Towards A Framework For The Comparative Analysis Of National Systems Of Skill Formation

Abstract

This article builds on earlier attempts to develop a conceptual framework for the comparative analysis of training and skill formation systems. Following a critical review of previous approaches, the article identifies the main underlying relationships which shape national systems of skill formation. We identify four such 'models' of the skill formation process. These models show how such a framework can help us understand why societies have different approaches to the provision of education, training and skill formation and why there are significant differences in government policies towards training as they at tempt to respond to the challenges of globalisation.Comparative analysis of national systems of skill formation 9

Uncertain Frontiers: taking forward Edmund King's world perspectives on post-compulsory education

“…The converse is true in comparative studies originating from economists and employment/training analysts. Sung et al (2000) contrast typologies of education, training and skill formation systems emanating from educationalists with those emanating from economists and labour marketanalysts. Educational approaches are portrayed as being predominantly concerned with the attempt to identify models of educational provision.…”

The linkage between the education and employment systems: ideal types of vocational education and training programs

“…In addition, the literature points to specific challenges in developing a VET typology, whether one analyzes VET curricula, programs, or pathways (e.g., Matthes 1992;Sung, Turbin, and Ashton 2000;Grollmann 2008). One major challenge lies in identifying the right dimensionality of VET, that is, finding the balance between too much complexity and too much simplicity (Elman 2005;Grollmann 2008).…”

“…One major challenge lies in identifying the right dimensionality of VET, that is, finding the balance between too much complexity and too much simplicity (Elman 2005;Grollmann 2008). For example, putting too much emphasis on the cultural, historical, and societal contexts of VET programs might lead to an unmanageable (i.e., overly complex) typology (Sung, Turbin, and Ashton 2000).…”

Development paradigms in the institutional configuration of vocational education and training in Chile (1964-2005)

“…The institutional configuration of vocational education and training (VET) systems in developing countries has received little attention from comparative education studies and still remains largely under-theorised (McGrath 2012). The most salient effort to provide an overarching explanatory framework of the emergence of differentiated VET models in developing contexts was proposed by Ashton, Turbin, and Sung (2000), which argued that these institutional variations were caused by the limited capacity of governments in developing countries to resist the influence of multilateral financial organisations and respond to the challenges posed by economic globalisation. More recent comparative studies (Maurer 2012) have shown how policy actors in some developing countries actually deviated from the priorities in VET set by international organisations, and how local demands emerging from educational expansion and economic development dynamics better explain changes in national VET systems.…”

“…The period covers the military coup of 1973 and the transition to democracy after the national plebiscite of 1988, which constituted critical historical junctures for the development path of the country. The case of Chile is particularly relevant to these debates because it was originally characterised by Ashton, Turbin, and Sung (2000) as a paradigmatic example of the neo-market model of skills formation that emerged in Latin American countries as a result of neoliberal globalisation. Whilst more recent policy studies have analysed current policy efforts to reform the VET system (Zancajo and Valiente 2018), no research has been conducted so far to explain the historical processes leading to the institutional configuration of the market model of VET in Chile.…”