Implementing the European quality assurance in vocational education and training (EQAVET) at national level: Some insights from the PEN Leonardo project

EQAVET, the quality assurance tool in vocational and educational training, was developed in response to the need for a supply of a trained workforce for labour market needs. Implementation of EQAVET at national level, however, remains a challenge. The research reported here focused on the implementation of QA processes by VET providers in 4 countries: Malta, Italy, Turkey, and Sweden. Data was collected through a questionnaire with 62 VET providers. Responses showed that there is an overall commitment to quality. There is, however, little knowledge of EQAVET across the countries, with the exception of Malta. None the less, all VET providers have implemented some aspects of EQAVET, even if not always intentionally. The situation is, however, far from EQAVET being fully implemented. Reflections are made on whether the EQAVET model specifically or qualification assurance principles assurances should be promoted across Europe. (DIPF/Orig.)

Pilz, Matthias / Berger, Susanne / Canning, Roy (Hrsg.): Fit for business, Pre vocational education in European Schools. Heidelberg: Springer 2012 [Rezension]

Rezension von: Pilz, Matthias / Berger, Susanne / Canning, Roy (Hrsg.): Fit for business, Pre vocational education in European Schools, Heidelberg: Springer 2012 (211 S.; ISBN 978-3-531-18383-1)

Teaching boys in neoliberal and postfeminist times: Feminization and the question of re-masculinization in the education system and policy field

This paper focuses on teaching boys, male teachers and the question of gendered pedagogies in neoliberal and postfeminist times of the proliferation of new forms of capitalism, multi-mediated technologies and the influence of globalization. It illustrates how a politics of re-masculinization and its reconstitution needs to be understood as set against changing economic and social conditions in which gender equity comes to be re-focused on boys as the ‚new disadvantaged‘. This re-framing of gender equity, it is argued, has been fuelled by both a media-inspired backlash discourse about ‚failing boys‘ and a neo-positivist emphasis on numbers derived primarily from standardized testing regimes at both global and national levels. A media-focused analysis of the proliferation of discourses about ‚failing boys‘ vis-a-vis the problem of encroaching feminization in the school system is provided to illuminate how certain truths about the influence of male teachers come to define how the terms of ensuring gender equity are delimited and reduced to a question of gendered pedagogies as grounded in sexed bodies. Historical accounts of the feminization of teaching in the North American context are also provided as a basis for building a more informed understanding of the present, particularly as it relates to the contextualization of policy articulation and enactment regarding the problem of teaching boys. In light of such historically informed and critical media analysis, it is argued that what is needed is a more informed, evidenced based policy articulation of the problem of teaching boys and a more gender sensitive reflection on the politics of masculinities in postfeminist times. (DIPF/Orig.)

PISA Tests and their Impact on Georgian Education System

The article discusses the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) tests and their impact on the Georgian Education System. It analyzes the deplorable results of Georgian 15-yearolds in PISA 2009 and investigates the reasons based on different reports. The article also discusses the reasons for the temporary suspension of the project on the Georgian side. Since certain participatory countries are dissatisfied with the attitudes of this program, the article also refers to the criticism of PISA. The conclusion is that PISA and other international tests contain considerably important information. If these data with a diagnostic feature are used for working out the education policy in an appropriate way, they can become the key instrument for obtaining favourable results in reforming the Education System. Therefore, PISA appears to be essential for Georgia too, as such assessment gives an opportunity to concentrate on the national core curriculum and content analysis. In order to estimate all the strengths and weaknesses of the Education System, it is quite reasonable to conduct such surveys in every country. The article concludes with recommendations for PISA 2015 as to how to use the reports for further progress.

Student voice in 'skills for sustainability': a missing component from the demand side of Australian vocational education and training

The implementation of the Green Skills Agreement ratified by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in 2010 provides the national policy context for this analysis of skills for sustainability. Data from three different but complementary studies provide powerful insight into the attitudes and perceptions of young people who are studying, or are recent graduates of, Australian Vocational Education and Training (VET) programs. We argue that the voices of the young people who participate as students are largely absent from analysis and policy-making, despite policy rhetoric about a demand driven Australian tertiary education sector responsive to consumer (student) interest and need. The combination of these three studies contributes to an improved understanding of what these young adults think and are learning with regard to skills for sustainability in their VET courses and in their workplaces. Most notably, these VET students reported that increasingly changes around skills for sustainability are being implemented into both their work roles and their courses of study.

School collaborations within the contemporary English education system: possibilities and constraints

This paper’s focus is on an alliance of schools in England that came together as part of the National Teaching Schools initiative. Drawing on interviews from Head Teachers within the alliance, the paper explores issues of school collaboration from a premise that such collaboration is paramount to school improvement within the current climate of increased school autonomy and increasingly rigid accountabilities. The Head Teachers highlight key factors that supported effective school-to-school collaborations associated with sharing their expertise and fostering active and cooperative connections. They also, however, highlight factors that undermined genuine collaboration associated with a prioritising of the performative demands and economic imperatives of the audit culture. The impact of this prioritising should, it is argued, be considered in any analysis of school collectives within the current English education system – particularly given their proliferation and the responsibility placed on them in terms of school improvement.

