International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training
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Employee Training Policies of High Revenue Companies: Analysis of Case Examples From Turkey
Full text linkPurpose: The present study explores the primary characteristics of employee training practices by way of analysing the employee training policies of the top two companies with the highest sales revenue in Turkey. The primary characteristics of employee training practices are examined within the scope of the corporate employee training activities and the practices to cope with the challenges in the organization of employee training. Methods: Employing qualitative approach, document analysis was conducted within the context of two cases. The two companies with the highest sales revenue in Turkey were selected as cases in the study. The companies were determined through criterion sampling in line with the financial performance based on net sales revenue, stability of financial performance and potential for corporate training policy development criteria. The six years of sustainability and activity reports of the companies were analysed through thematic analysis. The documents were analysed through thematic analysis using open coding. Employee training policies and practices were presented under the sub-themes of personnel training types, subjects of personnel training, training infrastructure, factors considered in the design of training processes and supportive practices for training processes. Findings: Employee training of the companies mostly consists of formal and non-formal training activities designed according to the needs of employees. These training activities aim at both occupational and personal development of the employees. The training activities, which are mostly organized with the use of internal resources, also allow employees to make their own personal development plans. The dominant common aspects of the employee training policies of the companies show that the successful integration of employee training to the career management systems increases the efficiency of training activities. The study results also illustrate that the employee training policies can be strengthened through corporate capacity development activities. Conclusion: Institutionalization of training practices that contribute to workplace learning has an important role in the financial gains of highly competitive organizations. The success of corporate training practices for employees requires both an effective design in terms of content and process and a strong establishment of corporate training infrastructure. The provision of formal and informal learning opportunities structured according to employee needs through a strong corporate training infrastructure and planning the career development of employees based on the outputs of training activities are the indicators of successful company performance.
Digital Skills and the Use of Digital Platforms in the Informal Sector: A Case Study Among Jua Kali Artisans in Nairobi in Kenya
Full text linkContext: For many businesses, one of the key indicators in their management is the adaptation of Information Technology in their operations. In Kenya, there has been a phenomenal growth in access to mobile phones, by June 2023, over 66 million mobile phones were connected to various telecommunication operators of which 58.3% were smart phones constituting 67.1% of internet connections. There are many digital technologies which can be adapted to facilitate the processing, dissemination, and access of information. The modern world has become competitive due to the uptake of Information Technology as one of the main business management skill, with the availability of smart phones and many applications that are easily available and easy to use. One of the main beneficiaries of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) is the Jua Kali artisans who are a key player in the Kenyan economy. Entrepreneurial competencies help the growth of businesses along the dimension of innovation. Kenya intends to entrench the use of Information Technology for public service delivery, business, skills, and innovation. The Jua Kali sector cannot be ignored, it contributes more than 80% of the total employment in Kenya.
Approach: This research was carried out in the Eastlands of Nairobi, Kenya. Data were collected using a questionnaire, an interview and observation schedule. The study used an interview schedule to collect data from Jua Kali artisans carrying out their artisan businesses in the Eastlands of Nairobi and a questionnaire survey to collect data from a sample of identified Nairobi residents who had engaged an artisan to work for them six months prior to the research.
Findings: The research established that most Jua Kali artisans acquired their skills in the Jua Kali sector by apprenticeship (86.3%) while a small percentage (12.7%) trained in Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET) institutions while a further one percent were trained by their former employers. Most of the artisans had attained the basic formal education qualifications i.e. primary education (27.9%) and secondary education (47.6%). The Chi-square (χ²) test was used to test the relationship between use of the basic social media digital platforms in business management and the formal education attained by artisans owning artisan businesses.
Conclusion: At 0.05 level of significance (α) the research established that there is a significant relationship between the adaptation of digital platforms in business management and the formal education attained by the artisans.
Emotional Intelligence and Success in Initial Vocational Education and Training: A Study Among Healthcare Assistants and Social Care Workers
Full text linkContext: Research on emotional intelligence (EI) shows this concept\u27s decades-long positive influence on well-being, self-efficacy, employability, and academic and professional achievement. Indeed, several studies have demonstrated that students with high EI have better grades and quality of life, as well as are more employable than students with low EI. By considering the two conceptualizations of EI as either an ability or personality trait, the present study investigates EI\u27s influence on training achievement in initial vocational education and training (IVET). We posited that the two types of EI positively influence training achievement in a complementary way: Ability EI relates to achievement in theoretical training, while trait EI relates to achievement in practical training. Furthermore, these links are mediated by apprentices\u27 engagement at school and in learning.
