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"education"

The theoretical foundations of competency-based education are described. Among these are definitions of learning in terms of the situations one can function in rather than the accumulation of knowledge or skills, and of professional growth as a succession of stages from novice to expert. Competence is the midpoint on this continuum where individuals are capable of practicing independently and of assuming responsibility for their continued professional growth. Dental education has functioned well at the early stages of this process, but the assumption that "more of the same" will complete the process is questioned. Also considered are the implications of competency in the political context of dentistry, in curriculum design, and for evaluation. © Munksgaard, 1998.

A growing research enterprise surrounds the implementation of General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs). It encompasses a diverse array of researchers and consultants from different organisations who work to different agendas and imperatives. Between 1992 and 1997, the National Council for Vocational Qualifications developed a large research and support programme for GNVQs and this has become closely linked to projects carried out by other government bodies. This programme has now moved into the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA). The official research programme dominates political and research agendas for GNVQs. It also inhibits radical and critical thinking about developments in the vocational curriculum. The paper uses Lakatos's criteria to evaluate the research programmes which have evolved around GNVQ developments. It argues that researchers in higher education face two particular problems in deciding how their own research contributes to debate and policy in the vocational curriculum. The paper proposes that there is a need to identify discernible research programmes and to evaluate their effectiveness:Lakatos's criteria may provide a basis for this. © 1998 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

This article suggests that the experiences of implementing General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs) have offered a number of insights into the limitations of the criterion-referenced assessment practices of GNVQs, modelled as they are upon the unit, elements and performance criteria structure of NVQs. As GNVQs evolve and, it would appear, move away from this NVQ ‘template’ on which they were designed, an opportunity has arisen for clarifying the purposes and scope of assessment practices in vocational courses such as GNVQ. This article attempts to (re)establish some broad principles of assessment in relation to GNVQs and to locate these principles in the day-to-day practices of lecturers. The article has arisen from ongoing research into the way lecturers in Further education are coping with the changes brought about by GNVQs in Health and Social Care and, as such, owes much to the insights offered by practitioners and to their explanations of their own assessment practices. © 1998 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Objective: Occupational skin changes in hairdressers are very common. Morbidity, however, has not yet been quantified precisely. Methods: A cohort of 2352 hairdressing apprentices (of the 2570 invited to participate, i.e., 91.5% response) was prospectively followed for the duration of their vocational training (3 years) by three examinations. Three waves (years) were recruited in 1992, 1993, and 1994 from 15 vocational training schools in northwestern Germany. Results: The point prevalence of (mostly slight) irritant skill changes of the hands increased from 35.4% in the initial examination to 47.5% in the intermediate examination and to 55.1% in the final examination. Given a more conservative definition of a case of 'hand dermatitis,' these estimates were 12.9%, 23.5%, and 23.9%, respectively. Altogether, 34.3 and 15.2 cases of 'skin changes (any degree)' and 'hand dermatitis,' respectively, in 100 person-years were observed during the study period. The incidence rate, i.e., the number of newly diseased study participants in relation to the person-time at risk contributed, decreased in the course of the study. The proportion of dropouts until final follow-up was 51.8%. Conclusion: The present results appear to lie in a range with those found in other, much smaller cohort studies. However, comparison of the results is hampered either by the lack of a clear definition or by a different definition of 'person-time at risk' or 'a case of hand dermatitis.' As compared with an external control group of office apprentices, the incidence was several times higher in hairdressing apprentices, which points to the high risk for skin damage in this occupation.

This article is a review of seminal and recent research on the effects of working during adolescence on vocational development. We examine the broad body of research on youth work, on how school or job-related training may affect the outcomes of interest, and whether job quality may affect the value of working during adolescence. We draw conclusions regarding the weight of evidence with particular focus on the implications for public and educational policy. © 1998 Academic Press.

Objective: To describe current patterns of employment, career intentions and factors that influence career choice in young graduates. Design: A cross-sectional postal survey. Subjects: Graduates from the years 1991 and 1994 were selected to provide cohorts before and after the introduction of mandatory vocational training. A total of 232 graduates were sent questionnaires and 183 replied (77%): 90 men (49%) and 93 women (51%). Setting: The cohorts all came from Scottish dental schools. When surveyed in 1996/1997, 66% were working in Scotland and 28% were in England. The rest were elsewhere in the UK or abroad. Measures: A questionnaire which had been piloted, applied to medical graduates and then adapted for dentists, was used. Results: The most common post held was that of Associate in General Dental Practice (61% of the sample) and the majority (85%) were working full-time. Only small numbers indicated that they wished to undertake a career in academia (6) or the hospital dental service (17). In choosing a career, males were more influenced by financial factors (P = 0.009) and women by the availability of part-time employment (P = 0.000). Conclusion: Despite the recent adverse publicity about general dental practice, most young dentists see their future in this sector of the profession. More worrying is the comparatively small number who wish to work within the hospital service or in academia. Results also indicate the need to develop schemes to retain women in the workforce.

The new vocationalist policies, exemplified by youth training schemes, do virtually nothing to foster economic development. Such moves are very different to the vocational training of apprenticeships. However, a simple return to apprenticeships is not appropriate. The future of training should be less specific and more general, thereby reflecting and promoting future demands: relearning, and flexibility. Industry and education should point to the errors of current government policy and seek this economically relevant training. © 1998, MCB UP Ltd.

All Inter/Intranet commercial and industrial applications need a stable and secure computer and network infrastructure. This infrastructure is typically a large, heterogeneous population of networked PC's that need to be managed by a specialist support group. Market analysis clearly indicates that these specialists need a portfolio of skills and knowledge not supplied by traditional accredited computer science courses. Although Edith Cowan University (ECU) was recently granted level 1 re-Accreditation of its Computer Science Degree by the Australian Computer Society it was clear that, on completion of their studies, their graduates could not design, install, maintain or manage a networked population of PC's to a professional standard with due regard to safety, both to themselves and the equipment. Further, it was noted that the current degree provides few options to study Health & Safety, Law and Technology, Finance or Human Resource Management - issues that a graduate must address in preparation for a professional career in computer and network management. Indications are that this is also the case within other universities in Australia and the UK. This paper proposes a new competency based curriculum, referenced to international practices and articulated to non-university educational programs, to meet market need This paper also presents results from the implementation of part of this curriculum. © 1998 ACM.

The World Bank argues that vocational education and training in developing countries is best left to individuals, enterprises and private sector training institutions with government interventions kept to a minimum. This article argues that this policy prescription is seriously flawed both conceptually and in relation to the current VET policies adopted by governments in the advanced industrial economies as well as the high performing Asian economies.

Many developing countries have relied on the varied forms of diversified secondary technical education as the main venue for training skilled workers and mid-level technicians. But there have been numerous and strong critics aginst this mode of technical education. As an alternative, the Mexican Government established the CONALEP system in the late 1970s. This study tests the viabilit of the system by evaluating CONALEP graduates' labor market performance in comparison with other forms of education. It also supplements the scant literature on the transition from technical education to work and on the use of technical skills. Through innovations - interalia, an autonomous national organization structure, decentralized operations, strong links to industry, use of industry-experienced instructors, termanal secondary program with modest cost recovery, and highly practical courses - CONALEP has forged an effective technical secondary education system aimed at the Mexican labor market with substantial spill-over effects. Although it is a Mexican program, the special features of the CONALEP system bear policy implications for other countries as well. With globalization and rapidly changing technology requirements of the Mexican economy, however, this alternative form of technical secondary education faces new challenges, notably adjustment of its curriculum to changing market circumstances and improvement of its external and internal efficiency.