Search Results for
"Vocational education"

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We examined the acquisition of incidental information and observational learning of incidental information by adolescents with moderate intellectual disabilities during school-directed systematic instruction. Effectiveness of constant time-delay instruction for vocational-skill acquisition was evaluated within a multiple-probe design across six dyads. Dyadic instructional arrangements allowed the assessment of incidental information acquired through observation. The constant time-delay procedure was effective in teaching the target vocational skill. In addition, participants acquired and retained approximately 50% of the incidental information to which they were exposed during the consequent events of constant time-delay instruction either through direct verbal presentation or through observation of their peers' instruction.

An overview is given of occupational safety and health and of training in the construction sector, summarizing the findings of different researchers. The studies discussed emphasize safety instruction and on the job training at sites, especially the teaching of first aid skills and accident prevention. Construction workers regard occupational training as important in maintaining work ability. Present developments of vocational training with new flexible pathways are described. Rehabilitation needs are found to be a further important target of work ability promotion. The study provides support for comprehensive occupational health and safety measures. New feedback safety measures (LIIKKUVA, TR - safety audit), which are based on goal setting and a follow up in collaboration, seem to improve considerably both the safety and the development of construction work. © 1999 E & FN Spon.

vocational education has become the instrument in Australia to create a more effective workforce in an age of technological change and intense international competition. Policies have been introduced which have focused narrowly upon competency-based training (CBT), the end product, with empirical research revealing that CBT has not been effective or effectively introduced. The importance of processes, particularly effective learning and curriculum, and teacher pedagogical and pedagogical content knowledge (Shulman, 1986), as well as implementation issues, have been ignored. There has also been failure to recognise that many vocational education and training (VET) teachers/ trainers have received minimal or no teacher training and even those formally trained have not been exposed to sufficient educational psychology, especially more recent research on skill learning and the development of expertise, transfer of learning and lifelong learning, key areas for effective learning in VET. Good curriculum documents can help maintain content knowledge currency and increase teaching capability through incorporation of knowledge from these key areas of psychology. Some implications for curriculum of these key areas are explored. Increased efficiency in the workplace can only be achieved through recognition of the importance of learning and serious efforts to develop curricula which provide adequate guidance and in-service education for teachers/ trainers. © 1999 Journal of vocational education and Training All rights reserved.

Baker and confectioner apprentices have been included in a prospective follow-up study in the region of East Thuringia, to evaluate risk factors for the development of hand dermatitis. Starting in August 1996, the apprentices have been interviewed and examined in a standardized way right at the beginning (n = 91) of their vocational training, 6 (n = 79) and 12 months (n = 63) later. To gain objective data, TEWL score was also assessed at 3 standardized sites on the hands. In their case histories, 3.3% (n = 3) of the apprentices reported hand dermatitis. The 1st assessment after 2 to 4 weeks vocational training revealed hand eczema in 17.5% (n = 16) of the individuals. At the follow-up after 6 months of training 29.1% (n = 23), and after 12 month of training 27.0% (n = 17), of the apprentices had hand dermatitis of mild to moderate severity. Within 6 months, the TEWL scare rose significantly (p < 0.001) from 11.9 g m-2 h-1 (± 5.4) to 16.8 g m-2 h-1 (± 9.5). After 12 months, the TEWL score was 14.9 g m-2 h-1 (± 4.6). For the atopic skin diathesis (> 10 points of Diepgen's atopy score), there was a significant tendency to be a predictive factor for the development of occupational hand dermatitis. TEWL score failed to correlate with the development of skin damage in our study. The same was true for respiratory atopy and metal sensitization.

A growing research enterprise surrounds the implementation of General National vocational Qualifications (GNVQs). It encompasses a diverse array of researchers and consultants from different organisations who work to different agendas and imperatives. Between 1992 and 1997, the National Council for vocational Qualifications developed a large research and support programme for GNVQs and this has become closely linked to projects carried out by other government bodies. This programme has now moved into the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA). The official research programme dominates political and research agendas for GNVQs. It also inhibits radical and critical thinking about developments in the vocational curriculum. The paper uses Lakatos's criteria to evaluate the research programmes which have evolved around GNVQ developments. It argues that researchers in higher education face two particular problems in deciding how their own research contributes to debate and policy in the vocational curriculum. The paper proposes that there is a need to identify discernible research programmes and to evaluate their effectiveness:Lakatos's criteria may provide a basis for this. © 1998 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

This article suggests that the experiences of implementing General National vocational Qualifications (GNVQs) have offered a number of insights into the limitations of the criterion-referenced assessment practices of GNVQs, modelled as they are upon the unit, elements and performance criteria structure of NVQs. As GNVQs evolve and, it would appear, move away from this NVQ ‘template’ on which they were designed, an opportunity has arisen for clarifying the purposes and scope of assessment practices in vocational courses such as GNVQ. This article attempts to (re)establish some broad principles of assessment in relation to GNVQs and to locate these principles in the day-to-day practices of lecturers. The article has arisen from ongoing research into the way lecturers in Further education are coping with the changes brought about by GNVQs in Health and Social Care and, as such, owes much to the insights offered by practitioners and to their explanations of their own assessment practices. © 1998 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Objective: Occupational skin changes in hairdressers are very common. Morbidity, however, has not yet been quantified precisely. Methods: A cohort of 2352 hairdressing apprentices (of the 2570 invited to participate, i.e., 91.5% response) was prospectively followed for the duration of their vocational training (3 years) by three examinations. Three waves (years) were recruited in 1992, 1993, and 1994 from 15 vocational training schools in northwestern Germany. Results: The point prevalence of (mostly slight) irritant skill changes of the hands increased from 35.4% in the initial examination to 47.5% in the intermediate examination and to 55.1% in the final examination. Given a more conservative definition of a case of 'hand dermatitis,' these estimates were 12.9%, 23.5%, and 23.9%, respectively. Altogether, 34.3 and 15.2 cases of 'skin changes (any degree)' and 'hand dermatitis,' respectively, in 100 person-years were observed during the study period. The incidence rate, i.e., the number of newly diseased study participants in relation to the person-time at risk contributed, decreased in the course of the study. The proportion of dropouts until final follow-up was 51.8%. Conclusion: The present results appear to lie in a range with those found in other, much smaller cohort studies. However, comparison of the results is hampered either by the lack of a clear definition or by a different definition of 'person-time at risk' or 'a case of hand dermatitis.' As compared with an external control group of office apprentices, the incidence was several times higher in hairdressing apprentices, which points to the high risk for skin damage in this occupation.