Search Results for
"Vocational education"

Background: Most of the efforts to reduce teenagers' tobacco addiction have focused on smoking prevention and little on smoking cessation. A smoking cessation program (TABADO study), associating pharmacologic and cognitive-behavioural strategy, on a particularly vulnerable population (vocational trainees), was developed. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of the program which was offered to all smokers in a population aged 15 to 20 years in vocational Training Centers (VTC). This paper presents the TABADO study protocol. Methods: The study is quasi-experimental, prospective, evaluative and comparative and takes place during the 2 years of vocational training. The final population will be composed of 2000 trainees entering a VTC in Lorraine, France, during the 2008-2009 period. The intervention group (1000 trainees) benefited from the TABADO program while no specific intervention took place in the "control" group (1000 trainees) other than the treatment and education services usually available. Our primary outcome will be the tobacco abstinence rate at 12 months. Discussion. If the program proves effective, it will be a new tool in the action against smoking in populations that have been seldom targeted until now. In addition, the approach could be expanded to other young subjects from socially disadvantaged backgrounds in the context of a public health policy against smoking among adolescents. © 2009 Minary et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Purpose - Though the notion of competence is common terminology in European VET policy at national and supra-national level, understandings vary widely, both across countries and within. The particular conceptions of competence adopted in the EQF are themselves problematic and the framework allows for a variety of interpretations. The purpose of this paper is to clarify those applied in the EQF and the vocational education and qualifications systems of particular European countries and to contribute to the development of a transnational understanding of the term, one which is compatible with a rapidly changing labour market. Design/methodology/approach - Drawing on evidence from work funded by the Nuffield Foundation entitled "Cross-national Equivalence of vocational Skills and Qualifications", the paper explores the various conceptions of competence in the EQF and the national systems - in particular in the sectors of construction, ICT and health - of England, Germany, France and The Netherlands. Findings - Interpretations are located on a continuum from the comprehensive occupational model traditionally found in many European countries to the task-focused model of the English NVQ system. Research limitations/implications - Much developmental work involving all stakeholders is necessary to arrive at a commonly agreed conception. A broad understanding of competence would relate to the potential of labour, itself determined through the occupational capacity embodied in the qualification. Practical implications: Zones of Mutual Trust need to be based on transnational categories of VET. Originality/value - The value of the paper is in seeking to go beyond identifying differences by developing transnational categories and suggesting the nature of Zones of Mutual Trust for implementing the EQF. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

This chapter reports on two studies conducted in both Hong Kong and Australia. The purpose of these research studies was three-fold: first, to evaluate the secondary business education curriculum; second, to explore its role in both Hong Kong and Australia, in order to determine the future directions in the light of perceived social, environmental, technological and political changes; and third, to make appropriate recommendations to policymakers in the respective countries. The results of the two studies demonstrated that the current secondary business education curriculum in Hong Kong and Australia has moved towards, but is not yet fully conversant with the need for, a paradigm shift from a predominantly skills-based curriculum to a dynamics-based curriculum. The notion of competence and its origin are discussed. A move towards a more holistic perspective of competence, that is, an interpretative-relational perspective is proposed and illustrated for business education. The introduction of competency standards for the clerical- administrative occupations in private industry tends to restrict the curriculum to the achievement of skills and outcomes, rather than move towards a broader base. It is recommended that the aims of secondary business education be under constant review; the image of business education be updated; there be an increased emphasis on vocational education, provision of resources, and opportunities for professional development for business education teachers. Implications for research, policy and practice including a business education curriculum based upon an interpretative-relational model of competence are drawn. © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

