scholarly journals Upper secondary education for youth at risk: A comparative analysis of education and training programmes in Austria, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-44
Author(s):  
Evi Schmid
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Secondary Education ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Training Models ◽  
Upper Secondary Education ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Youth At Risk ◽  
Training Programmes ◽  
And Training

Context: Vocational education and training (VET) plays a key role in reducing early leaving from education and training, and integrating youth at risk in upper secondary education. To ensure that more young people complete upper secondary education, the OECD suggests designing interventions that address the specific needs of youth at risk like changes in the standard duration, preparatory or personalised support measures. Based on a comparative analysis of such programmes tailored to the needs of youth at risk in Austria, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, the objective of this article is to identify different education and training models that these countries employ to include youth at risk in upper secondary education.Approach: The study is based on document analysis; the documents studied are public documents like law texts and white papers from the education authorities as well as research publications. The interventions proposed by the OECD to adapt training programmes to the specific needs of youth at risk were chosen as a basis for the comparative analysis. Further structural characteristics of the programmes complemented the analysis.Findings: The study found four different types of education and training models for youth at risk in Austria, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland: Shortened (Norway, Switzerland), prolonged (Austria), individualised (Austria, Norway and Sweden) and preparatory programmes (Sweden). Preparatory and prolonged programmes aim to help young people to achieve ordinary upper secondary qualifications through preparatory measures, more time or more support. Individualised or shortened programmes aim to adapt education and training programmes to young people's needs by reducing the programmes’ demands. In all four countries, youths have the opportunity to conclude their education with a certificate at a level lower than 'regular' upper secondary education.Conclusion: The four countries surveyed differ widely in terms of educational traditions and the position of VET at upper secondary level. Regarding the integration of disadvantaged youth into education and work, the differences concerning access to upper secondary education, the importance of VET at upper secondary level and the recognition of training programmes for youth at risk may be of particular relevance. Further research is needed to empirically investigate the effectiveness of the identified education and training models as a means of integrating youth at risk into upper secondary education.

scholarly journals Upper secondary education for youth at risk: A comparative analysis of education and training programmes in Austria, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evi Schmid
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Secondary Education ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Training Models ◽  
Upper Secondary Education ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Youth At Risk ◽  
Training Programmes ◽  
And Training

Context: Vocational education and training (VET) plays a key role in reducing early leaving from education and training, and integrating youth at risk in upper secondary education. To ensure that more young people complete upper secondary education, the OECD suggests designing interventions that address the specific needs of youth at risk like changes in the standard duration, preparatory or personalised support measures. Based on a comparative analysis of such programmes tailored to the needs of youth at risk in Austria, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, the objective of this article is to identify different education and training models that these countries employ to include youth at risk in upper secondary education.Approach: The study is based on document analysis; the documents studied are public documents like law texts and white papers from the education authorities as well as research publications. The interventions proposed by the OECD to adapt training programmes to the specific needs of youth at risk were chosen as a basis for the comparative analysis. Further structural characteristics of the programmes complemented the analysis.Findings: The study found four different types of education and training models for youth at risk in Austria, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland: Shortened (Norway, Switzerland), prolonged (Austria), individualised (Austria, Norway and Sweden) and preparatory programmes (Sweden). Preparatory and prolonged programmes aim to help young people to achieve ordinary upper secondary qualifications through preparatory measures, more time or more support. Individualised or shortened programmes aim to adapt education and training programmes to young people's needs by reducing the programmes’ demands. In all four countries, youths have the opportunity to conclude their education with a certificate at a level lower than 'regular' upper secondary education.Conclusion: The four countries surveyed differ widely in terms of educational traditions and the position of VET at upper secondary level. Regarding the integration of disadvantaged youth into education and work, the differences concerning access to upper secondary education, the importance of VET at upper secondary level and the recognition of training programmes for youth at risk may be of particular relevance. Further research is needed to empirically investigate the effectiveness of the identified education and training models as a means of integrating youth at risk into upper secondary education.

scholarly journals When Work Comes First: Young Adults in Vocational Education and Training in Norway

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 270-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Hagen Tønder ◽  
Tove Mogstad Aspøy
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Secondary Education ◽  
Vocational Education ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Vocational Education And Training ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Upper Secondary Education ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
And Training ◽  
Vocational Programme

Since reforms implemented in 1994, vocational education and training (VET) in Norway has been integrated and standardized as part of upper-secondary education. When young people enter upper-secondary education at the age of 15 or 16, they can choose either a vocational programme or a general academic programme. The standard model in vocational programmes is 2 years of school-based education, followed by 2 years of apprenticeship training. However, in practice, only a minority follow the standard route and acquire a trade certificate within 4 years. The average age upon completion of a vocational programme in Norway is 28 years, which is among the highest in the OECD. The purpose of this study was to explore personal trajectories within the Norwegian context to gain a better understanding of why people choose to obtain a trade certificate as young adults, instead of following the standardized route, drawn up by policy makers. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 34 people who obtained a trade certificate when they were aged between 25 and 35 years. The study showed that the opportunity to acquire formal VET qualifications through workplace learning provides an important second chance for many young adults in Norway. Based on the findings, we argue that policy makers need to see educational achievement in a long-term perspective and to design institutional structures that support learning opportunities at work, as well as in formal educational settings.

scholarly journals Making People Employable: Reforming Secondary Education in Pakistan.

