scholarly journals Open access in vocational education and training research: results from four structured group discussions

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Getz ◽  
Karin Langenkamp ◽  
Bodo Rödel ◽  
Kerstin Taufenbach ◽  
Meike Weiland
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Vocational Education ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Vocational Education And Training ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Training Research ◽  
And Training

Abstract Aim Open Access fosters the exchange of academic research information by making publications free of charge and, wherever possible, available through open licences and without any technical barriers. Although the Open Access publication model is already well established in the natural sciences, there seems to be more resistance towards Open Access in the social sciences, including the field of vocational education and training research. The research project “Open Access in Vocational Education and Training Research” aims to uncover the conditions influencing the acceptance, dissemination and use of Open Access in vocational education and training research. The project is grounded in a sociology of knowledge approach and in media theory. It comprises of two parts. First, four structured group discussions are conducted as focus groups and analysed using a qualitative content analysis. This paper focusses on this first part of the research project, the implementation and analysis of the group discussions as well as the results thereof. The second part of the research project will be based on an online questionnaire built upon these results. The questionnaire will be sent out to authors involved in vocational education and training research in the second part of the research project. Findings The analysis of the group discussions reveals several thematic clusters. According to group discussion participants, the scope of their publications as well as transparent quality assurance procedures in publishing are particularly relevant. The reputation of their chosen publication medium is another central aspect. It also becomes clear that in some cases an information deficit regarding the financing of Open Access publications or accompanying licensing models exists. Finally, participants discuss changing literature research strategies and changes of work and reading practices. The latter being clearly discernible in an increasingly digitalised daily work routine of vocational education and training researchers, while academic research communication is also an important topic discussed.

scholarly journals Open Access in Vocational Education and Training Research

Publications ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin Langenkamp ◽  
Bodo Rödel ◽  
Kerstin Taufenbach ◽  
Meike Weiland
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Vocational Education ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Vocational Education And Training ◽  
Training Research ◽  
And Training

scholarly journals Legal Regulations for Advertising Vocational Education and Training Services: Case Study of Lithuania

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (22) ◽  
pp. 202
Author(s):  
Vidmantas Tutlys ◽  
Genute Gedviliene ◽  
Skaiste Vaiciukyniene
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Vocational Education ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Communication Process ◽  
Vocational Education And Training ◽  
Web Pages ◽  
Good Market ◽  
And Training

The European Commission’s Europe 2020 strategy calls for the enhancement the attractiveness of vocational education and training. This article aims to disclose and critically discuss the requirements defined in legislation of Lithuania for advertising VET services with reference to the context of the improvement of the VET image in society. It seeks to determine the requirements stipulated in legislation of Lithuania for advertising VET services and to evaluate the information on admissions to institutions of vocational education and training on their web pages according to the criterion of truthfulness of advertising. The article may be useful for professionals who work or will work with marketing communication in the future. It can be used as a manual of how to inform customers about VET services properly. The methods applied in this research are content analysis of scientific literature and legal documents, linguistic, comparative, systematic and logical interpretation methods of law, and a qualitative content analysis used for the case study. The content of the training service and not the subjective image is the actual marketing object, because the content provides an advantage that ensures good market positions in increasingly competitive market of VET provision. The image of initial vocational education is determined not so much by the actions of society, but by the vocational training systems themselves, or more specifically by the targeted efforts of its participants to improve the quality of initial vocational education, responding to the public challenges and communicating this message to the interested audiences in the communication process.

scholarly journals ''The Force that Keeps you Going'': Enthusiasm in Vocational Education and Training (VET) Teachers' Work

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 244-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanna Wenström ◽  
Satu Uusiautti ◽  
Kaarina Määttä
Keyword(s):  
Vocational Education ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Teaching Quality ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Vocational Education And Training ◽  
Positive Interactions ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Collegial Support ◽  
Positive Feelings ◽  
And Training

