In this volume, the authors treat flexibility as a system characteristic of Vocational Education and Training (VET), in analyzing key conditions for flexibility: -economic context of VET and the organizational and institutional design of VET; -educational tools and resources for the flexibility of delivery and pathways at national level; -VET professionals as promoters of flexibility, mobility, and transferability.
A collection of the theories, practices, and policies of vocational education and training written by international experts The Wiley Handbook of Vocational Education and Training offers an in-depth guide to the theories, practices, and policies of vocational education and training (VET). With contributions from a panel of leading international scholars, the Handbook contains 27 authoritative essays from a wide range of disciplines. The contributors present an integrated analysis of the complex and dynamic field of VET. Drawing on the most recent research, thinking, and practice in the field, the book explores the key debates about the role of VET in the education and training systems of various nations. The Handbook reveals how expertise is developed in an age of considerable transformation in work processes, work organization, and occupational identities. The authors also examine many of the challenges of vocational education and training such as the impact of digital technologies on employment, the demand for (re)training in the context of extended working lives, the emergence of learning regions and skill ecosystems, and the professional development of vocational teachers and trainers. This important text: Offers an original view of VET’s role in both the initial and continuing development of expertise Examines the theories and concepts that underpin international perspectives and explores the differences about the purposes of VET Presents various models of learning used in VET, including apprenticeship, and their relationship with general education Explores how VET is shaped in different ways by the political economy of different countries Reviews how developments in digital technologies are changing VET practice Discusses the challenges for universities offering higher vocational education programs Draws on both recent research as well as historical accounts Written for students, researchers, and scholars in the fields of educational studies, human resource development, social policy, political economy, labor market economics, industrial relations, sociology, The Wiley Handbook of Vocational Education and Training offers an international perspective on the topic of VET.
This book discusses the developments in policy and practice in the field of formal, non-formal and continuing vocational education and training in Spain since 1970. It describes how VET has been transformed and become one of the country’s main areas of pedagogical innovation, and also examines current developments, such as the role of non-formal vocational education and training, the accreditation of vocational qualifications acquired in the non-formal system, and the adoption of dual apprenticeships that bear little resemblance to central European dual systems. Written by respected researchers in these fields, the first section is informative and analytical, offering a description of the system and comments based on academic literature and research. The second section illustrates the research on relevant issues, portraying empirical data from different regions in Spain, as well as nationwide data. Explaining and interpreting data on the basis of the authors’ different theoretical frameworks, the book provides a comprehensive, updated and accurate overview of VET and relevant research in Spain, as well as their relation to European and global developments.
This book investigates issues surrounding the concept of complex learning-teaching environments. The first part provides an overview of general themes connected to complex learning-teaching environments, and sheds some light on the theoretical background of the concept. The second part demonstrates how the idea of complex learning-teaching environments influences the particular training contexts in different countries.
With labour markets across the world and even in social democratic Europe in a state of unprecedented flux, this exhaustive study addresses the problem of how to balance job market demands, personal career interests and private life becomes a central issue for millions of employees. So how do modern work and employment arrangements restructure individual careers and what is required of individuals in order to manage career transitions successfully over time? This is one of very few in-depth empirical studies to analyze how labour market trends, organisational change and the subjective work orientations of individuals interact. The author’s detailed assessment is based on a comparison of the structural contexts, work orientations and employment histories of nurses and ICT technicians in Germany and the UK. These two core service occupations, as well as the national contexts of the two European nations, have quite different working environments and vocational traditions. Nursing is an institutionalized semi-profession with clear criteria of qualification and career continuity, while information and communication technology (ICT) is a new, evolving field with varied skill backgrounds and high job mobility. To arrive at an understanding of how individual career trajectories are changing, this book closely examines the interplay of labour market demands, employees’ work and career orientations and the development of their skills. It records the ways in which employees adapt to increased labour market flexibility, which, on the one hand, induces discontinuities of careers, employment and work, and on the other, generates new skill requirements and learning expectations, as well as unforeseen opportunities.
Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) research has become a recognized and well-defined area of interdisciplinary research. This is the first handbook of its kind that specifically concentrates on research and research methods in TVET. The book’s sections focus on particular aspects of the field, starting with a presentation of the genesis of TVET research. They further feature research in relation to policy, planning and practice. Various areas of TVET research are covered, including on the vocational disciplines and on TVET systems. Case studies illustrate different approaches to TVET research, and the final section of the book presents research methods, including interview and observation methods, as well as of experimentation and development. This handbook provides a comprehensive coverage of TVET research in an international context, and, with special focus on research and research methods, it is a cutting-edge resource and reference.