The articulation of practice and theory is a central problematic in a dual apprenticeship system that combines working in a company and attending courses at school. Design problems are proposed by teachers as a way to address theoretical concepts in a practical context. The difficulties encountered by apprentices while creating paper based sketches motivated the development of a tabletop warehouse simulation providing apprentices with a Tangible User Interface in the form of a small-scale model. We compare drawings and tangible representational modalities with regards to three phases of design problem solving. Tinkering with tangibles is described as an easy way to engage into the problem. The physical properties of tangibles facilitate the extraction of features relevant for verification. The limited expressiveness of tangibles allows apprentices to focus on the search for a solution rather than on the representation of the problem space. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Background/Objective: As financial arrangements for vocational training (VT) in general practice/family medicine seemed to differ among European countries, the VT committee of EURACT compiled an overview to permit comparison. Methods: A questionnaire with open and closed questions wase-mailed in March 2006 to representatives of the 34 different countries on the EURACT Council. Results: Thirty completed questionnaires were returned (88% response rate). The salary of the GP trainee during clinical training in GP/FM is paid by the state on its own or with others in 19 countries (63%), and is the same during community and hospital rotations in 22 countries (73%). The GP trainer gets extra payment for supervision and teaching in only 14 countries (47%). Structured VT programmes are fully or partly financed by the state in 17 countries (57%), with trainees being paid for working hours spent in seminars/coursework in 19 countries (63%). Funding was cited as the commonest challenge and strength regarding VT programmes (cited 20 and 11 times, respectively). Conclusion: Recommendations made regarding the provision of vocational training across Europe include a structured curriculum supported by adequate funding, the professional recognition of GP trainers, which includes a fair and appropriate salary, and equity of salary for GP trainees.

This paper analyses a work placement scheme established to create the conditions to: (i) incubate new designs in the jewellery sector in Birmingham; (ii) support a jewellery company compete more effectively in the global market; (iii) assist a newly qualified graduate jeweller to enter the jewellery sector. It introduces a new theoretical framework based on concepts from: Cultural-Historical Activity Theory-'project-object'; Workplace Learning-'vocational practice'; Philosophy of Mind-'space of reasons'; to analyse individual and organisational contributions to workplace learning in this scheme. It identifies the strategies and tactics used by: (i) the organisations involved with the scheme to facilitate the incubation of the new designs, and (ii) an aspiring jewellery designer to create a new product range. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of this conceptual framework for debates in workplace learning about: (i) the 'front-loaded' versus 'practice-based' conceptions of vocational education and (ii) the role of epistemic objects and practices in the development of vocational practice. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Young people who leave school without obtaining a secondary school certificate bear an increased risk of not completing vocational training and being excluded from stable employment in their working life. However, some of these young people do achieve access to vocational training and employment. Based on a longitudinal study of school-to-work transitions of a representative sample of graduates from Praxisklassen in Bavaria (a course especially designed for potential school drop outs at the lower secondary school - Hauptschule), patterns of transition that lead into vocational training and employment are compared with patterns that end up in exclusion from education, training and employment. Determinants of successful transitions, which can be targeted by pedagogical measures, are inter alia: participation in internships in enterprises during the last year of schooling, help and support received from parents and professional career guidance. However, besides these influential factors, regional labor market conditions are important for a successful school-to-work transition. This close link to the labor market ultimately limits the effects of educational interventions.

Policy debates on employability, lifelong learning and competence-based approaches suggest a convergence of VET approaches across European countries. Against the background of the creation of a European Qualifications Framework, this paper compares the VET systems of England, Germany and The Netherlands. The analysis reveals the distinct understandings and meanings of outwardly similar terms. These meanings are deeply rooted in the countries' institutional structures and labour processes and still inform national debates and policies today. The paper identifies a major distinction between a 'knowledge-based' VET model in Germany and The Netherlands and a 'skills-based' model in England. There is a need to develop trans-national categories that take into account the social construction of terms such as 'skills' and 'qualifications'.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The present review focuses on the education needs and related pedagogical aspects of education in forensic psychiatry. RECENT FINDINGS: Physicians specializing in other fields generally deal with concepts that are thoroughly addressed in forensic psychiatry, such as the ability of patients to consent to treatment, confidentiality, victimization, and risk factors for auto and hetero-lesive behaviour. Present practices like the advance of e-health and patients? rights call for ethical and responsible attitudes. There are a variety of programs providing specific training for psychiatrists willing to work in the forensic area and renewed pedagogical trends are gradually being incorporated. Many articles point out the need to enforce the teaching of expert communication abilities while others warn of the poor economic incentive of forensic psychiatry as a career. SUMMARY: Forensic psychiatry teaching is undergoing a period of significant evolution and expansion. New didactic trends, specific pedagogical research and an increase in training needs in other fields of medicine are promising. It is important to ensure that the formal training provided in every country is comparable and that those who teach and learn this complex field are acknowledged. © 2008 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.