Search Results for
"Vocational education"

[No abstract available]

Only one third of the applicants for training in pediatric surgery obtain a position through the pediatric surgery matching program. In order to identify factors that contribute to a successful outcome, we conducted a retrospective survey of all participants in the matching process for positions during the years 1983 to 1991. This survey was designed to identify characteristics associated with success in the match through comparison of successful and unsuccessful applicants. Significant factors associated with a successful match included: a greater incidence of residency-supported research (P = .012) with a greater number of publications (P = .003) and national presentations (P = .014), specifically at the annual meetings of the American Pediatric Surgical Association (P = .05) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (P = .05). In addition, successful candidates had more contact with (P = .004) and letters of recommendation from (P = .015) well-known pediatric surgeons involved in the general surgical residency program. This information should be invaluable to those counseling medical students and residents interested in a career in pediatric surgery. © 1992.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (cf. Crispell, 1990), the medical clerical field is one of the faster growing areas of employment. This paper reports on long‐term employment of trainees involved in nontraditional medical clerical programs. These programs were funded by the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) and filled both the needs of the local rural health care facilities and the employment needs of unskilled youths and adults. These nontraditional students of low socioeconomic background and poor work history were successfully mainstreamed into university courses and consequently obtained productive employment. A follow‐up study was conducted of 64 individuals who completed three different, one‐year JTPA programs. The study investigated the following questions: Was the trainee currently employed? If so, was employment related to the training program, and were the quarterly salaries higher than minimum wage and previous salaries? How many different jobs were reported since training? Did the individual retain employment in a rural setting? The JTPA programs at Southern Illinois University included some innovative yet practical components that resulted in very high program completion rates, high initial placement, and a continuing pattern of long‐term employment. These components included: emphasis on training for the most needed positions/jobs that matched university capabilities; the pursuit of higher starting salaries; informing participants of support services; training in job hunting and work readiness; using some individualized, competency‐based instruction; establishing internship arrangements with prospective employers; and careful matching of the trainee to initial placement site with consideration of personality as well as skills. Copyright © 1992, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved

[No abstract available]

This paper examines a range of theoretical issues associated with learning in natural settings, such as the workplace. It considers the need for enhancing theoretical approaches to learning vocational skills in workplaces, giving particular attention to the physical, social and psychological contributions provided in those settings. It is argued that every sort of setting has the capacity to provide physical, social and cultural contributions to learning. Consequently, any learning theory has to take account of settings, enculturation and the social contribution to the learning. However, given the goals of vocational education and the specific contributions of natural settings the development of a theory of learning in natural settings should be addressed outside of the existing theoretical frameworks to provide the primacy that these contributions deserve. It is postulated that such a theory will guide actions in the provision of vocational skill development in natural settings, such as workplaces. It may also have a wider application for general education provisions. © 1992, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

After years of neglect attempts have recently been made to introduce the important ethical aspects of educational development into schools and colleges through programmes which emphasise the values of active citizenship and the importance of ‘moral competence’ in contemporary society. These programmes are described and labelled as examples of ‘moral vocationalism’ and criticised on the grounds that they have a weak knowledge base, are founded on behaviourist learning principles and are located within an exclusively instrumentalist framework. Such schemes, consequently, fail to meet the criteria for satisfactory moral education and need to be supplemented by the good practice developed in the 1960s and 1970s by, for example, Kohlberg, the Farmington Trust and the Schools Council. © 1992, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

Concentrating upon the pre-entry phase of vocational education and training for 16–19 year olds in the United Kingdom, Japan and the Federal Republic of Germany. Three models of the phase are identified before the system of each country is reviewed. The vocational education and training systems are seen to reflect the societies in which they have developed. © 1991, Association of Australasian Palaeontologists.

In Britain, the National Council for vocational Qualifications is developing a new framework of vocational qualifications (NVQs). This paper presents an analysis of the place of this emerging system within the broader context of 16-19 education. The needs for reform of 16-19 provision are identified, and the potential contribution of NVQs to meeting them is analysed. Firstly, it is suggested that NVQs may not contribute sufficiently to student/trainee empowerment, because of employer control of the system. Secondly, while NVQs may be well suited to the training of adults in employment, it is suggested that they are ill-equipped to meet the needs of students on full-time vocational courses. Based on this analysis, three alternative future scenarios for 16-19 education and training are presented, and the strengths and weaknesses of each identified. It is concluded that the extensive use of NVQs within 16-19 education and training is likely to be counterproductive. © 1991, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

The Technical and vocational education Initiative (TVEI) is a four year programme of study for 14-18 year olds which aims to provide vocational and general education broadly related to employment trends. It was announced by the Prime Minister in 1982 and in 1986 the government signalled its intention to extend TVEI to all local education authorities (LEAs) in England and Wales. Although it is not yet clear how much of TVEI will be retained within or alongside the National Curriculum, elements of the Initiative will undoubtedly affect the future education of school students. The central curricular feature of TVEI has been work-experience and in 1988 the Department of education and Science (DES) announced that this activity was to be extended to all secondary students in England and Wales. This paper analyses the recent development of work-experience, locates it within broader shifts which have taken place in the school-society relationship and uses data from eight LEAs to examine its organization and effects on participating students. © 1991, BSA Publications Limited. All rights reserved.