The Europeanisation Of Vocational Education And Training

This book explores the impact on EU member states of intensified European cooperation in the field of vocational education and training. By employing the Varieties of Capitalism approach as an analytical framework, it seeks to bridge diverging views from an innovative standpoint: While many experts argue that EU policies liberalize national training systems in spite of being ‘soft law’, Varieties of Capitalism argues that these polices do not produce a convergence of national institutions. The book maintains that European instruments such as the European Qualifications Framework and the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training are indeed biased towards liberal training regimes. On the basis of case studies on Germany, the Netherlands and England, it shows that the initiatives were implemented in line with national training systems. Thus, European soft law does not lead to a convergence of training regimes – or, as the book posits, of welfare states in general.

« Understanding todays' Vocational Education and Training (VET) systems requires a comprehension of the rise and development, i.e. of the foundations of topical VET. This book is one of the first publications providing a comparative view of this development in Europe. Apart from older roots, the evolution of VET systems are one trigger of the modernization of economy, society and education itself. The 28 contributions, including countries like Austria, Britain, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland of renowned authors and experts in this field are organized in three sections: Concepts which are discussing theoretical approaches towards this phenomenon. Cases which stress specific developments of VET in a certain country or region and Challenges which are contextualizing the historical perspective in a topical policy context. »--

Austria, Germany, and Switzerland are increasingly relying on hybridization at the nexus of vocational training and higher education to increase permeability and reform their highly praised systems of collective skill formation. This historical and organizational institutionalist study compares these countries to trace the evolution of their skill regimes from the 1960s to today‘s era of Europeanization, focusing especially on the impact of the Bologna and Copenhagen processes.

This report considers developments in vocational education and training policy in Europe since the first Cedefop report (ISBN 9282880516), published in January 2000. Issues discussed include: the growth of the knowledge economy, ICT and lifelong learning programmes, moves towards greater European co-operation with the Bruges-Copenhagen process, the impact of EU enlargement, increasing participation levels in the sector, equal opportunities and social inclusion, reducing the skills gap, and future challenges involved in learning for employment.

In early 1995 a series of seminars was held under the aegis of the Oxford Centre for Comparative Studies in Education, based in the Department of Educational Studies of the University of Oxford, on aspects of education and the European Union. The papers given at those seminars are collected together in this volume. They range from an overview of the legal position following the Maastricht Treaty, through an examination of what is meant by the 'European dimension' in education and a study of the curriculum in countries of the European Union, to analyses of faculty mobility and a case study of the Europeanisation of education in science and engineering.

The Steering Committee for the Plan Europe 2000, Project 1: Education, invited the working group to analyse the problems of technical and vocational education projected over the next 30 years, both at se condary school and at university level. This report summarises the findings of approximately two years' research and discussion by the group, coordinated by the undersigned. It is in fact a combined report, although one chapter - the eighth is devoted specifically to university problems. This we consider to be amply justified by the nature of the subjects discussed: it is difficult to make a clear-cut distinction between solutions on the secondary level and solutions on the post-secondary level, especially when they are projected into the future. The group organised its work as follows: it consulted the literature to the extent possible and sought replies to a comprehensive analytical questionnaire from a wide sample of experts in different countries (the composition of the sample is described in the opening section of Appendix A); it arranged many meetings with qualified persons for discussions, as well as visits by individuals or small groups to training institutions in several European countries to meet experts in this field and it took part in national and international congresses and conferen ces on technical and/or vocational training and associated problems.

Vocational education and training (VET) comprises all organised or structured activities which aim to provide people with knowledge. skills and competencies necessary to perform a job. This synthesis report provides a comprehensive overview on the state of VET research in Europe, on the main theoretical and conceptual approaches, empirical findings and implications for decision-makers and researchers.

Across the globe, vocational education and training is characterised by a number of over-arching trends, including the increasing use of technology, the growing importance of information and communications systems, and changes to national demographics. At the interface between the education and training system and the world of work, VET faces the challenge of tackling these changes, of making a constructive contribution to solving the problems posed by the transition from education to employment, and of ensuring that the next generation has the skills it – and the economy – needs. This volume comprises thirty individual contributions that together add up to a comprehensive overview of the current situation in vocational education and training, its strengths and weaknesses, and its prospects. VET experts from Canada, the USA, India, China, Japan and Korea, as well as from a number of European countries, focus on their national context and how it fits in to the bigger picture. The contributions combine theoretical discussions from various strands of VET research with evidence from country case studies and examples from current practice.