" with little influence for employers and unions in training politics. Conversely, the social partners were included in reform processes and the provision of training in Ireland and Australia, which enabled the development of dual apprenticeships. These differences, which have been largely neglected in political science and education studies alike, are explained by the interaction between partisan governments and organized interests. Only non-right governments managed to bring together employers and unions in training reforms, which was the main political prerequisite for the development of dual apprenticeships.

Vocational education has been opened up and extends to various directions: Higher education tends to take on vocational education models. Vice versa, vocational education development partially follows the structures of higher education. In addition, informal learning and recognition of competences widen the perspectives on vocational education. This book highlights a variety of developments and analyses from countries like Australia, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, South Africa, India, Ukraine and the United States, but also from a more global perspective. It reveals that regardless of national pathways a new shape of vocational education and educational provision with a specific focus on vocations, workplace and learning is emerging.

Global trends, such as an ever-rising service economy, rapid technological change and digitalization, challenge skill formation systems. Focussing on European countries, this edited volume examines the variety of European VET governance and VET governance research. In particular, it provides insights into regional, local and decentralized governance at meso (e.g. professional associations) as well as micro level (e.g. learning arrangements). As such, the edited volume sheds light on the hitherto far less explored dimensions of VET governance and highlights challenges as well as opportunities in VET governance in the 21st century."Der Band liefert insgesamt wichtige Erkenntnisse, die in vielfacher Hinsicht weiterführende Forschungsvorhaben anregen können. Er ist vor allem jenen Leser:innen sehr zu empfehlen, die an einer Vertiefung berufsbildungspolitischer Betrachtungen interessiert sind." (Philipp Assinger: Rezension von: Bürgi, Regula / Gonon, Philipp (Hg.): Governance Revisited, Challenges and Opportunities for Vocational Education and Training. Bern, Berlin u.a.: Peter Lang 2022. In: EWR 23 (2024), Nr. 1 (Veröffentlicht am 01.02.2024), URL: http://www.klinkhardt.de/ewr/978303434287.html)

Vocational education, apprenticeship included, is subject to reviews and updates that the recent crises are demanding. The role of education and training systems in different welfare regimes is key in shaping what it involves becoming an adult, a worker and a citizen. Nevertheless, policy-makers often indicate dual systems as the most successful, efficient and intelligent way to provide vocational education. This volume contributes with research that discusses the appropriateness of dual systems in Germany and Switzerland and shows some of its current weaknesses. It also portrays effective and non-effective ways of introducing apprenticeships in non-dual systems in Sweden and Spain. The authors want to contribute to the debate on the internationalization of VET and particularly of dual systems, to clarify differences between apprenticeship and alternance (too often taken as synonymous). Particularly relevant is the seldom-cited case of France.

There is a strong relation between work and education in modern societies. On the one hand education is needed as a basic qualification for work and contributes fundamentally to the integration of individuals into the labour market and society. On the other hand the potential of learning in the working process is highlighted, for instance in the recent debates about informal learning or employability. This volume contains papers delivered at the conference «Work, Education and Employability» which took place in Ascona in December 2006. The contributions offer different perspectives on the theoretical and historical impacts of the relation between work and education. They also provide analyses of recent developments in the field.