International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training
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Fostering Innovative Learning and Satisfaction in Virtual Teamwork: Shedding Light on Apprentices
Full text linkPurpose: The digital transformation and the increased use of technologies have changed the world of work severely. With it, collaboration and cooperation methods among employees. Therefore, new ways of working together must be applied to work in an international and digital working environment. For Vocational Education and Training (VET), developing new (transversal) competencies to engage in virtual teamwork is necessary to adequately prepare young professionals for the present and future labor market. However, there is little research on the current situation in VET regarding virtual teamwork.
Approach: We deployed a cross-sectional design and collected data from N = 181 commercial apprentices in Germany regarding virtual teamwork. We analyze our data using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to examine the interrelationships between input, process, and outcome variables to foster satisfaction and innovative learning in virtual teams as desired targets of VET. To assess these results regarding virtuality, the complexity of tasks, gender of the apprentices, and the size of the training firms, we derived a multigroup analysis (MGA) of our model.
Findings: The results indicate that organizational factors have the most significant influence concerning the relationship between input and process factors. Surprisingly, the technical affinity of individuals has only a minor effect. Regarding the relationship between process and outcome factors, motivation and responsibility have the highest impact on innovative learning, whilst communication culture severely affects the perceived satisfaction in virtual teamwork.
Conclusion: The findings lead to valuable insights on factors influencing virtual teamwork in VET and can help to design learning programs to prepare young professionals to smoothly transition to and successfully master their future working environments by using new ways of collaboration and cooperation. This is particularly relevant for VET, as prior research has focused primarily on primary and secondary education. Lastly, we identify potential scales and items that help capture some of the inherent constructs of virtual teamwork.
Introducing Green, Eco-Friendly Practices and Circular Economy Principles in Vocational Education Through a Novel Analysis-Synthesis Method: Design, Implementation and Evaluation
Full text linkPurpose: A novel, Project- and Collaborative Learning-based educational method is proposed, implemented and evaluated in this paper. The aim is to exploit hands-on laboratory modules in Vocational Education in order to experientially introduce students to green, eco-friendly practices and the principles of sustainability and circular economy. Besides their apparent individual and social benefits, such knowledge and skills are also expected to raise qualifications and employability of Vocational Education graduates.
Methods: The proposed method is tested through a quasi-experimental methodology, via an educational intervention with a class of Vocational Lyceum students, in the field of Electrical and Electronics Engineering. The learning content focuses on the reclaiming and reuse of operational components from damaged electrical/electronic equipment at end-of-life stage. Through repeated Analysis and Synthesis phases, students learn to extract, measure, classify and reuse operational components either to repair similar equipment or to design and construct novel devices.
Results: Evaluation is carried out via closed and open type activities as well as by observation sheets of the teacher. Learning outcomes are evaluated through knowledge post-tests of the closed type while social/emotional outcomes are evaluated through questionnaires. Evaluation results indicate that the proposed method does produce cognitive and social/emotional skills gains for the students. The development of metacognitive skills and the stimulation of imagination and innovative thinking in the students is also observed by the teacher, but not formally evaluated due to practical constraints.
Conclusions: The proposed method is implemented and pilot-tested with positive results both as to the cognitive and as to the social/emotional domain – yet, these results are of an indicative value, due to the limited scale of the educational intervention. Future research is necessary in order to evaluate the proposed method in extent and possibly compare results across education grades or engineering fields, as the method is generic enough to be easily adaptable for different ages/grades and engineering/technical fields of study.
Learning Pathways in Dutch VET Compared in Terms of Curriculum Design Aspects and Students\u27 Acquired VET Diplomas and Transitions to Higher VET Levels
Full text linkPurpose: During the last decade, new continuing learning pathways have been designed and implemented in the Dutch Vocational Education and Training (VET) column aiming to foster students\u27 transitions between successive educational levels. Prototypical examples of such continuing learning pathways are the Green Lyceum (GL) and the Technical Talent Development programme (TTD). In the present exploratory study, GL and TTD were compared in terms of curriculum design aspects and students\u27 acquired VET diplomas and transitions to higher VET levels.
Methods: Ten curriculum design aspects of GL and TTD were described through curriculum description forms and focus group discussions to be able to determine similarities and differences between both learning trajectories. Moreover, acquisition of VET diplomas and transitions to higher VET levels of students from both programmes were compared.
