Search Results for
"education"

This paper outlines the emergence of the competence movement in British education and training, and summarises some salient perspectives from the growing body of research. In this general context it introduces the six papers brought together in this issue. These draw on current work in progress and explore a variety of facets of the competence movement drawing on sociological, historical and comparative European perspectives. In the course of the discussion it is suggested that more work is needed on two fronts particularly: detailed scrutiny of the social context in which the competence movement has emerged and the development of broader frameworks of research for the analysis of ‘impact’ issues. © 1995, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

Discusses the development of a pilot Modern Apprenticeship initiative by Wakefield College, the Chemical Industry and the local Training Enterprise Council. Highlights the potential of the new initiative and explores the issues involved in ensuring effective partnership to commence a pilot scheme. Concludes that Modern Apprenticeships are a significant development in vocational education and training policy but that problems of funding and recognition remain to be fully addressed. © 1995, MCB UP Limited

This paper examines ways in which interrelationships between knowledge and skills can lead to important links between education and training to the considerable benefit of each. In particular it reviews the variety of ways in which the acquisition of knowledge (in the widest sense of the term) can contribute to the development of competences and conversely the variety of ways in which the development of a broad range of skills (including competences) can contribute to the acquisition of knowledge. © 1995, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

The German vocational education system, especially its dual system of apprenticeship training, id often praised for providing vocational skills geared to current practices in specific occupations. Yet only about half of all Germans currently have jobs that match their vocational education. This paper uses data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, a nationally representative household panel study, to examine a variety of individual and structural level variables hypothesized to influence the likelihood of an individual being employed in a position that fits his or her vocational training. It also indentifies factors that influence the probability that an individual moves from a job that does not fit his or her training to a position that does. Finally, the paper examines earnings differences between persons with varying types of vocational education and considers if these differences depend on whether or not an individual is employed in a job that fits. © 1995 Oxford University Press.

This paper outlines some of the issues emerging from research in to competence based training and assessment, and National Vocational Qualifications. A model for analysing the key purposes of formal assessment systems is suggested and a conceptual framework is presented which uses the notions of use and exchange value for gauging the worth of qualifications. The author presents material collected during a study of the training and assessment of student air traffic controllers to illustrate how contextual features, particularly at the occupational level, can affect the purpose and design of a qualification as well as the value attached to it by recipients and employers. It is suggested that elements such as: 'purpose', 'perceived value''qualification design' and 'context' provide a conceptual framework within which further understanding of the role of qualifications can be achieved. The longer term aspiration of the analysis begun in this paper is the development of a contextsensitive theory of occupational qualifications. © 1995, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

Ghana has been a leader in African education, but economic problems in the 1970s and 1980s led to declining attendance and low teacher morale. In response to a Structural Adjustment Program, in 1986 junior secondary (JSS) was substituted for middle schooling and more emphasis was put on vocationalism in these schools. This paper examines the perception of these changes by adults in a rapidly growing suburb of the capital. What do they expect and what are they getting from academic and vocational education? What have they achieved through the education they received, and to what extent is educational advantage passed on to one's children? Disillusionment is still widespread, but expectations and/or lack of alternatives mean that considerable resources are still invested in educating their children. © 1995.

The purpose of this study is to examine migration patterns of labor force by vocational education in traditional industry regions. Although previous studies of traditional industry mainly discussed innovation, many traditional industries continue to apply traditional techniques for production. The author makes temporal-spatial analyses of the apprenticeship and migration patterns of skilled artisans in the Wajima shikki industry. The analyses lead to the following results. Apprenticeship in the Wajima shikki industry has been changed qualitatively by the increase of production, during which people from outside central Wajima entered the shikki industry. Therefore, the main function of apprenticeship shifted from “inheritance” of skill to “spread”. Three migration patterns of artisans are extracted by the analysis of lifepaths. First, “stay” pattern includes inheritors who were born in central Wajima. The pattern reflects the basic function of apprenticeship before the growth of production. It preserves a spatial agglomeration of shikki firms in central Wajima. Second and third patterns include the artisans who were newcomers to the shikki industry, brought up with no connection to the industry. Among them, the artisans who were born outside central Wajima belong to the second pattern. It shows a “centripetal-centrifugal” pattern. Artisans who were born in central Wajima demonstrate the third “centrifugal” pattern. The two patterns contribute to the expansion of shikki firms' distribution. © 1995, The Association of Japanese Geographers. All rights reserved.

This article examines the difficulties of extending literacy training, adult education and vocational training to out-of-work youth within the context of Malawi. The central argument of this paper is that unless the mass of illiterate and semi-literate youths are given practical skills to enable them to earn a livelihood, their employment and earning prospects are bleak. Without gainful employment these out-of-school youths will be unable to escape the poverty trap. An apprenticeship scheme, linked to the functional literacy programme is advocated as a means for skills training. Under the scheme a learner would be attached to an experienced artisan or craftsman to learn a trade or craft by direct observation and practice. -Author

First, provides a background which considers the nature of apprenticeship and shows how it is different from schooling. Then discusses the necessary and vital ground work that should be done before a candidate is admitted to apprenticeship. The article describes the various stages in the apprentice's training, their rationale and their implications. Finally, the implications of this indigenous approach to manpower development for schooling and out-of-school educational programmes are considered. -from Author

We are witnessing the most significantchanges in the nature of the relationship between nursing education and higher education. However, there has yet to be a more philosophical explanation of what it would mean for our aims and practices as nurse educators if we were to take seriously the notion of nursing education within the context of higher education. This paper analyses the role of the university and raises the questions: What should higher education mean today? What should higher education mean for nursing? In response to the former question it is suggested there cannot be a total distinction between the concept 'higher education' and the socio-political context. Higher education has to be realized in particular historical societies and there is likely to be much controversy over how this should be done. In response to the latter question it is suggested that to warrant the title nursing 'higher education' the process should promise a freeing of the mind but also beyond, to bring about a new level of self-empowerment in the individual student. In essence, it should contain an emancipatory element. It is the articulation of normative aspirations such as these, that is so strikingly absent from so much of the debate relating to nursing education merging with higher education. Nursing education must not however fall victim to 'academic drift' which has often been regarded as a distinctive and persistent feature of higher education. It might be proposed that student nurses who move from an educational to a practice setting are subjected to 'a competing paradigm of occupational vocationalism'. Criticisms such as these have led to a reconceptualization of the theory-practice dichotomy and partnership in training and education between the 'trainers' and practising professionals. What is needed is a new model of nursing education. A model which is an amalgam of both the liberal and vocational educational traditions. Implementations of such a model would demand that the curriculum is organised around problem-based learning. This means adopting a curriculum in which 'knowing how' and 'knowing that' forms of knowledge are equally emphasized. Simultaneously, student' and practitiones' contextual knowledge would be advanced by collaborative research between educationalists and practitiones. The implication is for nursing education to be based more in the reality of practice. © 1995 Pearson Professional Ltd.