Search Results for
"Vocational education"

This article analyzes how the EU's vocational education and training (VET) policy is reflected in domestic reforms in Germany and Austria. It perceives Europeanization as a heuristic concept to disentangle a twofold process of institutional change: The first process, the "Europeanized" arena of change, concerns change initiated by the reactions of domestic actors to EU initiatives; the second process of change - the "domestic" arena of change - concerns the ongoing incremental endogenous change in domestic institutions beneath and independent from the Europeanized arena of institutional change. This procedure allows us to differentiate between two modes of Europeanization: In Germany, Europeanization occurs as reform policies and politics; in Austria, Europeanization occurs more as institutional change by default, hence without strategically enacted reform initiatives shaped by the EU and as domestic institutional change that occurs anyway. The article combines the case-oriented method of difference with process tracing. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The aim of this paper, based on a comparative viewpoint from an European outsider perspective, is to present a brief historical reconstruction of the pedagogical and educational political discussion about education for the industrial sector in America. The discussion was triggered by the emerging idea that one of the principal tasks of education should be to prepare youth most effectively for their upcoming work life. It followed that the constitution and role of the American schools to achieve this purpose were widely debated early in the twentieth century by eminent pedagogues. Some of these pedagogues argued for an American education system that also developed vocational abilities and skills, whereas others favoured only the development of general knowledge. During the course of this dispute, across the first half of the twentieth century, other key issues were brought forward such as whether this much vaunted vocational education should be enacted in comprehensive schools or whether other kinds of schools should be established for these purposes. Furthermore, another model that resembled the German vocational system was also proposed through this period. However, ultimately and unlike in Germany, a dual model of vocational education and training characterised by an interlocking of school-based instruction and workplace training has not managed to establish itself as a discrete educational sector in America. Currently, education for industry is provided mainly in schools and tends to be oriented towards the criteria of efficiency and vocationalism. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

This paper looks critically at partnerships in education and training by presenting a case study of a community-level partnership aimed at promoting high school apprenticeships in Ontario Canada. The analysis maps the field of social relations within this partnership in order to reveal institutionally-based struggles and their implications for youth training and employment. The assumptions within policy that employers are actively engaged as partners and that they and other stakeholders share a unitary vision for education and training are challenged. Rather, partnerships reflect tensions among partners that must be addressed in order to improve the learning affordances for youth. © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Transitions from school to work are particularly difficult for students with cognitive disabilities. Job placements in appropriate inclusive community work settings have proven to be possible yet job retention is poor. This article focuses on using customization as a strategy for successful transitions. Six students in rural Kentucky will be receiving resources from vocational rehabilitation and special education to create a discovery portfolio, individualized job development, and customized employment. Their transition will be part of a ten year follow-up study that will track their employment history, inclusion in their chosen community, and asset building. Our goal is to place them in full-time employment that provides a living wage. © 2009 IOS Press. All rights reserved.

This study examines how different stakeholders experience the quality of a nationally developed assessment framework for summative, competence-based assessment (CBA) in AVET, which aims to reflect theoretical characteristics of high quality CBAs. The quality of two summative CBAs, based on this national framework, is evaluated along an extensive, validated set of quality criteria for CBA evaluation and through involving key stakeholders (i.e., students, teachers, developers, and employers). By triangulating quantitative and qualitative evaluations and argumentations of key stakeholders, this study gives insight into the processes and characteristics that determine CBA quality in VET educational practice in relation to theoretical notions of high quality CBAs. Results support many theoretical characteristics and refine them for reaching quality in actual assessment practice. Strikingly, developers and teachers are more critical about the assessment quality than students and employers. The discussion reflects on the theoretical CBA characteristics in the light of the empirical findings and deduces practical implications for the national assessment framework as well as other summative CBAs in VET. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