Findings: The ultimate goal of GL was to promote student transitions to higher professional bachelor (HBO) programmes while TTD mainly intended to increase student numbers in the technical domain at the secondary VET level. For GL, a new and integrated VET curriculum was built with specific ingredients to prepare students for the HBO level. For TTD, the contents of the regular VET programmes were roof tile stacked in an accelerated curriculum with a stronger focus on vocation-oriented assignments in the technical domain.
Conclusion: If the ultimate goal of a continuing learning pathway is to promote students\u27 transitions to higher VET levels, curriculum design aspects as represented in GL seem more effective. However, if the focus is on promoting students\u27 diploma acquisition at lower VET levels for specific sectors, curriculum design aspects as represented in TTD seem more effective.
Who Demands Technical and Vocational Education in Pakistan? A PSLM Analysis of Socio-Economic Determinants
Full text linkPurpose: The present study investigates the influence of demographic factors on the demand for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Pakistan. The government of Pakistan has implemented various skill enhancement programs to harness the demographic dividend. However, only a small portion of the workforce receives any form of TVET, contributing to a shortage of skilled workers in the country. Many industries, particularly in manufacturing and mining, face deficits in the skilled labour. Consequently, this study aims to examine the role of demographic factors in shaping the demand for TVET within the Pakistani context.
Methods: For the TVET demand\u27s estimation, this study employed the Pakistan Social and Living Standard Measurement (PSLM) dataset of 2018–19 by using binary logistic regression analysis (BLRA). The demographic variables include the household\u27s income, household head\u27s education, household size, male proportion of the target age group, household head\u27s age, and region of the household.
Findings: The findings indicate that households in the higher income category do not demand TVET. Moreover, if the head of the household is highly educated, then the household is less likely to participate in TEVT. So, the higher the socio-economic status, the lower the probability of demand for TVET from the better-off students. Further, this study also indicates that boys are more likely to participate in TVET-related degrees, while females are less likely to participate in TVET due to the non-availability of institutes and hostel facilities, poor transportation, the limited number of trades available for females, and security issues.
Conclusion: The findings provide insightful evidence to support the idea that the higher the socio-economic status of households, the lower the probability of demand for a TVET degree or diploma. Similarly, children of parents with university education are less likely to pursue TVET-related degrees. The reason is likely attributed to the perception that TVET-associated degrees and diplomas are considered inferior due to their lower standing and prestige as compared to general or professional degrees. This study suggests that the attractiveness of TVET can be enhanced by improving the quality of TVET, improving labour market outcomes, and creating a pathway to general education. Overall, this study not only contributes to empirical analyses of socio-economic determinants in TVET demand but also suggests that its findings can be applied not only to South Asian countries but also to other comparable nations with similar cultural ties and affinities.
Simulation Exercises in Police Education, Why and How? A Teacher\u27s Perspective
Full text linkContext: This study is about the teaching method of simulation exercises and is set in a police education context. Simulation exercises are a central part of Swedish police education, and therefore it is of interest to explore how they are used, and for what purpose, by investigating police teachers\u27 perceptions of this teaching and learning method. Police teachers are police officers who work as teachers at a police education unit on contracts lasting a few years, but which can be extended, and they usually lack any formal pedagogical training.
Approach: In this study, the exploration of the use of simulation exercises was conducted through an inductive approach which included semi-structured interviews with 12 police teachers. The analysis was carried out in several steps. To promote impartiality in the initial data analysis the researcher first stayed close to the data and connection with the findings of previous studies was only considered in the latter stages of this analytic process.
Findings: The findings show that the police teachers perceive that the overall purpose of simulation exercises is for students to apply specific content taught in courses, both physical techniques and methods, and more theoretical knowledge, in the fluid context of scenarios relevant to police work. The results also show that the teachers are aware that the purpose of the exercises is stated in the planning documents, but because they inherit the designs from previous teachers, they may not be aware of the underlying details of it or what is to be achieved in the scenario. The findings also demonstrate that the teachers learn the craft of designing and performing simulation exercises and develop their roles as teachers through an informal workplace learning process that involves tacit knowledge developed through working together, and by talking to and observing each other.
Conclusion: The paper contributes to the field of simulation exercises in vocational (higher) education in that the findings can provide educated arguments for the need for scholarly discussions on simulation exercises as a pedagogical tool that supports student learning, as well as arguments for why formal pedagogically-oriented continuing education on the design and implementation of simulation exercises where learning is in the foreground may be needed to support police teachers\u27 professional development.
