Search Results for
"Vocational education"

This article focuses on pedagogical aspects of initial vocational training in the context of the Swiss VET system. Even though apprentices are usually the responsibility of one main supervisor within companies, a number of other colleagues, experts and fellow apprentices interact with them as they engage in productive tasks. In that context, the article examines how first-year apprentices are guided and supported by experienced workers in the workplace, and how this guidance and support are distributed collectively in work teams. Drawing on an ethnographic and discursive methodology borrowing concepts and tools from various trends in applied linguistics, the article analyses empirical material consisting of videotaped interactions between apprentices and workers recorded in productive conditions. Two case studies related to distinct workplaces are discussed. They illustrate contrasting conditions experienced by apprentices when joining the workplace and provide evidence for the configuring role of guidance and supervision in vocational learning. The findings suggest that particular attention should be given to the pedagogical quality of guidance in the workplace to improve the overall efficiency of the dual apprenticeship system and to foster smooth and consistent transitions into work experience for novice apprentices. © 2011 The vocational Aspect of education Ltd.

This article argues that once apprenticeship is conceptualised as a social model of learning, then it no longer follows that apprenticeship is an age- or phasespecific model of vocational formation. The article explores this claim through drawing on a case study of the design of a Foundation Degree (FD) in aircraft engineering, which was explicitly designed to support the formation of 'new entrants' and the reformation of 'career switchers' vocational practice. Using the concept of recontextualisation the article highlights how: (1) the company (KLM) and the college (Kingston) FDs designed the teaching and learning curriculum to facilitate the above goals; and (2) learners used the opportunities provided by these curricula to develop their vocational practice. The article concludes with a number of observations about the conceptual and policy implications of its analysis. © 2011 The vocational Aspect of education Ltd.

This article examines internships as part of the apprenticeship model of learning adopted in higher education. We focus on employers' views on internships, which have hitherto received only limited attention. Our study explores employers' experiences in organizing internships, and their collaboration with one University of Applied Sciences, through data from social and health care employers (n = 165), collected via a questionnaire. We conclude that if internships are to be improved as a means of learning from work experience, issues that employers want to raise within the collaborative framework require attention. These themes include relations with students, curriculum issues and the organization of the collaboration. A problem related to underestimating employer views on developing internships is that the resource-intensive nature of collaborative relations is silenced. As a result, targets for developing partnerships are left unrecognized, with adverse effects on the quality management and strategic planning of higher education institutions. © 2011 The vocational Aspect of education Ltd.

This paper explores the value youth place on apprenticeship training and credentials. Our analysis of interview and survey data from former high school apprentices in two trades suggests that there are several influences on their attitudes toward completion of apprenticeship training. These include how they see themselves as learners and workers as a result of experiences at school and in their families, and possibilities for theoretically applied learning through integrated classroom and on-the-job training. Our findings help to explain the different trajectories taken by different youth and have broader implications for thinking about apprenticeship as a learning model. © 2011 The vocational Aspect of education Ltd.

To meet the requirements of an increasingly innovative and competitive environment, workers need to continuously develop and maintain competence. Consequently, initial vocational education and training should prepare (future) workers by providing a basis for lifelong learning in developing both routine and flexible competence. The question is whether workplace learning in initial VET contributes to this aim. To describe WPL processes and outcomes in the Dutch senior VET context, we apply a further elaboration of a comprehensive workplace learning theory, comprising a cognitive, a social and an emotional dimension. Qualitative case studies show that various factors in the different dimensions of learning influence the learning processes and outcomes in a diverse way. Especially more profound acquisition and development of abstract principles relating to flexible competence does not automatically take place during WPL. To fulfill the expectations regarding the role of initial VET to contribute to learning to learn and lifelong learning, improvements are required. © 2011 The vocational Aspect of education Ltd.

