This report is the result of a study commissioned by UNESCO-UNEVOC to fill the gap both on mapping the landscape of the use of Open Educational Resources (OER) and open practices in the field of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and to provide Member States and UNESCO, in particular UNESCO-UNEVOC, with recommendations to support the creation and the use of OER in TVET.
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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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Over the past decade, more and more studies have been published about OER adoptionby educators and educational institutions. The largest part of these studies is about OER in Higher Education and a growing amount is about OER and open textbooks in K-12 education. In addition, according to De Olivereira Netoet al (2017), most studies are focused on the Global North where education instructors “enjoy comparatively higher levels of economic development, educational provision, policy elaboration, and technological access than those in the Global South. This means that less is known about educators’ OER-related practices in the regionwhere OER is touted as having its potentially greatest impact”(De Olivereira Netoet al,2017:2-3).Despite the steadily growing number of studies on the use of OER by educators, there is part of the realm of education that still is ‘a dark continent’ for OER and OER studies, namely Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET). As an indicator, we have analyzed the database from the OER Knowledgecloud1, considered representative for the current state of international OER research, being available as Open Access. With a total of 1638 items in the database (27 October, 9:35 CEST), searching on “technical AND vocational” only gave 2 results (dating from 2011 and 2012).The research presented in this paperprovides the results of a systematic international literature review with the aim of localizing relevant studies on the potentialities and use of OER in TVET. The information from this literature review has been complemented by data from an international quantitative survey taken by members of an UNESCO TVET forum, and from semi-structured interviews with international TVET experts.
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There are changes in society and labour market demands made to TVET and in the TVET system itself. To deal with both types of challenges, the aim for TVET planning and development is to anticipate how employment will evolve and to determine how to give individuals a knowledge base that will enable them to adapt to the changing demands and benefit from the mobility. Major research areas connected to relevant problem areas in the TVET planning and development process can be constituted by analysis of labour market developments and changes in learning contents, new insights into the development of skills, competences and expertise, integration of learning places in school and workplace, professional development of VET teachers and trainers and VET and organisational development in organisations.
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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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Second career teachers (SCT) are key role models in vocational education (VE) because they prepare students for the vocational practice they were part of, and they bring up-to-date vocational knowledge and skills into VE schools. Therefore, the early leaving of SCTs in VE is a problem, adding to the worldwide teacher shortages. Induction programs have been developed to support starting teachers to grow into their new profession and to diminish high attrition rates. However, it is argued that current induction programs fail to support SCTs adequately. For instance, induction programs rarely adapt to SCTs’ various needs, such as recognizing and integrating previously developed competencies and specific backgrounds. Further-more, SCTs’ induction programs in the specific context of VE are largely under-studied. This study explores the experiences of SCTs in VE during their induction programs regarding four themes identified in research on SCTs in other education sectors: 1) professional identity development, 2) learning processes, 3) tailor-made coaching, and 4) co-creation of induction programs. Eleven SCTs from eight Dutch VE schools were interviewed. The data show a rich variation of SCTs’ experiences. For example, they experienced the opportunity to develop their professional identity as teachers while preserving and including their former identity as practitioners of the vocation they teach for. Yet, only a few SCTs experienced co-creation of the induction program, which seems to have a positive impact. The insights of this study offer an understanding of what SCTs in VE go through and what might support them during their induction.
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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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This one-off magazine is a joint publication of Dutch and Indonesian partners in the INNOCAP and vegIMPACT NL programmes. These partners worked together to strengthen agricultural education in poultry, horticulture and ruminant production at SMK level. SMKs (Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan) are vocational upper secondary schools. All programme partners share the conviction that educational cooperation and private sector development should go hand in hand. The digital version of this magazine is enriched with links to websites and videos of the programme partners and their highlights of the results of the joint Indonesian - Dutch programmes. “The cooperation between Indonesia and the Netherlands can build further on the lessons learned from INNOCAP and vegIMPACT NL programmes to invest in vocational education for agricultural growth”.
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This one-off magazine is a joint publication of Dutch and Indonesian partners in the INNOCAP and vegIMPACT NL programmes. These partners worked together to strengthen agricultural education in poultry, horticulture and ruminant production at SMK level. SMKs (Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan) are vocational upper secondary schools. All programme partners share the conviction that educational cooperation and private sector development should go hand in hand. The digital version of this magazine is enriched with links to websites and videos of the programme partners and their highlights of the results of the joint Indonesian - Dutch programmes. “The cooperation between Indonesia and the Netherlands can build further on the lessons learned from INNOCAP and vegIMPACT NL programmes to invest in vocational education for agricultural growth”.
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Within healthcare and social care education, students, teachers, supervisors and others are increasingly collaborating and learning in networked learning communities. These communities can take different forms, such as networked internships, interorganisational projects or interdisciplinary networks. In order to improve the success of these networks, four conditions for reciprocal collaboration in networks are important. This research aims to gain more insight into how students, teachers, supervisors and others work and learn together in these reciprocal networks. The research questions are: 1) To what extent are the learning communities already set up according to the conditions of reciprocity? 2) How is reciprocity experienced in the learning communities? 3) To what extent is trialogical and interactive learning given a place in the learning communities? and 4) How is social bonding experienced in the learning communities? A yearly survey will be used amongst the members of in total 15 learning communities with 15-25 members each, throughout three years. The survey consists of the Reciprocity Instrument, Classroom Community scale and trialogical learning.
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