Vocational Education and Training: Researching the Relationship between School and Work

Abstract

IntroductionDevelopments in society, and more specifically in labour markets, such as an ageing workforce, high rates of youth unemployment, skills shortages, and flexicurity have an impact on societal demands on vocational education and training (VET). Employees who are professional, flexible, and employable, who have the necessary competences, and who are capable of lifelong learning (OECD, 2014) are needed. In this regard, VET plays a key role in their preparation. The relationship between school and work is one of the key characteristics that determine the quality of VET. It has received a great deal of attention in the past in political and (inter)national debates (OECD, 2010), as well as in research (Tuomi-Gröhn, Engeström, & Young, 2007). Nevertheless, it still needs improvement. It is a complex issue, where different levels of analysis are often intertwined. These levels include: the context of VET systems (i.e. society); the settings in which VET takes place (e.g. the 'school' and the 'work organisation'); the content of the training; and the knowledge, skills and competences that are provided and acquired in both settings. We argue that, in order to improve the relationship between school and work, we must take into account the characteristics of the system in which this relationship is embedded. A system is defined as 'congeries of interdependent flows and activities linking shifting coalitions of participants embedded in wider material-resource environments' (Scott & Davis, 2007, p. 34). Moreover, the specific characteristics of the relationship between a VET system and the associated school-work relationship determine how it must be researched.Therefore, our central question is: what needs to be considered when investigating the relationship between school and work?In the following sections, we analyse these requirements from three perspectives: (1) the VET system and its contextual characteristics, (2) the school-work relationship in VET at different levels, and (3) the requirements of good and adequate research. Each of these perspectives allows us to derive the unique requirements for researching the relationship between school and work in specific contexts. Based on these results, we discuss implications and guidelines that aim at raising researchers' awareness of the necessary decisions which, in turn, facilitate the quality of research projects which investigate the quality of the relationship between school and work in different VET systems. Moreover, we illustrate our results with a study on the German dual apprenticeship system and draw conclusions about important issues which should be addressed by policy makers.

The effect of team learning behaviours and team mental models on teacher team performance

“…Regarding learning at work, the work environment is the learning context (Mulder, Messmann, & König, 2015). Individuals learn at work by doing the work itself, by interacting with colleagues, by coping with challenges or by reflecting on experiences.…”

Nám í skóla og á vinnustað: Viðhorf og reynsla sveina, kennara og meistara af tvískiptu kerfi löggiltra iðngreina

“…Nám í skóla og á vinnustað baetir hvort annað upp með ólíkum námstaekifaerum, laerdómi og reynslu nemenda á hvorum vettvangi fyrir sig (sjá t.d. Aarkrog, 2005;Billett, 2009;Eraut, 2004;Fuller og Unwin, 2004b;Griffiths og Guile, 2003;Schaap, Baartman og de Bruijn, 2012), en árangur byggist að miklu leyti á því hvernig gengur að tryggja samhengi í náminu í skólanum og á vinnustaðnum (Billett, 2014;Mulder, Messmann og König, 2015;Schaap o.fl., 2012;Sloane, 2014;Tynjälä, 2008). Markmið rannsóknarinnar er skoða hvernig samspili náms í skóla og á vinnustað er háttað og hvort námið í heild myndar samfellu og samhengi.…”

“…Research has, however, also shown that the effectiveness of the dual system is in part based on the coherence of the learning that takes place at each site. Transfer of learning from the school to the workplace and vice versa is often elusive, and students have difficulty making sense of how what they learn at school is relevant to work and how experiences at the workplace relate to what is discussed at school (Billett, 2013(Billett, , 2014Guile & Young, 2004;Mulder, et al, 2015;Schaap, et al, 2012;Sloane, 2014;Tynjälä, 2008;Wahlgren, 2009). The goal of the research was to investigate how the dual system in the certified trades (where a journeyman's examination is required for working in the trade) is implemented in Iceland and, specifically, to look at whether the system provides a coherent educational experience in terms of how educational pathways are organized.…”

Gestión directiva en establecimientos de educación media técnico profesional: desafíos para el liderazgo

“…En efecto, el tipo de relación entre la educación y el trabajo constituye una de las características clave que determinaría la calidad de la formación técnica de un sistema educativo(Mulder et al, 2015), siendo el principal elemento distintivo del liderazgo directivo en la educación técnico profesional. Este vínculo otorga el marco de acciones generales para cada uno de los siguientes factores, así como también las habilidades de liderazgo que cada uno de estos demanda a quienes desempeñan tareas directivas en contextos técnico profesionales.…”

“…La relación entre educación y trabajo constituye un elemento transversal de la formación técnico profesional, pero las formas en que esta se despliega varían de acuerdo con las lógicas de cada país y obedecen a contextos más amplios como las políticas de bienestar, el grado de centralización de los países, los marcos institucionales de la educación y los mecanismos de regulación de los mercados laborales, entre otros. De acuerdo conMulder et al (2015) para comprender la naturaleza de la relación entre educación y trabajo es fundamental la consideración de los contextos históricoculturales, políticos e institucionales de cada sistema de formación en particular.5 Centro Europeo para el Desarrollo de la Formación Profesional, Unión Europea. Este documento sintetiza los principales esfuerzos de coordinación de la oferta actual de la educación y formación para el trabajo a nivel europeo y que incide de manera significativa en las orientaciones de política para los centros de formación en diferentes lugares del mundo.…”