Method: To test our hypotheses, 92 dual IVET health and social care apprentices in their last year of vocational school completed an online survey composed of validated scales measuring EI as an ability, EI as a personality trait, personality traits, and school engagement. The apprentices\u27 grades were also obtained with their permission.
Results: The findings confirmed our hypotheses and reflected EI\u27s positive influence on training achievement. We observed that participants with high EI (as an ability and personality trait) obtained better grades than participants with lower EI. Moreover, our results showed that ability EI has a direct influence on achievement in theoretical health and social care training, while the link between trait EI and practical training is indirect and mediated by engagement in learning.
Conclusion: The present study confirms EI\u27s positive influence on school achievement in the VET context and further corroborates the important role that EI can play in dual IVET apprentices\u27 achievement, particularly in the health and social sectors. This original study contributes to research on the VET system by placing EI among the skills necessary to ensure professional success.
Teacher, Professional or Both? A Mixed Method Study of the Professional Identity of Vocational Teachers and Trainers in Hungary
Full text linkPurpose: Vocational educators in many countries enter teaching as a second career and authentic occupational expertise is seen as essential to good quality VET. The changing contexts of VET and the growing diversity of its learning populations also demand the development of teaching expertise. This dual professionalism is related to a unique combination of an occupational and a teacher identity, however, prior, and mainly qualitative research from a limited number of VET contexts suggests that often one side of this duality prevails. Our study aimed to explore the professional identity of vocational educators in Hungary and to identify some of the factors that might influence its formation.
Methods: We applied a mixed method design, conducting a teacher survey (N=138) and semi-structured interviews (N=12). The quantitative and qualitative strands followed a parallel design, exploring the same topics but identity views and the organisational context were studied more deeply in the interviews. In the survey, we measured professional identity through a direct question about its type as well as questions about the importance of specific goals and teacher competence areas in vocational teaching. We used statistical and thematic analyses to study our quantitative and qualitative data.
Results: Most vocational educators in our study identified as both a teacher and a professional, though the type of identity varied by gender and length of occupational work experience. Perceptions about the main goals in teaching revealed vocation/outcome-focused and student/education-focused goal orientations influenced by gender, qualifications and work experience, while our qualitative data also showed the impact of school culture and the wider socio-economic context. The goal orientations identified in the survey were more balanced for those with a dual identity, and they correlated with perceptions about the importance of different teacher competence areas, which were most influenced by whether or not the educator had obtained a pedagogical qualification.
Conclusion: Our findings showed that although most vocational educators also in Hungary claim to have a dual identity, they often prioritise the development of occupational expertise as they believe it is what gives them credibility that is seen as essential to "good VET". Considering the significant impact we have found of teacher education and continued work in the occupation on identity views, it seems of utmost importance that policy and schools recognise and support the development of both occupational and teacher expertise, to ensure a balanced dual identity that seems best suited for vocational teaching.
Expertise Development at Work: A Workplace Curriculum Perspective in the Domains of Sales Representatives and Leadership Coaches in a German Context
Full text linkContext: Active engagement and participation in professional practices are an important requirement for expertise development in vocational domains. However, not much is known about how work contexts foster or hinder such expertise development. To further fill this research gap, this study investigates two vocational domains, namely sales representatives and leadership coaches, using the Workplace Curriculum Approach. This approach focuses on three aspects. First, how novices get access to certain tasks. Second, which tasks at work are especially conducive to learning, referred to as pedagogically-rich activities. Third, what knowledge is hard-to-learn through practice alone. By focusing on these three aspects, the Workplace Curriculum Approach helps to understand learning.
Method: Eleven highly competent sales representatives and ten highly competent leadership coaches from German organizations participated in an interview study. A thematic qualitative text analysis was applied using deductive and inductive coding.
Results: For sales representatives, task sequencing is different across organizations due to structural factors, particularly products, and infrastructure. Ideally, apprentices start by getting to know the customers by selling products on site at a counter and by getting to know the products in the warehouse. challenging interactions with customers on the phone are most conducive to learning. The scope of the product portfolio and the amount of technical knowledge are hard to learn. Leadership coaches are encouraged by peers to start at team leader and smaller team levels before moving on to more senior executives and larger team levels. Weekly team meetings offer important social learning opportunities similar to informal discussions among peers. Methodological and organizational knowledge are hard to learn.