The Relationship Between Personality Factors, Vocational Identity and Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy
Full text linkContext: Adolescence is the training ground for adult life. In a relatively short period, the adolescent will undergo a metamorphosis. During the high school years, the majority of adolescents move from persistent dependence to true independence, from logical thinking to abstract, complex and hypothetical thinking, from impulsivity to consideration and from a diffuse feeling about one\u27s own person to a reasonably defined self-identity. Adolescent\u27s vocational identity formation during high school is an extremely important process in vocational and career counseling, because it helps them to make rational choices regarding the choice of a career gaining an increased level of career maturity.
Methods: The present study had as participants 300 Romanian teenagers which belong to the following paths of studies/profiles: formal sciences (specializations: Mathematics-informatics and Natural Sciences), services (specializations: Economics, trade, tourism and food) and humanities (specialization: Philology). The tools used in the adolescent evaluation process were Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy-Short Form Scale (CDMSE-SF), the Vocational Identity Status Assessment (VISA) and the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI-3).
Results: After the interpretation of the obtained results, the following aspects were demonstrated: The identity status career commitment correlates with the personality traits - neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience and conscientiousness, and regarding the career decision-making self-efficacy it correlates with the self-evaluation process, obtaining information about self and professions, setting goals, career planning and the problem-solving process. Identity status identification with career commitment correlates with personality traits - extraversion, openness to experience and conscientiousness, and from the perspective of the career decision-making self-efficacy, it correlates with the process of self-evaluation, obtaining information about self and professions, setting goals, solving problems and career planning. The identity status career commitment flexibility correlates with the personality traits neuroticism and conscientiousness, and from the perspective of the career decision-making self-efficacy it correlates with the problem-solving process. Identity status career self-doubt correlates positively with the personality trait neuroticism and negatively with conscientiousness, the process of self-evaluation, obtaining information about self and professions, setting goals, career planning and problem solving.
Conclusion: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between vocational identity, personality factors and career decision-making self-efficacy. The results demonstrated that certain personality traits, respectively certain components of career decision-making self-efficacy are predictors for the adolescent\u27s vocational identity formation.
Curriculum Making Across Sites of Activity in Upper Secondary School Vocational Education and Training: A Review of the Research in Sweden
Full text linkPurpose: This paper presents a qualitative systematic review of Swedish research on vocational education and training (VET) at the upper secondary school level over the past 20 years. The review is based on a theoretical model on curriculum making as social practice that may serve as model for comparative studies between countries. By introducing the model, the ambition is to open for new perspectives on VET curriculum in policy and practice. Questions regarding key themes and the interplay of discourses and processes across multiple sites in the education system have not been addressed in previous systematic reviews of Swedish VET research.
Methods: The methodological approach in the present paper is a qualitative systematic research review with an integrative and interpretative purpose and research design. The qualitative review is based on the conceptual model of curriculum making as social practice, seeking to capture the inherent complexity and porous boundaries of education systems and movements of ideas, discourses and actors between sites of activity. The model is used for mapping the research, and a content analysis for identifying main themes and emphases and exploring and discussing the potential gaps that may inform future international research studies.
Findings: The results show that the research is focused on the micro and nano sites of curriculum making, with connections to macro site activities of national curriculum policy enactment. Research focusing on the macro site of activity has an emphasis on national policy and policymaking regarding the relationship between academic and vocational knowledge/programmes and apprenticeship and employability. In the micro and nano sites of activity – which comprise the majority of the research – the main themes are vocational knowing and identity, teaching, learning and assessment practices and work-based learning.
Conclusion: An observation is the absence of principals and middle leaders as actors and informants in the studies. There is little evidence of actors moving between sites of activity and the meso site of activity only comprise a very small part of the research. In this respect, there is a potential gap to be explored, not least regarding how local curricula and syllabi are made and shaped in terms of the influence of representatives from local authorities, companies, trade unions, employer associations, universities and regional agencies. Curriculum making as social practice has the potential to be used for comparative international studies and as a framework that takes national differences in VET education systems into account.
Concurrent Vocational Education Through Microlearning Approaches at Higher Education, Assessing the Capacity, Awareness and the Will of Universities in Garowe, Somalia
Full text linkPurpose: The study investigated the possibility of establishing concurrent vocational education and training through microlearning platforms by assessing whether universities in Garowe had the minimum basic facilities to establish such programmes, whether academic staff were aware of the state of vocational education, its importance, the rate of unemployment in Garowe and Puntland in general, and whether university professionals were willing to establish these training programmes as concurrent options.
