Analyzing the nexus of higher education and vocational training in Europe: a comparative‐institutional framework

Why are higher education participation rates in Germany so low? Institutional barriers to higher education expansion

“…Yet these reforms, we argue, do not fundamentally challenge the major barriers to HE expansion, such as supply-side factors of secondary-level educational attainment. The case of Germany furthermore requires the analysis of the interaction between reforms and institutional change in both HE and VET, because: (1) these organisational fields grew out of the 'institutional logic' (Friedland and Alford 1991) of Germany's segregated educational system (see Powell 2009); and (2) most analyses overlook the complementary and competitive relationship between HE and VET, which is crucial to understanding the value ascribed to particular pathways and choices among HE and vocational training opportunities in cross-national comparison (Powell and Solga 2010).…”

How Employer Interests and Investments Shape Advanced Skill Formation

“…Simultaneously, Germany's traditional secondary-level apprenticeship system, which links workplace training with vocational schooling in particular occupations, also continues to be attractive globally (Euler 2013 ;Powell and Solga 2010 ). Dual apprenticeship training at the upper-secondary level has a celebrated history in Germany, firmly embedded in corporatist governance structures that involve employer and employee representatives from business associations and unions as so-called social partners (Busemeyer and Trampusch 2012 ).…”

“…This development relates to the blurring of traditional boundaries between higher education and vocational education and training in many countries around the world (Powell and Solga 2010 ), which also is reflected in a gradual convergence of these fi elds across Europe (Powell et al 2012 ). In the United States as well, some work-based higher-education programs resemble the German dual-study programs, including higher-end apprenticeship programs off ered by American community colleges as well as a vast range of co-op programs (Graf 2016 ).…”

English as a medium of instruction and internationalization at Danish universities: Status, perspectives, and implications for higher education executives

“…The steadily advancing Bologna process in Europe (Powell & Solga, 2010) gives witness to a general European tendency in education politics and management to follow internationalization strategies. The internationalization process, on the one hand, and the increasing importance of English as the European lingua franca and language of higher education, on the other hand, are strongly interrelated.…”