Search Results for
"Vocational education"

This questionnaire survey examines the QOF attainment of training practices and explores whether QOF is appropriate for a basis for training practice accreditation. In this study 250 London training practices participated with scores obtained being highly comparable with those achieved by training practices elsewhere in the UK. Such scores may be appropriate for bench-marking purposes. A retrospective analysis of the previous training practice accreditation visit to those practices with low QOF scores revealed that clinical and organisational inadequacies were unlikely to have been identified. Areas relevant to training practice accreditation but not covered by QOF visits are highlighted. It is recommended that QOF data - and not just crude total scores - are used as a foundation on which to base training practice accreditation, thus reducing the administrative burden associated with such visits and allowing their focus to shift from the quality assurance of clinical activity to that of education. © 2007 Radcliffe Publishing Limited.

[No abstract available]

This paper summarises the issues involved in promoting interprofessional learning in practice both on campus and within placement areas with reference to one particular university. National drivers of Interprofessional Learning (IPL) are outlined and then explored in relation to the portfolio of pre qualifying programmes within a large, multiprofessional School of Health and Social Care. In this particular context, rapid development of campus based IPL require equally robust developments in practise based learning. Integration of IPL across the whole curriculum is considered in the light of current practice based learning initiatives and projects. From this discussion an approach to integration emerges, built on the need to explicitly articulate examples of interprofessional collaboration as they arise in every placement. These interprofessional learning opportunities need to inform assessment strategies both on campus and in practice. Inherent in this approach is the assumption that IPL does occur in practice but is not explicitly articulated or celebrated. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

In both Switzerland and Germany, necessary reforms in vocational education have been taking place for the past few years. By taking a closer look at the commerce sectors of both countries and their reforms, one can better compare their systems of apprenticeship. While the necessity for change in the commercial sector was similar in both countries, the course of these changes has been quite different. A widespread reform of the Swiss commercial sector began in 2003. In Germany, a comparable sweeping change in commercial apprenticeships cannot be seen, although many reforms have been implemented. In order to analyse the process and results of modernisation of both vocational education systems, they are compared and contrasted. Finally, hypotheses are formed about the possible reasons for the differences in vocational education in these two countries. © 2007 British Association for International and Comparative education.

Eminus provides Distance Learning for severe disabled students who are not able to visit a school because of mobility problems, tiredness or special care. In this article we will show you how ICT and the Internet can be used to include this group into society through virtual class rooms, online internships and teleworking. © 2007 The authors and IOS Press. All rights reserved.

The two main objectives of lifelong learning policy, theory and practice in Britain – and also to a large extent in Europe and Australasia (Hyland, 1999; Field – Leicester, 2000) – are the development of vocational skills to enhance economic productivity, and the fostering of social inclusion and civic cohesion. Direct links are made between inclusion and economic prosperity in the ‘vision of a society where high skills, high rewards and access to education and training are open to everyone’ (DfES, 2001:6). Although this policy does, to some degree, represent a change from the rampant neo-liberalism of the 1980s and 1990s in Britain, the promotion of economic capital always has pride of place and there is a real danger that the social capital objectives of contemporary vocational education and training (VET) may be neglected in the obsession with economic competitiveness (Hyland, 2002). Since work-based learning (WBL) is now a central element in most current VET policy initiatives in Britain, it is suggested that attention to the systematic management and support of learning on WBL programmes – with due emphasis given to the important social values dimension of vocationalism – can go some way to achieving the crucial social objectives of lifelong learning. © Springer 2007.

The vocational education and training (VET) sector in Australia has undergone a prolonged period of substantial and significant restructuring. Reforms have been driven by a pressure to increase market forces within the system, and to gear 'outputs' ever more closely to economic considerations and the needs of industry. This paper outlines the key elements of VET reform and links these developments to the ideological dominance of market based policy in the public sector, and the influence of human capital theory on education policy. The paper explores the impact of these reforms on teachers' labor process, and some implications for the Australian education Union. Copyright 2007 by the INTERNATIONAL ELECTRONIC JOURNAL FOR LEADERSHIP IN LEARNING.

Apprenticeship or vocational training is a subject of lively debate. Economic historians tend to see apprenticeship as a purely economic phenomenon, as an 'incomplete contract' in need of legal and institutional enforcement mechanisms. The contributors to this volume have adopted a broader perspective. They regard learning on the shop floor as a complex social and cultural process, to be situated in an ever-changing historical context. The results are surprising. The authors convincingly show that research on apprenticeship and learning on the shop floor is intimately associated with migration patterns, family economy and household strategies, gender perspectives, urban identities and general educational and pedagogical contexts. © 2007 Bert De Munck, Steven L. Kaplan and Hugo Soly.

Contemporary research has identified resilience - the ability to rebound and learn despite obstacles and adversities - as a key element to success in school. Black Deaf Students: A Model for Educational Success searches out ways to develop, reinforce, and alter the factors that encourage resilience in African American deaf and hard of hearing students. To find the individual characteristics and outside influences that foster educational achievement, author Carolyn E. Williamson conducted extensive interviews with nine African American deaf and hard of hearing adults who succeeded in high school and postsecondary programs. Until now, the majority of studies of African American deaf and hard of hearing students concentrated upon their underachievement. The only success stories available involved high-achieving African American hearing students. To create an effective model in Black Deaf Students, Williamson focuses on the factors that contributed to her subjects' successes in postsecondary programs, what they viewed as obstacles and how they overcame them, and their recommendations for facilitating graduation from postsecondary programs. Her work gives "voice" to a group rarely heard in research, which enables readers to view them as a heterogeneous rather than homogeneous group. Their stories provide vital information for parents, school personnel, community stakeholders, and those enrolled in education and mental health preparation programs. In addition, the insights about how these adults succeeded can be useful in facilitating positive outcomes for students who are going into two-year colleges, vocational training, and work settings. © 2007 by Gallaudet University Press All rights reserved.