Internationalization in vocational education and training: transnational perspectives

This edited book addresses a range of aspects of internationalization in vocational education and training (VET) in different countries. It considers the impact of internationalization and student mobility on VET at the sectoral, institutional and individual levels as the sector emerges as a key tool for social and structural change in developing nations and as a flexible and entrepreneurial means of growth in developed nations. The book explores not only the effects of the neo-liberal market principle underpinning VET practices and reforms, but importantly considers internationalization as a powerful force for change in vocational education and training. As the first volume in the world that examines internationalization practices in VET, the book provides VET and international education policymakers, practitioners, researchers and educators with both conceptual knowledge and practical insights into the implementation of internationalization in VET.

Qualifikationsnachfrage und Arbeitsmarkteintritt in der Schweiz: Arbeit im erlernten Beruf, Berufswechsel oder Arbeitslosigkeit

Berufsorientierte Bildungssysteme sind auf die Vermittlung von spezialisierten beruflichen Qualifikationen ausgelegt. Werden diese nach Abschluss einer beruflichen Grundbildung auf dem Arbeitsmarkt wenig nachgefragt, riskieren die Absolventen, die erworbenen berufsspezifischen Qualifikationen nicht verwerten zu können. Dies trifft nicht nur zu, wenn Arbeitsmarkteinsteiger arbeitslos werden, sondern auch, wenn sie den Beruf wechseln müssen. Für die drei verschiedenen Optionen des Arbeitsmarkteinstiegs – Arbeit im erlernten Beruf, Berufswechsel und Arbeitslosigkeit – wird erstens untersucht, welche Bedeutung das individuell passende und das fachfremde Stellenangebot hat. Zweitens wird analysiert, wie eine unterschiedlich ausgeprägte Nachfrage nach fachspezifischen Qualifikationen die Bedeutung ausbildungsbezogener und individueller Merkmale für den Berufseinstieg verändert. Die Schweiz mit ihrem berufsorientierten Bildungssystem und berufsfachlich segmentieren Arbeitsmarkt dient als empirische Referenz. Die multinominalen logistischen Regressionsmodelle basieren auf den Daten des Schweizer Jugendpanels PISA2000/TREE. Die Individualdaten von Lehrabgänger werden auf Berufsebene, zeitpunkt- und regionsspezifisch mit dem individuell passenden und fachfremden Stellenangebot verknüpft, das auf den Stelleninseratendaten des Stellenmarktmonitors Schweiz (SMM) beruht. Dank dieser Verknüpfung von Angebot und Nachfrage nach beruflichen Qualifikationen auf der Mikroebene kann zum ersten Mal die grundlegende Bedeutung der Personalnachfrage für den Berufseinstieg nachgewiesen werden.

Die politische Ökonomie der Berufsbildung in Großbritannien und in Deutschland

Der Beitrag wägt die Vor- und Nachteile des dualen Berufsbildungswesens in Deutschland gegen die sehr viel weniger geregelte Ausbildung in Großbritannien ab. Es werden die Interessen dargelegt, die Arbeitgeber daran hindern bzw. ermutigen; eine betriebsspezifische oder aber eine allgemein anwendbare Aus- oder Fortbildung anzubieten. Verglichen werden Muster einer Interventionspolitik und wirtschaftlicher Regulierung mit denen eines Prinzips des freien Marktes, beides in parlamentarischen Systemen. Der Vergleich der britischen und der deutschen Entwicklung zeigt die unterschiedlichen Voraussetzungen beider Gesellschaften, die auch einer Übertragung des dualen Berufsbildungssystems entgegenstehen. (DIPF/Orig.)

Allgemeinbildung und Berufsbildung. Zwei konkurrierende Konzepte der Systembildung in der deutschen Bildungsgeschichte und ihre aktuelle Krise

Berufliche und allgemeine Bildung sind keine curricularen, sondern systemische Gegensätze. Die deutsche Bildungsgeschichte hat sich über zwei soziologisch völlig unterschiedliche, daher auch weder integrier- noch aufeinander reduzierbare Zentren der Systemfindung abgespielt. Reformambitionen, die das nicht zur Kenntnis nehmen, scheitern an den historisch entstandenen Formen, durch die sie selbst möglich geworden sind. (DIPF/Orig.)

Durchlässigkeit als mehrdimensionale Aufgabe. Bedingungen für flexible Bildungsübergänge

