Vocational Education Issues

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.

This book deals with teacher training for vocational education and training. In individual chapters next to the positions of relevant international organizations, donors and development banks, it also covers selected countries in their ways of shaping of Technical Vocational Education and Training and teacher training. The structure of the book aims at two objectives: To outline positions of important stakeholders of the international Technical Vocational Education and Training policies and international cooperation in TVET teacher training. To discuss the current status of Technical Vocational Education and Training and teacher training in selected countries, from developing countries, countries with emerging economies to industrialized countries. The book is meant to create a platform that supports a reference concept within international cooperation for the further development of Technical Vocational Education and Training and teacher training up to a higher quality and performance.

An ambitious book with a number of excellent chapters. It will stand out in the broad field of vocational education and training for its strong basis in the research literature. Professor Michael Young, London Institute of Education Developing Vocational Expertise offers a systematic foundation for vocational education and training. Drawing on current research, it provides a theoretical basis for teachers and trainers to develop instructional strategies. The contributors emphasise the importance of considering learning in context. They examine the core areas of literacy, numeracy, information literacy, problem-solving and creativity, as well as newer areas of instruction: flexible learning and guided learning. Each chapter takes a structured approach to developing core sets of knowledge and skills for work. Within each area of expertise, recent theoretical and research developments are outlined, and the implications for curriculum development, teaching and learning are explained. Teachers and trainers are encouraged to select an appropriate combination of approaches to suit the particular needs of their students and circumstances. Developing Vocational Expertise is an essential resource for students in vocational and occupational education, and will also interest technical and further education teachers and industry trainers.

Severe economic depression and the difficulty to acquire employment with adequate income have significant impact on a nation’s social welfare. The need to provide ample educational opportunities is more imperative than ever, particularly in emerging economies. Technical Education and Vocational Training in Developing Nations is a comprehensive reference source for the latest literature on optimizing the implementation of curriculum development and instructional design strategies for technical and vocational education. Featuring innovative coverage across a range of relevant topics, such as curriculum deficiency, teacher competencies, and accessible learning, this book is ideally designed for policy makers, academicians, researchers, advanced-level students, technology developers, and educators interested in the improvement of professional learning programs.

This book is open access under a CC-BY license. The volume presents papers on vocational education, project-based learning and science didactic approaches, illustrating with sample cases, and with a special focus on Central Asian states. Thematically embedded in the area of Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET), the book examines the following main topics: project-based learning (PBL), specific didactics with a linkage to food technologies and laboratory didactics, media and new technologies in TVET, evaluation of competencies including aspects of measurement, examination issues, and labour market and private sector issues in TVET, and research methods with a focus on empirical research and the role of scientific networks. It presents outcomes from TVET programmes at various universities, colleges, and teacher training institutes in Central Asia.

As the economic growth and social development of a nation is reliant on its workforce, it is essential to increase the workforce’s employability through technical and vocational education. Through these programs, the nation’s workers will be able to acquire skills and flexibility in order to navigate across sectors of the economy and industry. However, due to gender disparities and socioeconomic statuses within society, women from a lower economic background are unable to gain access to these programs, hindering their career development and economic independence. Gender Issues in Technical and Vocational Education Programs is an essential critical resource that probes the issue of gender equity in specialized educational programs, such as vocational or technical education programs. It also presents global initiatives that are being undertaken to enhance the access to technical and vocational education programs to all citizens. Divided into two sections, this publication provides comprehensive coverage on understanding human resource skilling through vocational and training programs and promoting gender equity through skill development, making it an ideal resource for academicians, researchers, social scientists, educators, policymakers, government officials, and professionals.

Selected by the American School Board Journal as a “Must Read” book when it was first published and named one of 60 “Books of the Century” by the University of South Carolina Museum of Education for its influence on American education, this provocative, carefully documented work shows how tracking—the system of grouping students for instruction on the basis of ability—reflects the class and racial inequalities of American society and helps to perpetuate them. For this new edition, Jeannie Oakes has added a new Preface and a new final chapter in which she discusses the “tracking wars” of the last twenty years, wars in which Keeping Track has played a central role. From reviews of the first edition:“Should be read by anyone who wishes to improve schools.”—M. Donald Thomas, American School Board Journal“[This] engaging [book] . . . has had an influence on educational thought and policy that few works of social science ever achieve.”—Tom Loveless in The Tracking Wars“Should be read by teachers, administrators, school board members, and parents.”—Georgia Lewis, Childhood Education“Valuable. . . . No one interested in the topic can afford not to attend to it.”—Kenneth A. Strike, Teachers College Record