Further education colleges now deliver education and training to more students than any other institutions in the post-compulsory sector. Presenting a practical guide to teaching and learning within the context of the changing FE environment, this book addresses the diverse nature of the curriculum and of the student body for which it is designed. This new edition looks at recent developments in policy, legislation, the organisation of the FE sector, student profiles and other contextual factors, which have an impact on the everyday life of colleges. Topics in this third edition include: 14-16 year olds in college and the impact of the Increased Flexibility Programme marginal groups in college, including second language learners and asylum seekers workplace learning, college/workplace links, e-learning and individualised learning developments in e-assessment, and personal records of achievement Full of practical activities and case study examples, Teaching and Learning in Further Education helps the reader to consider differing student needs and how these might best be served. It is essential reading for lecturers, tutors and teaching assistants in higher and further education.
Diverse kinds of knowledge are vital for each organization that would successfully compete today in an international scenario. The emergent relevance of knowledge and its management in an even more complex environment opens up the possibility to analyze, investigate and deepen our understanding on different aspects related to several functional areas in business management. Nowadays, firms that create new knowledge and apply it effectively and efficiently will be successful at creating competitive advantages. The choices of the firms in selecting and applying different knowledge process (such as knowledge sourcing, transferring and exploiting) as well as knowledge tools may be crucial. Thus, the role of knowledge as the key source of potential advantage for organizations and indeed whole economies is still a hot debate in the international landscape. This book develops insights for the management of knowledge in cross-functional business areas to originate an innovative approach to the classical Knowledge Management (KM) field. This book provides a fresh perspective on different knowledge related topics in an international landscape, highlighting the key role of knowledge and its management in business activities. Overall, the primary aim of this book is to extend our understandings on how KM can be helpful in several cross-functional management areas, such as strategic management, finance, HRM and innovation as well as in different business circumstances such as M&A, internationalization processes and risk management.
Are the educational systems in Europe becoming more similar or more different? This book deals with the issue of divergence and convergence in relation to systems, learning environments, and learners in vocational educational training (VET). 18 VET researchers from eight countries contribute to the examination of 'divergence and convergence' at three levels: At the national level this volume deals with the following questions: What are the consequences of the European policies that aim at converging the VET systems in Europe? What is the impact of globalization on the national systems? At the level of institutions the central issue concerns the relation between learning environments. What is the coherence between school-based education and learning in the work-place, and how can they connect? Finally at the third level of the learners and their identities the focus is on the role of vocational educational training in the formation of biographies and identities. The book thus covers the central issues on the agenda in relation to future vocational education.
This book presents leading-edge perspectives and methodologies to address emerging issues of concern for professional learning in contemporary society. The conditions for professional practice and learning are changing dramatically in the wake of globalization, new modes of knowledge production, new regulatory regimes, and increased economic-political pressures. In the wake of this, a number of challenges for learning emerge: more practitioners become involved in interprofessional collaboration developments in new technologies and virtual workworlds emergence of transnational knowledge cultures and interrelated circuits of knowledge. The space and time relations in which professional practice and learning are embedded are becoming more complex, as are the epistemic underpinnings of professional work. Together these shifts bring about intersections of professional knowledge and responsibilities that call for new conceptions of professional knowing. Exploring what the authors call sociomaterial perspectives on professional learning they argue that theories that trace not just the social but also the material aspects of practice – such as tools, technologies, texts but also bodies and actions - are useful for coming to terms with the challenges described above. Reconceptualising Professional Learning develops these issues through specific contemporary cases focused on one of the book’s three main themes: (1) professionals’ knowing in practice, (2) professionals’ work arrangements and technologies, or (3) professional responsibility. Each chapter draws upon innovative theory to highlight the sociomaterial webs through which professional learning may be reconceptualised. Authors are based in Australia, Canada, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and the USA as well as the UK and their cases are based in a range of professional settings including medicine, teaching, nursing, engineering, social services, the creative industries, and more. By presenting detailed accounts of these themes from a sociomaterial perspective, the book opens new questions and methodological approaches. These can help make more visible what is often invisible in today’s messy dynamics of professional learning, and point to new ways of configuring educational support and policy for professionals.