Conclusion: Regardless of differences between both domains, the Workplace Curriculum Approach proved useful for analyzing learning and expertise development in the different workplace contexts. The approach proved to be a fairly tangible and easy-to-use tool to investigate how workplaces support expertise development and how workplace learning regimes might be changed to further foster novices’ learning and development. Researchers and practitioners alike can utilize the Workplace Curriculum Approach to analyze learning in different domains in their respective organization. However, individual factors of the learners such as motivation to participate in activities in the workplace are not explicitly included in this approach to investigate professional learning and development. They should be of additional focus in any study interested in vocational expertise development
From TPACK to N-TPACK Framework for Vocational Education and Training With a Focus on Nutritional Science and Home Economics
Full text linkContext: In Germany, vocational education and training (VET) plays a key role in the transition from school to working life. Due to its proximity to the labour market and an increasingly digitised, connected world, the professional knowledge requirements of VET teachers are changing and an adjustment of competence frameworks for vocational teachers is needed. Approach: Since its introduction, the TPACK (Technological Pedagogical And Content Knowledge) framework of Shulman and Mishra and Koehler has been repeatedly used in the international research discourse as a framework for capturing teachers\u27 professional knowledge. Given the infrequent reference to TPACK in the field of vocational education and training (VET), this theoretical article aims to adapt the TPACK framework for VET teachers. A literature review revealed the importance of developing an adapted TPACK framework that takes into account the peculiarities of the German vocational school system as well as the non technical personal service sector. Based on this research gap, an appropriately adapted TPACK framework was developed. The focus of this article lies on VET of nutritional science and home economics. Findings: After considering and analysing the requirements of the VET system in Germany in the context of digitalisation, it is suggested to adapt and enlarge the existing TPACK framework, thus creating an N-TPACK framework, taking into account "Networking and Collaborative Knowledge (NK)" as an aspect of essential VET teachers\u27 professional knowledge. Conclusion: The present theoretical article considers the research desideratum of extending the TPACK framework by developing a theoretical N-TPACK framework as well as examining and discussing the various knowledge areas. Building on this theoretical article, a survey of the current status quo of these professional knowledge areas among (prospective) VET teachers in the subject area of nutrition and home economics is necessary, in order to provide orientation and to be able to derive recommended actions for an up-to-date and forward looking teacher education and training.
Leveling Entrepreneurial Skills of Vocational Secondary School Students in Indonesia: Impact of Demographic Characteristics
Full text linkContext: This article aims to determine the entrepreneurial skills of Vocational Secondary School students after the implementation of a new curriculum that promotes entrepreneurship courses in Indonesia. The authors believe that after taking such courses, students will be able to generate entrepreneurial skills. This study also explores the effect of demographic characteristics on students\u27 entrepreneurship skills level, especially with respect to gender, school, and family. Approach: This study used a quantitative approach, with data collected through a questionnaire with five variables, that is, leadership, reflective communication, risk-taking, creatively innovative, and future orientation. Data were collected from 463 students who had taken entrepreneurship subjects that were chosen randomly. Data were analyzed using linear regression. Findings: 52.22% of our respondents had a moderate score for entrepreneurial skills, this is not in accordance with the expected learning outcomes, there are students who have entrepreneurial skills at a high level. With respect to creative innovation, in particular, a majority (53.15%) had a low score and 4.1% had a very low score. Moreover, family had a significant and positive effect on all dependent variables (leadership scores, reflective communication scores, risk-taking scores, creatively innovative scores, future orientation scores, and overall entrepreneurial skills scores). School demographic characteristics had a significant positive effect on the value of future orientation. These results indicate that private schools tend to strengthen the level of reflective communicative scores. Conclusion: The entrepreneurial skills of most vocational students are middling. This indicates that entrepreneurship subjects at Vocational Secondary schools have not been able to achieve their expected learning outcomes or help students develop entrepreneurial skills at a high level. Thus, further research is needed to determine the causes behind the problem. Schools are expected to be able to establish harmonious relationships by involving families to support the improvement of an informal learning environment that supports the mastery of entrepreneurial skills of vocational students
Enhancing Critical Thinking Skills and Media Literacy in Initial VET Students: A Mixed Methods Study on a Cross-Country Training Program
Full text linkContext: In the last few decades, the constant and exponential changes in the society\u27s consumption of information have increased the awareness of practitioners from the education and training field, on the need for training programs for the enhancement of critical thinking skills and media literacy among students from Initial Vocational Education and Training (IVET) who are less exposed to intellectual trainings than their peers in traditional education pathways.
