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Effectiveness of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)

Purpose - This paper provides an overview on the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) program components/mechanisms and their overall effect on learning outcomes in a developing country context. Design/methodology/approach - Using secondary data, this descriptive case study integrates the realistic evaluation framework of Pawson and Tilley (1997) with Total Quality Management (TQM) frameworks. Findings - Ethiopia's TVET system adopts/adapts international best practices. Following the implementation of the 2008 TVET strategy, the proportion of formal TVET graduates who were recognized as competent by the assessment and certification system increased from 17.42 percent in 2009/2010 to 40.23 percent in 2011/2012. Nevertheless, there is regional variation. Research limitations/implications - Outcome-based TVET reforms that are based on TQM frameworks could improve learning outcome achievements in developing countries by enhancing awareness, coordination, integration, flexibility, participation, empowerment, accountability and a quality culture. Nevertheless, this research is limited by lack of longitudinal data on competency test results. There is also a need for further investigation into the practice of TQM and the sources of differences in internal effectiveness across TVET institutions. Practical implications - Our description of the Ethiopian reform experience, which is based on international best experience, could better inform policy makers and practitioners in TVETelsewhere in Africa. Originality/value - A realistic evaluation of TVET programs, the articulation of the mechanisms, especially based on TQM, that affect TVET effectiveness would add some insight into the literature. The evidence we have provided from the Ethiopian case is also fresh. Keywords TVET reform, TVET quality, Total quality management, Internal effectiveness, Realistic evaluation, Developing countries, Ethiopia

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Effectiveness of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)

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Collectief leren door docenten als stimulans voor succesvolle onderwijsvernieuwing

Ontwikkelingen in de maatschappij, in het bijzonder de ontwikkeling richting een kennismaatschappij, vereisen voor het onderwijs de ontwikkeling van een praktijkgericht en vraaggestuurd onderwijsmodel (Meijers, 2006). Studieloopbaanbegeleiding (slb), gericht op het realiseren van een loopbaangerichte leeromgeving waarin zelfsturing centraal staat, is in het hoger beroepsonderwijs (hbo) sectorbreed ontwikkeld en ingezet als een belangrijk middel hierbij. Landelijk, kwantitatief onderzoek (Kuijpers & Meijers, 2009) heeft laten zien dat het realiseren een dergelijke leeromgeving geen sinecure is. Middels nader kwalitatief onderzoek is inzicht verkregen in de manier waarop drie best practice academies invulling hebben gegeven aan slb. Uit de resultaten, samengevat in dit artikel, blijkt het belang van continu leren door studenten én docenten. In vervolg hierop hebben we literatuuronderzoek verricht naar het begrip 'collectief leren' als een belangrijke vorm van het leren van docenten. Met behulp van vragenlijstonderzoek zijn we nagegaan in welke mate hbo-docenten deze vorm van leren herkennen in hun dagelijkse praktijk. ABSTRACT Developments in society, in particular the development towards a knowledge economy, require educational institutes to develop an educational model that is both practice- and inquiry-based (Meijers, 2006). In order to support this process, Career Guidance, aimed at creating a career-oriented learning environment where students have a say in their own learning processes, is widely introduced in the higher vocational education sector. However, results from national, quantitative research (Kuijpers & Meijers, 2009) have shown that it is difficult to realize such learning environment. In a follow-up qualitative study we gained insight in the way three 'best practice' academies, as identified in the study by Kuijpers and Meijers (2009), have successfully developed and organized their Career Guidance program. Results, summarized in the current article, point to the importance of continuous learning by both students and teachers. Sequel to this study we have performed a review of relevant literature in order to explore the concept 'collective learning' as an important form of teacher learning. By means of a questionnaire we have verified the extent to which teachers in higher vocational education teacher teams recognize this type of learning in their daily work practice.

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Collectief leren door docenten als stimulans voor succesvolle onderwijsvernieuwing

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Een andere benadering van studiesucces

Dit artikel gaat in op en reflecteert op de dissertatie En wat kan ik dan later worden? (Slijper, 2017). Het betreft een longitudinaal onderzoek naar het studiekeuzeproces van 89 studenten HBO-Rechten en Sociaal Juridische Dienstverlening, en de betekenis daarvan voor studiesucces.

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A dialogue worth having

The cultivation of intrinsic motivation is key in the 21th century, but most students in Dutch vocational education lack this quality. To foster intrinsic motivation, a strong career-learning environment is needed that enables students to develop career competencies and a career identity. However such an environment is absent in much of vocational education in The Netherlands. Research shows that the desired learning must be practice based (real life experiences are key), enable a dialogue (in order to attach personal meaning to real life experiences) and give students more autonomy in making choices in their school careers. Although there has been an increase in the use of portfolios and personal-development plans, these instruments are used mainly for improving success at school but are not in career and work. In addition research on the conversations between student and teachers/work-place mentors shows that the latter talk primarily to (65%), and about (21%), but rarely with (9%) students. The culture in schools is still predominately monological. Most teachers feel uncertain about their abilities to help students in developing career competencies and a career identity, though a growing number of teachers want to be trained in initiating meaningful career dialogues. In order to make such training successful in terms of promoting new guidance behaviours, it is essential that school managers create a strong career-learning environment for teachers. The Standards Era policies (Gatto, 2009) that dominate Dutch vocational education at the moment, however, leaves managers little space to do so. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50734-7_7 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reinekke-lengelle-phd-767a4322/

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Exploring Co-Construction of Learning Environments at the Boundary of School and Work Through the Lens of Vocational Practice