Ein institutionell durchlässiges Bildungssystem ist … eine grundlegende Voraussetzung für die Ermöglichung flexibler Bildungsbiographien und damit auch die Verwirklichung von gleichen Bildungschancen. Aber wie kann institutionelle Durchlässigkeit zwischen beruflicher und akademischer Bildung in Deutschland gefördert werden? Und wie kann dafür Sorge getragen werden, dass trotz einer Flexibilisierung die jeweilige Kernlogik von beruflicher und akademischer Bildung aufrecht erhalten wird, die von vielen Akteuren in ihrer Komplementarität als Träger eines erfolgreichen Bildungssystems gesehen werden? In dieser Expertise werden … die Teildimensionen institutioneller Durchlässigkeit genauer betrachtet: (I.) Zugang in Bildungsbereiche, (II.) Anrechnung von Erlerntem, (III.) organisationale Verbindung von Bildungsbereichen und (IV.) Umgang mit heterogenen Bedürfnissen (Abschnitt 2). Im nächsten Schritt wird ein Überblick über wichtige Initiativen und Regelungen zu Durchlässigkeit in Deutschland gegeben (Abschnitt 3). Es folgt eine kurze Vorstellung des methodischen Vorgehens und Begründung der Fallauswahl (Sektion 4.1). Darauf aufbauend werden drei (über-)regionale Initiativen, in denen Durchlässigkeit zwischen Berufs- und Hochschulbildung innovativ gefördert wird, genauer vorgestellt und analysiert. Dabei handelt es sich um die "Offene Hochschule Niedersachsen", die Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg und den Modellversuch "Duale Berufsausbildung mit Abitur in Sachsen" (DuBAS) (Abschnitt 4). Übergeordnetes Ziel ist es, anhand des Überblicks über durchlässigkeitsfördernde Programme, aber insbesondere auch durch die vertiefende Darstellung der regionalen Fallstudien, mögliche Bedingungen für erfolgreiche Durchlässigkeitsstrukturen zwischen Berufs- und Hochschulbildung, aber auch Barrieren zu identifizieren und daraus relevante Schlussfolgerungen abzuleiten (Abschnitt 5). (DIPF/Orig.)

Training patterns of German companies in India, China, Japan and the USA: What really works?

The transfer of vocational education and training (VET) systems is currently the subject of lively international debate, but there has so far been very little documentation of the process or analysis of how such transfers are achieved in practical terms. This paper therefore considers the potential for transferring Germany’s ‘dual’ vocational training system to German subsidiaries abroad, specifically in China, India, Japan and the USA. Using the EPRG typology as a theoretical framework, the paper systematises the range of training strategies deployed by German subsidiaries. It analyses the findings of interviews with training officers and Directors of Human Resources in more than 40 German subsidiaries abroad. These interviews show clearly that local factors in the host country exert such a strong influence that it is not possible completely to transfer the German VET system to another country. What is more likely is that an accommodation is reached with local VET structures, local labour market conditions and other socio-cultural features. The findings suggest that policy borrowing in the area of VET is likely to be only partial and will be strongly influenced by the national characteristics of the host country. (DIPF/Orig.)

Three phase system for statewide evaluation of occupational education programs : team leader handbook.

Cover title.

Evaluation of an Australian solar community : implications for education and training

1.1 Background What is renewable energy education and training? A cursory exploration of the International Solar Energy Society website (www.ises.org) reveals numerous references to education and training, referring collectively to concepts of the transfer and exchange of information and good practices, awareness raising and skills development. The purposes of such education and training relate to changing policy, stimulating industry, improving quality control and promoting the wider use of renewable energy sources. The primary objective appears to be to accelerate a transition to a better world for everyone (ISEE), as the greater use of renewable energy is seen as key to climate recovery; world poverty alleviation; advances in energy security, access and equality; improved human and environmental health; and a stabilized society. The Solar Cities project – Habitats of Tomorrow – aims at promoting the greater use of renewable energy within the context of long term planning for sustainable urban development. The focus is on cities or communities as complete systems; each one a unique laboratory allowing for the study of urban sustainability within the context of a low carbon lifestyle. The purpose of this paper is to report on an evaluation of a Solar Community in Australia, focusing specifically on the implications (i) for our understandings and practices in renewable energy education and training and (ii) for sustainability outcomes. 1.2 Methodology The physical context is a residential Ecovillage (a Solar Community) in sub-tropical Queensland, Australia (latitude 28o south). An extensive Architectural and Landscape Code (A&LC) ‘premised on the interconnectedness of all things’ and embracing ‘both local and global concerns’ governs the design and construction of housing in the estate: all houses are constructed off-ground (i.e. on stumps or stilts) and incorporate a hybrid approach to the building envelope (mixed use of thermal mass and light-weight materials). Passive solar design, gas boosted solar water heaters and a minimum 1kWp photovoltaic system (grid connected) are all mandatory, whilst high energy use appliances such as air conditioners and clothes driers are not permitted. Eight families participated in an extended case study that encompassed both quantitative and qualitative approaches to better understand sustainable housing (perceived as a single complex technology) through its phases of design, construction and occupation. 1.3 Results The results revealed that the level of sustainability (i.e. the performance outcomes in terms of a low-carbon lifestyle) was impacted on by numerous ‘players’ in the supply chain, such as architects, engineers and subcontractors, the housing market, the developer, product manufacturers / suppliers / installers and regulators. Three key factors were complicit in the level of success: (i) systems thinking; (ii) informed decision making; and (iii) environmental ethics and business practices. 1.4 Discussion The experiences of these families bring into question our understandings and practices with regard to education and training. Whilst increasing and transferring knowledge and skills is essential, the results appear to indicate that there is a strong need for expanding our education efforts to incorporate foundational skills in complex systems and decision making processes, combined with an understanding of how our individual and collective values and beliefs impact on these systems and processes.