THE CAREER-ACADEMY model-a school-within-a-school, career focused high school program of study often with related work experience-has spread rapidly throughout the United States since the mid-eighties, in large part because educators and policymakers believe it to be a promising approach for encouraging better academic achievement and facilitating students' transition to college and careers. Learning to what extent well-designed career academies deliver on this promise is the focus of this chapter. As defined in chapter 5 of this volume and other sources, career academies generally include school-based and work-based components, make use of an industry-themed, contextualized curriculum, have a paid summer internship, and offer supplemental career readiness and exploration activities (Kemple and Rock 1996; Stern, Dayton, and Raby 2000; Stern, Raby, and Dayton 1992). In this chapter we look further at the learning theories and instructional strategies of career academies. Academies integrate strategies for student career and college preparation, including organizing learning around a the- matic, career-focused curriculum; extending learning experiences outside of the classroom to the workplace; and preparing all students for college, regardless of their college-going intentions (Cannon and Reed 1999; Maxwell and Rubin 2000; Stern, Dayton, and Raby 2000; Stern, Raby, and Dayton 1992). Unlike conventional vocational education, career academies expose students to a whole industry rather than merely to a job, including the industry's academic foundations and its range and distribution of career opportunities, particularly as related to different levels of postsecondary education attainment. Career academies commonly emphasize innovative instructional strategies that develop high-performance workplace skills-projectbased and cooperative learning, in particular-and stress critical thinking and problem solving. These structural and pedagogical characteristics all reflect the current consensus on secondary-educational reform strategies for improving the engagement and learning of students (Balfanz, Jordan, and McPartland 2002; Castellano, Stringfield, and Stone 2003; Kaufman, Bradby, and Teitelbaum 2000; Useem, Neild, and Morrison 2001). With the expansion of career academies has come considerable variation in implementation. The National Academy Foundation (NAF), which sponsors hundreds of academies nationwide, endeavors to limit variation and sustain quality. Career academies in the NAF network are to implement all recommended elements of the NAF career-academy model to engage students academically, help them prepare for their postsecondary career and college transition, and support them personally while they are in school. For NAF career-academy students, the primary program experiences are four or more core academy courses that are career-contextualized, project- based, and offer student-centered instructional practices during the junior and senior years (although some programs begin earlier); a computer or technology course; a paid six-week summer internship with a private company; a college-level course taken while in high school; and exposure to a variety of activities for college and career planning and preparation. The first NAF academy was founded in 1982, and NAF as a central organization was established in 1989. One of the largest career academy networks in the country and the only one that is national in scope, NAF currently sustains a national network of 619 career academies focusing on finance, travel and tourism, and information technology. It also provides curricular support, professional development, and technical assistance.1 NAF's emphasis is on the inclusion of all core career academy components and the provision of quality contextualized curriculum to its network members; teacher professional development through NAF conferences, materials, and local activities; and business involvement through high-profile national-level firms as well as local advisory boards who provide paid student internships. Career-academy teachers receive NAF curriculum and related materials that are frequently updated and adapted for their local industry context, and they can attend an annual professional development conference. They typically have designated classroom spaces, an area of the school for the academy program, and some autonomy in program management and delivery. In an analysis of the impact on teachers of the academy experience, Margaret Terry Orr (2005) found that the career-academy approach encourages teachers to focus more collectively on preparing students through their curriculum, instructional practices, and working relationships. Academy teachers were more likely than nonacademy teachers to have a strong commitment to the academy-program focus and to the use of organizational supports (such as common teacher meeting time), and to work collaboratively with other teachers, all of which were positively related to their perceived effectiveness with students. Local business participation in career academies varies widely and can include advisory board membership; providing paid summer internships to students; assisting with work-readiness activities for students, such as mock job interviews; offering work experiences or other professional development to teachers; and making in-kind contributions of business-related materials for instruction. Generally, businesses do not directly fund the program. Our analysis of employer participation in the NAF academies found that, judging by the depth and breadth of employers' participation, NAF has been particularly effective in recruiting and retaining quality support from them. As in other research on employer participation, the NAF employers cited philanthropic, public relations, and employee-recruitment as reasons for their involvement (Hughes, Karp, and Orr 2002). NAF acts as an intermediary between schools and businesses, and supports the implementation of all the components noted earlier in its programs. As a result of their membership in a national network and their agreement to adhere to common program characteristics, NAF-affiliated academies are likely to offer a more homogeneous and comprehensive experience than are nonaffiliated, stand-alone academies. Other studies have examined academies in general, as reviewed in chapter 5 of this volume, but this study was the first to look specifically at NAF academies. The multipart study examined the practices of teachers in the program, employer participation, and the views and experiences of alumni and high school seniors in the program. Using data from student transcripts and surveys as well as qualitative evidence from site visits, this chapter summarizes findings regarding graduating seniors' college and career planning and preparation from a study of nine long-standing NAF academies.2 NAF funded the Institute on education and the Economy (IEE) to undertake the study and NAF officials served as advisers and encouraged local site cooperation. Although the research was funded by NAF, we took considerable measures to ensure the validity and independence of the results.3 The conclusions reflect the authors' views and not necessarily those of NAF. Copyright © 2007 by Russell Sage Foundation.