Approach: With this impetus, the present paper reports the results of a mixed methods study evaluating a training program for such competences. Based on a cognitive psychology theoretical framework, the training program consisted in three main techniques through which trainers can work with students in the classroom. N= 35 trainers from five different countries (i.e., Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands) were instructed about the training techniques and implemented them in their training centres. Then, a total of N= 288 students among these countries were involved in the testing of the training, which took place on a duration average of 5 months. Mixed methods approach was used to evaluate the effectiveness and quality of the training. Notably, prospective statistical analysis evaluated the training\u27s impact of the participating students and compared with a control group. Qualitative interviews examined the training\u27s lived experience with a group of students and trainers.
Findings: The quantitative and qualitative analysis of pre/post- measures of critical thinking skills and media literacy of the experimental group, and the comparison with the control group, indicate an increase in these competences and confirm the efficacy of the training intervention.
Conclusion: These results inform about the usefulness of the training program cross-culturally and the feasibility of training strategies based on cognitive psychology. Moreover, the paper offers a methodological contribution thanks to the proposition of the mixed methods approach for training programs assessment.
The Implementation of Dual Vocational Education and Training in Spain: Analysis of Company Tutors in the Tourism Sector
Full text linkContext: Vocational education and training (VET) has become a key issue in today\u27s highly dynamic business, technological and economic environment, with a complex diversity of systems within the European Union. This paper aims to study the implementation of dual VET in Spain, focusing on the working conditions of company tutors in the tourism sector of Andalusia and the Canary Islands.Approach: Dual VET has been implemented in different ways, both between the different autonomous regions and professional areas since it was launched in 2012. In order to analyse these differences, interviews with teachers, head teachers, students and company tutors were carried out, between 2020 and 2021, in centres that had implemented dual vocational education training and centres that had not. The educational programme in dual VET implies a closer collaboration between schools and companies, as both are active training areas; the training objectives are shared between the school and the company. In this study, the company tutor is studied in his or her facet as trainer and assessor; but special emphasis is placed on the characteristics of the tourism sector, given its relevance in understanding the educational processes involved. Three dimensions underpin the analysis: the characteristics of the company tutor, the training and assessment processes implemented and the link that both maintain with the dynamics of tourism companies.Findings: In general terms, the initial assumptions put forward are confirmed. Firstly, the educational centre leads the process, taking the initiative yet without having the conditions of governance and negotiation typical of the Germanic countries from which these vocational education training systems originate. Secondly, the main characteristics of the company tutor are heterogeneity and informality. Thirdly, the contents and methodology are conditioned by the characteristics of the tourism sector. And finally, assessment also follows informal and changing procedures, generating tensions between the educational centre and company.Conclusions: These results give rise to some theoretical reflections. If the education system is an institution based on the principle of equality, it is worth asking to what extent dual VET can alter this principle, as the company adapts some of the contents and learning outcomes to its specific needs. In addition, an important differentiating factor that marks the learning dynamics has been detected: the size of the company. The difference in size may also influence the future prospects of trainees joining the workforce after completion of VET studies
Could Vocational Education Benefit From Augmented Reality and Hypervideo Technologies? An Exploratory Interview Study
Full text linkContext: This study investigates the perspective of vocational educators on the possibility of adopting augmented reality (AR) and hypervideo (HV) technologies to support their teaching practice. Vocational education and training (VET) is particularly concerned with the learning of resources (knowledge, skills and attitudes) that are immediately transposable into conduct and procedures in the workplace. AR and HV can provide means to answer this requirement, but both technological solutions are still not so diffused in VET. The purpose of this study is to inquire into the perception of educators on the main advantages and disadvantages of using AR and HV to support teaching-and-learning. Methods: A semi-structured interview protocol has been proposed to 73 teachers, intercompany trainers and in-company trainers in 10 professions (at least two per category within each profession). The interview was organized in two main steps: A need analysis, in which the most important and difficult operative skills are identified for the interviewee\u27s profession; and a discussion of advantages and disadvantages of AR and HV. Content analysis was applied to the interview transcriptions. Results: The results show that the main advantages reported in the literature for the two technologies – such as the ability to switch between 2D and 3D and carry out simulations – are also found in the VET context by educators. For HV the main technical advantages (such as the use of active points, and non-linear navigation of video content) were autonomously recognised, while the potential of the instrument to support reflection has not been clearly identified. Conclusions: AR and HV are considered as tools able to support apprentices\u27 procedural learning especially with regard to the operational skills which were judged by the educators to be most relevant for VET.