Educational institutions and vocational practices need to collaborate to design learning environments that meet current-day societal demands and support the development of learners’ vocational competence. Integration of learning experiences across contexts can be facilitated by intentionally structured learning environments at the boundary of school and work. Such learning environments are co-constructed by educational institutions and vocational practices. However, co-construction is challenged by differences between the practices of school and work, which can lead to discontinuities across the school–work boundary. More understanding is needed about the nature of these discontinuities and about design considerations to counterbalance these discontinuities. Studies on the co-construction of learning environments are scarce, especially studies from the perspective of representatives of work practice. Therefore, the present study explores design considerations for co-construction through the lens of vocational practice. The study reveals a variety of discontinuities related to the designable elements of learning environments (i.e. epistemic, spatial, instrumental, temporal, and social elements). The findings help to improve understanding of design strategies for counterbalancing discontinuities at the interpersonal and institutional levels of the learning environment. The findings confirm that work practice has a different orientation than school practice since there is a stronger focus on productivity and on the quality of the services provided. However, various strategies for co-construction also seem to take into account the mutually beneficial learning potential of the school–work boundary.

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Multilevel boundary crossing

Symposiumbijdrage conferentie EARLI SIG 14, 11-14 september 2018, Genève Learning across the contexts of school and the workplace is highly relevant to the VET-sector. This contribution analyses these cross-contextual learning processes with three key issues in mind: (1) guidance by vocational educators, (2) assessment of students’ development and (3) design of VET-learning environments. Guidance, assessment and overarching VET-curriculum designs form the basis for constructive alignment as an approach to optimize conditions for high quality cross-contextual learning processes. We used the theoretical framework of boundary crossing to clarify the complex, multilevel nature of these key issues.

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Designing learning environments at the school-work boundary

The central aim of this thesis was to increase understanding of designing vocational learning environments at the school–work boundary. Four studies were conducted, focusing on learning environment designs at the school–work boundary and on design considerations of the actors involved in their construction, both from the world of school and the world of work.

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Designing learning environments at the school-work boundary

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The relationship between learning environment and career competencies of students in vocational education

This article focuses on which aspects of the learning environment, aimed at fostering career learning, correspond with the development of career competencies among students (aged 12-19 years) enrolled in prevocational and secondary vocational education in The Netherlands. Aspects of the learning environment that are taken into account here are the following: career orientation and guidance methods used, instruments implemented, and the degree to which the curriculum is practice-based and dialogical. In the study, three career competencies are identified: career reflection (reflective behaviour), career forming (proactive behaviour), and networking (interactive behaviour). To research the relationship between the learning environment and the presence of career competencies, a study was done among 3499 students and 166 teachers in 226 classes in 34 schools. The results show that career guidance in school, in which a dialogue takes place with the student about concrete experiences and which is focused on the future, contributes most to the presence of career competencies among students. Without this dialogue, career guidance methods and instruments barely contribute to the acquisition of career competencies.

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The relationship between learning environment and career competencies of students in vocational education

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Food for thought

The focus of the thesis is an exploration into students’ vocational knowledge in the context of Dutch vocational education and training (VET). The reason students’ vocational knowledge requires exploration is because there is no consensus among scholars in the field of VET about how to theorise the nature of students’ vocational knowledge; most (not all) scholars rely on dichotomous conceptualisations, such as theory versus practice, general versus specific or explicit versus implicit. However, such commonly used dichotomies are not very helpful to understand the complex nature of vocational knowledge. Vocational knowledge is more than putting bits of theoretical and practical knowledge together, it is characterised by sometimes-intimate relationships between knowledge and actions. As a result of the above-mentioned gap in the VET literature, there is little empirical research on how VET students develop vocational knowledge and the extent to which this is occupation-specific knowledge. To understand students’ vocational knowledge, four different aims are formulated and carried out in four studies. The aim of the first study is to identify powerful vocational learning environments to enable the selection of a case that represents high quality vocational learning and teaching. With an eye on analysing students’ vocational knowledge, the second study aims to conceptualise the nature of vocational knowledge that avoids dichotomies. Therefore, two conceptual frameworks are integrated; the idea of contextualising is introduced which is based on cultural-historical theory to highlight the crucial role activity plays in knowledge development and to understand the relationships between the mind (i.e., what people think (and feel)), and action (i.e., what people do). Secondly, the theory is supplemented with ideas from inferentialism, a philosophical semantic theory of meaning to provide a useful way to focus on students’ processes of knowing and to reveal students’ vocational knowledge in terms of ongoing reasoning processes. The third study uses the conceptualisation of vocational knowledge to explore how students develop vocational knowledge in occupational practice, and to illustrate the process of contextualising. The forth study aims to describe what characterises students’ vocational knowledge using an analytic framework that distinguishes between occupation-specific knowledge components and qualities. This thesis contributes to research scholarship in the field of VET and an understanding of students’ vocational knowledge in practice. The theoretical framework of contextualising supplemented with inferentialism provides an alternative way to focus on students’ processes of knowing and helps to reveal students’ vocational knowledge in terms of reasoning processes. The empirical explorations and illustrations of students’ vocational knowledge contribute to the scholarly literature and practice on understanding the nature of vocational knowledge, how students develop vocational knowledge and what characterises their vocational knowledge. The intention to introduce the idea of contextualising is not about reinventing the wheel but rather an attempt to understand how it turns and how it functions. The intention of this thesis is to encourage dialogue and move the debate about the nature of vocational knowledge further, and hence, to provide some “food for thought”.

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Effectiveness of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)