Reworking Vocational Education

A new political order is transforming the nature of work in advanced industrialised countries. What does this mean for the nexus of education and work? How does it affect the idea of vocation, the reality of lifelong learning, the concept of employability, and the future of vocational education and training? This volume analyses the foundations of this transformation featuring globalisation and individualisation. It offers an analysis of the shifting terrain of governance and policy and their impact on the field of vocational education. With contributions from scholars located in Europe as well as in Australia and the USA, it provides an understanding of a number of important educational policy topics, including changing social and cultural conditions of labour, migration, an aging populace and the spread of cross-national discourses. Additional chapters tackle the concepts of «employability», «gender», «earning» and «lifelong learning» and examine their relation to policies, practices, theory and research in vocational education.

This book discusses whether certain approaches to (vocational) education have become mythicized and branded, and the reasons for and consequences of this commodification. Additionally, the book also investigates how researchers are contributing to mythicizing and branding in education. Although transnational and comparative studies are increasingly taking into account historical and cultural ideas, is this a result of the exploitation of historical and cultural research for industrial purposes and education export? Educational brands should attract global customers and advertise countries as smart environments for global investments.

This book presents a comprehensive overview of extant literature on competence-based vocational and professional education since the introduction of the competence concept in the 1950s. To structure the fi eld, the book distinguishes between three approaches to defi ning competence, based on 1.functional behaviourism, 2. integrated occupationalism, and 3. situated professionalism. It also distinguishes between two ways of operationalizing competence: 1. behaviour-oriented generic, and 2. task-oriented specifi c competence. Lastly, it identifi es three kinds of competencies, related to: 1. specific activities, 2. known jobs, and 3. the unknown future. Competence for the unknown future must receive more attention, as our world is rapidly evolving and there are many ‘glocal’ challenges which call for innovation and a profound transformation of policies and practices. Th e book presents a range of diff erent approaches to competence-based education, and demonstrates that competencebased education is a worldwide innovation, which is institutionalized in various ways. It presents the major theories and policies, specifi c components of educational systems, such as recognition, accreditation, modelling and assessment, and developments in discipline-oriented and transversal competence domains. Th e book concludes by synthesizing the diff erent perspectives with the intention to contribute to further improving vocational and professional education policy and practice. Joao Santos, Deputy Head of Unit C5, Vocational Training and Adult Education, Directorate General for Employment, Social Aff airs and Inclusion, European Commission: “This comprehensive work on competence-based education led by Martin Mulder, provides an excellent and timely contribution to the current debate on a New Skills Agenda for Europe, and the challenge of bridging the employment and education and training worlds closer together. Th is book will infl uence our work aimed at improving the relevance of vocational education to support initial and continuing vocational education and training policy and practice aimed at strengthening the key competencies for the 21st century.” Prof. Dr. Reinhold Weiss, Deputy President and Head of the Research, Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB), Bonn, Germany: “This book illustrates that the idea and concept of competence is not only a buzzword in educational debates but key to innovative pedagogical thinking as well as educational practice.” Prof. Dr. Johanna Lasonen, College of Education, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA: "Competence-based Vocational and Professional Education is one of the most important multi-disciplinary book in education and training. Th is path-breaking book off ers a timely, rich and global perspective on the fi eld. Th e book is a good resource for practitioners, policymakers and researchers."

Vocational Education and Training (VET) has been the focus of change for some years. Many nations have developed VET systems with long-term strategies that benefit their economies, including co-ordinating economic, industrial and VET policies and achieving consensus among major stakeholders in the system. Changing Vocational Education and Training focuses on how the principles of stakeholding, consensus, participation and democracy can be applied to policy formulation and implementation. Case studies, presented and discussed by experts from eight nations, provide sound examples of practical strategies which have been successfully implemented. Changing Vocational Education and Training is a timely collection of the latest theory, research and practice in VET policy. It is essential reading for policy-makers, practitioners and academics.

Vocational education and training (VET) have a key role to play in raising skill levels and improving a society’s productivity. In this important new book, a team of international experts argue that too often national VET policy has been formulated in ignorance of historical and political developments in other countries and without proper consideration of the social objectives that it might help achieve. Examining a wide range of contrasting international approaches and development strategies, this book demonstrates the central role of the state in implementing an effective system of VET and assesses the extent to which different VET policies can promote equality in the labour market and social justice. Key themes include: the broader educational and social aims of VET the nature of learning in vocational contexts the historical development of VET in the UK, US, Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands and elsewhere. Including a full range of case-studies and practical examples, this book is essential reading for all students, researchers and practitioners with an interest in vocational education and training, industrial and labour relations or social policy.

Vocational education can either reinforce or challenge dominant ideology: students can learn to accept and fit into a workplace, or to change it. How we understand the links between knowledge and work will significantly affect our ability to make important political and strategic decisions about education in general and about vocational education in particular. The old questions about education--who controls education? whose interests are served by the education system?--assume new urgency in an era of global restructuring. The contributors to Rethinking Vocationalism examine these questions from a variety of enlightening perspectives. An Our Schools/Our Selves book.