Search Results for
"Vocational education"

First, some definitions, structural aspects, and varieties of apprenticeship are outlined. Second, different theoretical approaches to apprenticeship are emphasized – anthropological, philosophical, and psychological. Two dynamic perspectives on the dynamics of the learning process in apprenticeship are presented: a person-centered versus a decentered approach. Different conceptions of the nature of apprenticeship learning are described such as learning in a community of practice, learning through participation in practice, bodily learning and imitation, and learning through assessment of practice. Finally, some reasons for the current interest in apprenticeship are discussed. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The main focus of this article is the dual system in Germany. The dual system here consists of a traditional pattern of skill formation which goes back to the medieval mode of apprenticeship training. This means that training is workplace-led and predominantly practical although there is a vocational school involved in the training process. In Germany, other traits, such as the vocational principle and a special kind of public regulation, define a learning culture which differs from most other countries, including England and Australia. On the one hand, the strength of the apprenticeship system implies borderlines to other subsystems, such as full-time vocational education and training (VET). On the other hand, it does not offer individually tailored VET programs, which exist in Anglo-Saxon countries, but resembles the VET systems of Denmark in some respects. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.