This paper reviews current knowledge about the impact of vocational education and training on the labour market outcomes for young people in advanced market economies, and asks whether the results can be extrapolated to countries in the Western Balkans and the EU neighbourhood. It draws four main policy conclusions. First, in transition countries, specialised vocational education should not be replaced by streaming or tracking within comprehensive school systems or integrated into general education programmes. Abandoning effective vocational schooling may worsen the labour market outcomes for the less able and disadvantaged young people. Inadequate vocational school systems should be strengthened, while ensuring effective pathways to higher levels of education. Second, while apprenticeship systems enable lower ability students and minorities to access the labour market, they may lock women into traditional female occupations. Well-organised and resourced school-based vocational education may be preferred by women who feel they could benefit from them, and may furthermore reduce school drop-out rates. Third, occupational mobility can be improved by effective school-based vocational education. If returns to such education are sufficiently high, they can incentivise mobility. While for developed economies there is little difference in rates of return between general and vocational education, in transition economies, returns to vocational education are higher than returns to general education. Fourth, while occupational mobility is needed for countries undergoing structural change, it should be noted that too much mobility can also be harmful to the skill retention, especially for women. Special attention should therefore be given to providing complementary opportunities for retraining and for lifelong learning to all workers, but especially to women, to encourage and support the desired degree of mobility in the labour market.

Background. Qualitative research on physical therapist students' conceptualizations of clinical reasoning (CR) is sparse. Objectives. The purpose of this study was to explore CR from students' perspectives Design. For this study, a qualitative, cross-sectional design was used. Methods. Thirty-one students were randomly selected from years 2, 3, and 4 of an undergraduate physical therapist program in New Zealand. Students were interviewed about their understanding of CR and how they used it in practice in a recent musculoskeletal placement. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. A 3-stage analysis included the categorization of students' conceptualizations on the basis of the meaning and the structure of each experience and the identification of cross-category themes. Results. Five qualitatively different categories were identified: A-applying knowledge and experience to the problem, patient, or situation; B-analyzing and reanalyzing to deduce the problem and treatment; C-rationalizing or justifying what and why; D-combining knowledge to reach a conclusion; and E-problem solving and pattern building. Cross-category analysis revealed 5 general themes: forms of CR, spatiotemporal aspects, the degree of focus on the patient, attributions of confidence, and the role of clinical experience. Conclusions. Categories formed a continuum of CR from less to more sophistication and complexity. Students were distributed evenly across categories, except for category E, which included only students from years 3 and 4. Each category comprised a logical, coherent experiential field. The general themes as critical dimensions suggest a new way of exploring CR and suggest a possible pathway of development, but further research is required. These findings have implications for teaching and the development of physical therapy curricula. © 2009 American Physical Therapy Association.

The purpose of this study is to determine (a) the patterns that existed in employment preparation courses offered by districts across a midwestern state and (b) the primary intent, primary method of instruction, and location of the classroom-based and work-based components of these courses. Findings indicated that (a) employment preparation offerings were limited, (b) career and technical education was the primary vehicle for delivering employment preparation, (c) the majority of employment preparation course work was offered in the classroom setting, (d) the intent of instruction for work-based-only courses was different from other delivery models, (e) the primary method of instruction in classroom-based-only courses was combined lecture and experiential, and (f) the method of delivering work-based learning differed by model. © 2009 Hammill Institute on Disabilities.

This article analyses the importance of apprenticeship systems in the current contexts of the UK and Germany. It discusses the policy and practice of apprenticeship in connection with skills formation and vocational learning. It argues that despite its declining popularity, apprenticeship continues to play a role in contemporary education policy with possibilities for progress and improvement. However, its practicality and feasibility is dependent on policies which are influenced by the different national socio-political, economic and educational contexts. Indeed, the reason why the UK's attempts to revitalise its apprenticeship system has not been successful is not because apprenticeship is becoming irrelevant, but rather because policy objectives are not consistent with national capacities. If an apprenticeship system is based on strong institutional arrangements and is adaptable to the labour market and its evolving demands, it has enormous potential to produce different types of intermediate-level skills. © Springer-Verlag 2009.

Racial and ethnic minority groups in the United States are increasing; therefore, it is necessary to incorporate cultural competency into nutrition practice. This study determined the level of cultural competence of nutrition professionals through self-assessment of knowledge and how it is integrated into practice. Respondents completed an Internet-based questionnaire. Eighty-nine percent (n = 85) of respondents knew fairly or very well the dietary choices/patterns of individuals they serve based on cultural preferences. More than 50% (n = 60) never or seldom asked about the use of traditional cultural practices, and 41% (n = 39) never or seldom asked about traditional remedies. Forty-eight percent (n = 43) regularly modified health education materials to meet the linguistic needs of individuals they serve, whereas 53% (n = 46) regularly modified materials to meet literacy needs. Copyright © 2009 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.