Published:Journal of Vocational Education and Training
(2008)
Vocational and technical education (VTE) has traditionally been stigmatised in Arab societies owing to the lowly image of manual work and the perception of VTE as a last resort for weak school students. This paper focuses on the transition to upper secondary VTE from the regular Lebanese school syst…
Published:Journal of Vocational Education and Training
(2007)
This contribution follows the descriptive review of Weigel, Mulder and Collins regarding the use of the competence concept in the development of vocational education and training in England, France, Germany and the Netherlands. The purpose of this contribution is to review the critical analyses brou…
Published:Journal of Vocational Education and Training
(2007)
Discussion of communities of practice in workplace learning is widespread. Here the authors seek to consider how we can make use of communities of practice theory in practical teaching in a formal undergraduate educational context. The concept of what the authors call the double shift is discussed; …
Published:Journal of Vocational Education and Training
(2007)
Using previously unanalysed data from a lost study—the Adjustment of Young Workers to Work Situations and Adult Roles (1962–1964)—and data from a subsequent restudy, this paper contributes to debates on vocational education by examining three themes. First, the methodological issues raised by undert…
Published:Journal of Vocational Education and Training
(2007)
This paper examines the changing use of policy levers in the English postcompulsory education and training system, often referred to as the learning and skills sector (LSS). Policy steering by governments has increased significantly in recent years, bringing with it the development of new forms of a…
Published:Journal of Vocational Education and Training
(2007)
Clustering theory assumes that companies gravitate towards each other on the basis of locally and regionally specific resources and supply chain characteristics, which lead in turn to innovation and high-value economic development. In line with such thinking, UK government policy has devolved certai…
Published:Journal of Vocational Education and Training
(2007)
This paper revisits the crucial period following the Arab oil boycott of 1973, when the welfare state in the UK finally collapsed along with the heavy industrial base upon which it rested. Unlike the post-war welfare-state ‘settlement’, the new post-welfare market state was imposed by Margaret Thatc…
Published:Journal of Vocational Education and Training
(2007)
This article seeks to add to current policy and debate on apprenticeships and youth transitions more widely by reflecting back upon the historical experience of the apprenticeship model. The research comprises in-depth interviews with 30 people who undertook apprenticeships in a range of trades in G…
Published:Journal of Vocational Education and Training
(2007)
This article surveys three strands of development in the further education of young people in England since the Second World War: its institutional evolution, some aspects of the experience of its students and staff, and the political and economic imperatives that have given it shape and direction. …
Published:Journal of Vocational Education and Training
(2007)
Recent research has shown that the UK's Advanced Apprenticeship Programme (AAP) struggles to develop the forms of ‘vocational practice’, that is, a combination of knowledge, skill and judgement, employers are looking for in the creative and cultural sector. Employers' reluctance to get involved with…
Published:Journal of Vocational Education and Training
(2007)
This paper sets the scene for a collection of papers based on The impact of policy on learning and inclusion in the learning and skills sector, a research project funded from January 2004 until July 2007 by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as part of their Teaching and Learning Res…
Published:Journal of Vocational Education and Training
(2007)
This paper explores the impact of change on tutors and managers in 24 learning sites in England, in vocational courses at Level 1 or Level 2 1 in further education (FE) colleges and in basic skills provision in adult community education and workplaces. We discuss the views of these participants in t…
Published:Journal of Vocational Education and Training
(2007)
In this paper we argue that learning in the workplace can bring considerable benefits for learners and employers. It draws on data from in-depth interviews and secondary sources from eight sites of work-based learning as part of wider research into the effects of five national policy mechanisms with…
Published:Journal of Vocational Education and Training
(2006)
This article examines the causes and consequences of the increasing control of English education and training (E&T) by central government and its agencies. It poses three questions—what are the reasons for national government becoming the dominant player in this area of policy, why is the English sy…
Published:Journal of Vocational Education and Training
(2006)
Strong education and training systems are viewed as a route to increased labour market participation for groups that have traditionally been excluded from, or marginalised in, the labour market. Engagement in the labour force for such groups has both individual and societal benefits. However, while …
Published:Journal of Vocational Education and Training
(2006)
The authors consider two quality-related aspects of large employers’ apprenticeship programmes. The first is their contribution to national educational objectives, including the creation and strengthening of ladders of vocational attainment. Such ladders already exist in apprenticeship’s traditional…
Published:Journal of Vocational Education and Training
(2006)
This paper explores the challenges of partnership through an examination of a high school apprenticeship program in carpentry in Ontario, Canada. Focusing on the relationships between schools, trainers, employers and government, challenges relate to the ability to coordinate the program across insti…
Published:Journal of Vocational Education and Training
(2006)
Studies of learning transfer within the paradigm of cognitive psychology suggest that transfer of learning from one task to another occurs rarely. Within a situated learning paradigm the idea of learning transfer can become even more problematic. Courses of initial teacher education comprise school-…
Published:Journal of Vocational Education and Training
(2006)
Provision of Further Education (FE) colleges is becoming more important to the nation’s education strategy. Much of this provision is in National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ); in 2003/04 almost half a million of these qualifications were awarded. However, in contrast to the situation in Higher Ed…
Published:Journal of Vocational Education and Training
(2006)
In the United Kingdom there has been a considerable increase in the academic recognition of workplace learning, and a number of new awards drawing on workplace learning have been introduced. These include apprenticeships and Advanced Apprenticeships, both of which contain National Vocational Qualifi…