Context: Enthusiasm has been noted to increase productivity and quality at work. In teachers' work, this has a connection to student learning and motivation, as well as teaching quality. In the context of Finnish vocational education and training (VET), research on enthusiasm appears especially topical and relevant because of the ongoing wide reform with emphasis on productivity and efficiency.Approach: In this study, Finnish VET teachers' enthusiasm at work was studied qualitatively. Three research questions were set for this study: (1) How do VET teachers describe their enthusiasm?; (2) What factors strengthen their enthusiasm, according to their descriptions?; and (3) What factors weaken their enthusiasm, according to their descriptions? Altogether, 103 teachers who voluntarily participated in the study completed an online questionnaire on enthusiasm. The data were analyzed through qualitative content analysis. Findings: According to the results, the teachers who participated in the study were very interested in their work. They wanted to share how they experienced enthusiasm in their work. Their enthusiasm manifested as their willingness to develop their skills and expertise. It also showed in their dedication, good job performance, and positive feelings about their work. Student encounters, a positive atmosphere, and work interactions were the main sources of enthusiasm. Lack of resources, changes, cuts in the VET budget, and a lousy work atmosphere weakened enthusiasm.Conclusion: The study found that enthusiasm manifested itself in ways that correspond well with the current VET productivity and efficiency goals. Because enthusiasm was strengthened especially when teachers were working with students, it seems important to ensure a supportive work environment for students also after the VET reform. Positive interactions, collegial support, and working together can help teachers to succeed and to maintain enthusiasm in their everyday work. According to the results of this study, supervisors may play a central role in facilitating teacher enthusiasm.

scholarly journals The Contribution of Vocational Education and Training to Innovation and Growth

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uschi Backes-Gellner ◽  
Patrick Lehnert
Keyword(s):  
Vocational Education ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Applied Research ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Doctoral Degree ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Vocational Education And Training ◽  
Research Knowledge ◽  
Common View ◽  
And Training

Despite the common view that innovation requires academically educated workers, some countries that strongly emphasize vocational education and training (VET) in their education systems—such as Switzerland and Germany—are highly competitive internationally in terms of innovation. These countries have dual VET programs, that is, upper-secondary-level apprenticeship programs, that combine about three quarters of workplace training with about one quarter of vocational schooling, and design them in such a way that their graduates (i.e., dual apprenticeship-graduates) play crucial roles in innovation processes. Regular updates of VET curricula incorporate the latest technological developments into these curricula, thereby ensuring that dual apprenticeship-graduates possess up-to-date, high-level skills in their chosen occupation. This process allows these graduates to contribute to innovation in firms. Moreover, these graduates acquire broad sets of technical and soft skills that enhance their job mobility and flexibility. Therefore, conventional wisdom notwithstanding, dual apprenticeship-graduates in such countries not only have broad skill sets that accelerate innovation in firms, but also willingly participate in innovation because of their high flexibility and employability. Moreover, Switzerland and Germany have tertiary-level VET institutions that foster innovation. These are universities of applied sciences (UASs), which teach and conduct applied research, thereby helping build a bridge between different types of knowledge (vocational and academic). UAS students have prior vocational knowledge through their dual apprenticeship and acquire applied research skills from UAS professors who usually have both work experience and a doctoral degree from an academic university. Thus UAS graduates combine sound occupational knowledge with applied research knowledge inspired by input from the academic research frontier and from practical research and development (R & D) in firms. Firms employ UAS graduates with their knowledge combination as an important input for R & D. Consequently, regions with a UAS have higher levels of innovation than regions without one. This effect is particularly strong for regions outside major innovation centers and for regions with larger percentages of smaller firms.

scholarly journals Ensuring Curriculum Relevance in Vocational Education and Training: Epistemological Perspectives in a Curriculum Research Project

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilde Hiim
Keyword(s):  
Vocational Education ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Practical Work ◽  
Vocational Education And Training ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Curriculum Research ◽  
Curriculum Relevance ◽  
And Training ◽  
Epistemological Perspectives

This article addresses challenges regarding relevance in vocational education and training (VET) curricula. Recent research on Norwegian VET shows that the educational content is not sufficiently related to the students' needs for qualification in the actual vocations. I will present a new curriculum research project aimed at investigating and improving the vocational relevance in Norwegian VET. An important part of the project is to investigate epistemological perspectives on how vocational knowledge is constituted and developed, and consequences for the curriculum. The article presents results from these epistemological investigations. I will argue that the relevance problem relates to a one-sided rationalist epistemology in which a main idea is that vocational knowledge consists of theoretical principles and procedures to be applied in practical situations. This idea influences educational traditions and structures, and leads to a separation between theoretical and practical subjects and learning arenas. From a pragmatic epistemological perspective, it can be argued that vocational knowledge is contextual and holistic, and consists of complex wholes of physicality, motor skills, intellectual understandings, values, and verbalized concepts. To ensure curriculum relevance, a curriculum is needed in which authentic practical work is the base, and subjects are integrated with students' practical work experience.

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