2009 ◽  
Vol 48 (4II) ◽  
pp. 603-617
Author(s):  
Shaukat Hameed Khan
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Education ◽  
General Education ◽  
Labour Productivity ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
Upper Secondary Education ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Productivity And Competitiveness ◽  
And Training

Pakistan’s education system has been the focus of various reforms every few years, and a new exercise has been initiated recently through the National Education Policy, 2009. While the problems are generally well documented and stress on universal primary education fully justified, the role of economic relevance of education and training as a factor discouraging completion is not sufficiently emphasised. Studies from developing and developed countries highlight the strong linkage between education and training and employment, and the economic and social returns of employability of trained workers. It is argued that if one or more career based occupational tracks (vocationalisation of upper-secondary education) is offered at the upper secondary level (Class 8-10) as supplements to general education, dropout can be reduced. This will result in increased employability, productivity and competitiveness in the work environment. Co-financing with the private sector of a Rs 48 billion programme for practical on-the-job training is examined in the light of international experiences. JEL classification: J24, O33, H52 Keywords: Human Capital, Skill Bias, Labour Productivity, Education Expenditures

scholarly journals The politics of educational transitions: Evidence from Catalonia

2020 ◽  
pp. 147490412097604
Author(s):  
Aina Tarabini ◽  
Judith Jacovkis
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Education ◽  
Vocational Education ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Vocational Education And Training ◽  
Educational Transitions ◽  
Early School Leaving ◽  
Upper Secondary Education ◽  
Early School ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
And Training

Transitions to upper secondary education are of crucial importance to understanding educational inequalities. They are also vital in explaining the contemporary dynamics of Early School Leaving. Global hegemonic discourses around educational transitions and Early School Leaving shape student pathways in terms of rational and linear choices, assuming equal opportunities for lifelong learning. Simultaneously, the European Strategy attributes key roles to Vocational Education and Training and to guidance in order to smooth educational transitions, reduce Early School Leaving and meet the needs of the knowledge-based economy. The aim of the article is to problematise the linear relationship between Early School Leaving, Vocational Education and Training, and guidance policies representing the dominant contemporary rhetoric concerned with ensuring smooth transitions and opening up long-term educational pathways for young people. The article provides an in-depth analysis of the political construction of the transition from lower to upper secondary education in Catalonia, identifying how it is conceptualised at a discursive level by policy actors and also how it is implemented at the institutional level. The results aim to be regarded as a useful analytical resource to inform critical policy analyses of educational transitions and their implications in terms of social inequalities.

scholarly journals VET Teachers’ Interpretations of Individualisation and Teaching of Skills and Social Order in two Nordic Countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 355-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elsa Eiríksdóttir ◽  
Per-Åke Rosvall
Keyword(s):  
Vocational Education ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Vocational Education And Training ◽  
Educational Goals ◽  
Upper Secondary Education ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Upper Secondary Schools ◽  
And Training

The age at which young people leave education for the labour market has increased in recent decades, and entering upper secondary education has become the norm. As a result, the diversity of the student population has increased, for instance in terms of students’ academic merits and achievements at school. Increased diversity seems to affect vocational education and training more than tracks preparing students for higher education, because entry into vocational education and training (VET) programmes is rarely selective. In this article we analyse a series of interviews with VET teachers regarding VET practices in upper secondary schools in Sweden and Iceland. We examine how policy plays out in practice in VET by looking at how VET teachers navigate the sometimes-conflicting educational goals of employability and civic engagement, while simultaneously teaching a highly diverse group of students. In both countries, pedagogic practices are dominated by individualisation with a focus on task-related skills. Those practices are important in VET, but can exclude broader understandings of civil and workplace life, because general knowledge about areas such as ethics, democracy, equality, and environmental issues is difficult to obtain if education gives students few opportunities to interact with others, such as through group work or classroom discussions.

Towards Flipped Learning in Upper Secondary Mathematics Education

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Robert Weinhandl ◽  
Zsolt Lavicza ◽  
Stefanie Schallert
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Education ◽  
Mathematics Education ◽  
Mathematics Learning ◽  
Flipped Learning ◽  
Educational Innovations ◽  
Design Based Research ◽  
Secondary Mathematics Education ◽  
Upper Secondary Education ◽  
Mathematics Classrooms ◽  
Upper Secondary

Challenges for students in the 21st century, such as acquiring technology, problem-solving and cooperation skills, also necessitates changes in mathematics education to be able to respond to changing educational needs. One way to respond to these challenges is utilising recent educational innovations in schools, for instance, among others are flipped learning (FL) approaches. In this paper, we outline our explorative educational experiment that aims to investigate key elements of mathematics learning in FL approaches in upper secondary education. We describe the methodologies and findings of our qualitative study based on design-based research to discover key elements of FL approaches in upper secondary education. Analysing the data collected over ten months suggested categories (a) confidence when learning; (b) learning by working; and (c) flexibility when learning could be essential to understand FL approaches practices in mathematics classrooms.

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