Search Results for
"learning"

[No abstract available]

Over recent decades, many western nations have stepped up their efforts to increase secondary school completion rates while maintaining high standards. How systems have approached this, and how successful they are, varies. One of the key differences is in the range of programs that are offered and the different pathways to completion. In some systems there is a menu of separate certificates and qualifications, each tied to a different strand of learning, and each representing a different pathway. In other systems there is a single certificate or qualification, but with structured options producing academic, general, and vocational tracks that work as pathways to different post-school options. This chapter compares some of the different pathways to completion of upper secondary qualifications offered by different countries. What are the main qualifications and pathways? How do they work? For whom do they work? Are they of equal value? Answers to these questions require an evaluation of the various options nations offer students to complete secondary school qualifications. The evaluation needs to consider criteria such as content, rigor and graduation requirements as well as how effectively the different options work to reduce dropout rates and deliver real benefits to those who participate. There is little use providing alternatives to deal with pupil diversity if the alternatives simply function to promote stratification by working as sources of relegation and offering only weak returns. For this reason, it is important to consider the extent to which different pathways are inclusive (who gets included) and promote equivalent standards of learning and outcomes. The discussion begins by comparing school-based pathways across countries, and then moves on to look in more detail first at academic pathways, then at alternatives such as vocational education. Finally, the discussion turns to alternative pathways to completion specifically available to dropouts. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

[No abstract available]

[No abstract available]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to propose a new trainee-oriented teaching method: "The Project Method". The aforementioned method highlights the important role of the experience of the training process and the links between training and the trainees' social life. Design/methodology/ approach - This method draws its origin from the American Pragmatism and the German "Project Education", while it is based on the principles of Gestalt and cognitive psychology. The application of the Project Method in vocational training is examined through the emotional intelligence skills, that a group of people has developed - and claimed so in a relevant questionnaire - in a seminar concerning the subject of Marketing. Findings - Through the Project Method's application, the trainees have developed their emotional intelligence skills, and have instilled new pedagogical ideas; providing long-run benefits to themselves, the enterprises, the society and the economy in general. Research contends that this method is efficient when there are no time constraints. Practical implications - While the focus is vocational training, the implications have a broader focus, enabling the Project Method to be applied to adults' education. Originality/value - This paper provides empirical results of the Project Method application in vocational training. The Project Method training provides the effective cooperation of the human resources that is of high importance for the efficiency and the profitability of the enterprises. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

This paper presents a professional learning (PL) model that emerged from the authors' involvement with PL processes in several rural and remote schools in the state of Tasmania. As is the case for rural areas generally, young people in rural areas of Tasmania have lower retention rates to Year 12 and lower participation rates in higher education than their urban peers. Schools in these regions typically have less experienced staff, higher staff turnover and reduced access to professional networks compared with urban schools. Four case studies are presented to illustrate the experiences that lead to the partnership model of PL and the authors' insights into the nature of collaborative partnerships in rural contexts are discussed The study makes a contribution to understanding of the development of effective PL partnerships in rural schools as well as contributing to broader debates about the nature of partnership between teachers and facilitators of PL.

Adopting a sociopragmatic and interactional perspective, the paper proposes to investigate how apprentices engage in questioning practices and how trainers respond to these questions. A detailed empirical analysis of audio/video data collected in the context of Swiss training companies establishes that answers provided by trainers in response to questions do not constitute the dominant form of questioning work observed. Alternative interactional patterns that stress the tensions connected with questioning in the workplace context and the complexity of the social practices associated with workplace learning are identified and described. These findings illuminate the challenges faced by apprentices when joining the workplace and underscore the importance of a sociopragmatic perspective in addressing social issues related to initial vocational education. © 2011 John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Engaging vocational educators to take the lead in developing blended learning practices that are 'fit for purpose' within an educational and workplace context is challenging. This paper explores literature in the areas of scaffolding; zone of proximal development, mentoring and coaching. It describes the initial experience of a blended learning project team in implementing scaffolding learning principles to engage vocational educators in order to create sustained change that links clearly to teaching, learning and assessment within an outcomes environment. The paper also provides some insights into the implementation of the Blended learning Project (BLP) through the initiation and execution stages of the student (peer) projects. Through this type of practice the novice is always becoming the expert and the expert is always somewhat a novice. The greatest gain for this project is the development of process capability which is the cornerstone to sustained development in practice and expertise. © 2011 Linda Weterman & Oriel Kelly.