The apprenticeship training system in Germany, where training takes place in both private companies and vocational schools, has traditionally played an outstanding role in the development of young skilled workers. However, particularly since the start of the new millennium, the chances of smooth transition from secondary school to an apprenticeship have worsened. As a consequence, there has been an intensive political and academic discussion about whether the German dual vocational training system is still in keeping with the times. In the following, we will examine whether apprenticeship training can continue to be the primary model for recruiting skilled workers. It will be shown that the insufficient number of apprenticeship places in recent years is less the result of any supposed obsolescence of this training system than of the close link between the apprenticeship system and the employment system. © 2011 The vocational Aspect of education Ltd.

This article analyses the structure and development of Austrian apprenticeship in the context of the country's wider vocational education and training (VET) system. In doing so, it draws on official data and survey results as well as the available, related literature on historical institutionalism. It begins with an analysis of the basic structure of the VET system and shows that the modernising element in VET in Austria has always been situated in the schooling sector, whereas the structure of the apprenticeship system has changed little, remaining primarily in the traditional sectors of employment. It goes on to analyse recent developments in the apprenticeship system, revealing signs of a 'crisis' that is being resolved by establishing more institutional forms of apprenticeship. Finally, the developments in Austria are analysed with regard to more basic questions relating to the strengths and weaknesses of the apprenticeship model, indicating some quite paradoxical features and unresolved puzzles. © 2011 The vocational Aspect of education Ltd.

Traineeships are apprenticeship-like training arrangements that were initiated in Australia in 1985. They were designed to introduce apprenticeship training to a broader range of industries, occupations and individuals; they are available in occupations outside the traditional trades and crafts. Many companies use them on a large scale, some recruiting their entire shop floor workforce as trainees. This article uses findings from a national project on traineeships in six industry areas to examine the ways in which employers adopt them and the factors which affect their take-up across industries and enterprises. © 2011 The vocational Aspect of education Ltd.

Objective The aims of this survey were to evaluate the effectiveness of workplace based assessments (WPAs) in dental foundation training (formerly vocational training [VT]).Methods Two online questionnaire surveys were sent to 53 foundation dental practitioners (FDPs) and their 51 trainers in the Mersey Deanery at month four and month nine of the one year of dental foundation training. The questionnaires investigated the effectiveness of and trainers' and trainees' satisfaction with the WPAs used in foundation training, namely dental evaluation of performance (D-EPs), case-based discussions (DcBD) and patients' assessment questionnaires (PAQs). The questionnaires also investigated the perceived impact of reflection and feedback associated with WPAs on clinical practise and improving patient care.Results A total of 41 (7.4%) FDPs and 44 (86.3%) trainers responded. Of the 41 FDPs, the majority found that feedback from WPAs had a positive effect on their training, giving them insight into their development needs. Overall 84.1% of the FDPs felt the WPAs helped them improve patient care and 82.5% of trainers agreed with that outcome.Conclusions The findings from this study demonstrate the value of WPAs in dental foundation training by the use of feedback and reflection in directing the learning of foundation dental practitioners and that this can lead to improved clinical practise and patient care. © 2011 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

Self-assessment is an integral component of learning and developing decision making and critical thinking skills in the practice of dental hygiene. Dental hygienists must think critically and develop problem-solving strategies during their formal education to ensure lifelong quality and ongoing development of their personal knowledge and skill as related to providing comprehensive, evidence-based patient care. The primary focus of this qualitative investigation was to obtain undergraduate dental hygiene students' perceptions of and experiences with self-assessment. The sample consisted of an intact undergraduate dental hygiene class of seventeen students in their final semester of a two-year, entry-level dental hygiene program at a community college in the southeast United States. Data for this research were obtained from three sources: 1) a program-designed self-assessment survey assignment, 2) in-depth interviews with four second-year dental hygiene students, and 3) program-designed clinical competence evaluation forms. Inductive data analysis revealed that the majority of students perceived that they had no prior experience with self-assessment in any prerequisite coursework and thus felt unprepared for its use in the dental hygiene program. As they matriculated in the program, students began to see the advantages of self-assessment in clinical practice. Programmatic orientation to self-assessment may therefore be beneficial due to the varying backgrounds of students entering dental hygiene programs.