Method: It was a survey study of a qualitative approach and data was collected using an inventory checklist of institutions capacity, a close ended questionnaire to academic staff on their general perception of vocational education and training, and detailed interviews of both academic and administrative staff purposively selected at higher education institutions in Garowe to find out their willingness as stakeholders to adopt vocational training at higher education using microlearning approaches.
Findings: Universities in Garowe Puntland have the basic minimum facilities to establish microlearning oriented platforms although respondents emphasise that it should be supplemented with some physical practical sessions and modules. It is evident that introducing vocational education at higher education is one of the solutions to the unending graduate unemployment. However just like some respondents recommend, micro-learning for vocational education should be supplemented with some physical practical sessions and modules, hence a kind of blended approach. The study also found that there is hardly any career guidance done at the secondary school level and this affects choice of professional careers as students transition from secondary to tertiary education.
Conclusions: It is evident from findings that the attitude towards vocational education in Puntland has not been good, although with awareness and given the increased rate of graduate unemployment, the attitude can also be changed gradually. The study recommends a needs assessment before establishing certain training programmes to avoid the recurring challenges of mismatch between training programmes and the labour needs plus a need to intensify their international and regional collaborations with more experienced organisations and institutions. There is need for a curriculum review process of the existing university curriculum to accommodate the vocational concurrent programmes.
Apprenticeship Reforms in West Africa: An Outcome-Process Evaluation of a Pilot Dual Training Model-Based Apprenticeship Reform Scheme in Ghana
Full text linkContext: Faced with deep challenges with access to formal education, many West African countries are increasingly taking steps to reform their informal apprenticeship systems to make them a quality skills development alternative for their teeming youth. A review of the literature shows that although different countries in the region are deploying different reform strategies, what is emerging as a dominant reform model is the "dual training model" (DTM), a collaborative arrangement in which the task of training apprentices is shared between informal trainers (master craftspersons, under their respective trade associations) and formal vocational training institutions (FVTIs). This paper presents an outcome-process evaluation of a DTM-based apprenticeship reform programme piloted in Ghana.
Methods: Designed as a case study, the paper adopts an interpretivist approach, relying on diverse sources of data, both secondary and primary. Secondary data includes journal articles, attendance registers of participants, memorandums of understanding, relevant media reports, websites, and official reports by all relevant actors. The primary data originated from in-depth interviews with fourteen (14) key informants, as well as from overt and covert observations of respondents.
Results: At the outcome level, the paper shows that the programme has largely failed in transferring new skills or in changing dominant poor practices among trainees, foundational objectives of the programme. At the process level, the paper revealed deep flaws in implementation; these are discussed in detail in an attempt to clarify the programme outcomes.
Conclusion: The paper concludes that although the dual training model remains a potentially viable reform model in informal apprenticeships, its success ultimately depends on the quality of implementation, which in turn depends on the strength and quality of inter-stakeholder collaboration in programme design and implementation.
Engaging Young People in Occupations Served by Vocational Education: Case Study From Healthcare
Full text linkPurpose: Globally, countries with both developed and developing economies are struggling to secure sufficient participation in vocational education to generate the range and quantum of skills required for their communities and realising national social and economic goals. In an era of high aspiration, vocational education and the occupations it serves are increasingly seen as being a less than desirable outcome by young people and their parents. Hence, there is a need to identify means by which to inform and engage young people in considering vocational education and the occupations it serves. The case study discussed in this paper is contextualised within the Australian state of Queensland, which, like many other countries is struggling to have a workforce sufficient to meet communities\u27 healthcare needs as its population both grows and ages.
Methods: The study data were collected from 1) interviews with healthcare-related stakeholders including health industry representatives, teachers or practitioners, and healthcare providers, 2) focus groups with senior secondary students, and 3) surveys with these participant groups. It provides a descriptive analysis of efforts to secure greater participation by young people in allied health roles, and, in particular, young Australian Indigenous people.
Findings: The study participants included those from regional and metropolitan centres and from state and independent schools, and in all of which the focus on engagement was central. Findings indicated that engagement was necessary to advise young people about these occupations, the effective preparation for them, and likely retention in the workforce.
Conclusion: This study highlights the need for intentional strategies to engage young people, their parents/guardians and with those efforts likely needing to be organised and enacted at the local level. This requires collaboration and engagement from education, industry, and local communities. Essentially, a systemic approach is required, specifying roles for government, employers, educational systems, and teachers and parents who engage directly with young people. In all, engagement, advice and opportunities locally are all emphasised in the study reported here.