German Vocational Education Research Articles

A network model of stress contagion: evidence from the vocational classroom

PurposeOur study focuses on stress contagion in vocational school classes, examining how students’ stress experiences affect their spatial classmates. For this purpose, we apply a novel formal network model that allows us to differentiate between endogenous and exogenous peer effects in the stress contagion process. Using the network model, we investigate effects on students’ stress levels, considering the stress and coping experiences of spatial peers as well as didactic-methodological context factors.MethodsWe test our statistical model using secondary data collected in a study involving 53 students from two classes at a public German vocational training school. The students’ experiences of stress (time pressure, pressure to succeed) and coping strategies (understanding of the subject matter, self-confidence) were captured using the experience sampling method, while classroom characteristics (e.g., teacher instruction, cooperative work) were recorded through video-based analysis of lessons. Utilizing the panel data, we employ maximum likelihood estimation to assess the spatial peer effects model for both classrooms.ResultsAmong other findings, all model specifications revealed significant peer effects for both stress measures, indicating that the higher the stress experience of immediate peers in the classroom, the higher the individual stress experienced by the students. Concerning the considered context factors, we found, for example, that increased cooperative work leads to higher levels of stress experience.ConclusionFrom a substantive perspective, our results underscore the role of peer-to-peer contagion in the vocational classroom and thus suggest a nuanced examination of cooperative practices. From a research methodology perspective, our approach illustrates how various methods (such as experience sampling, video-based classroom observation, and spatial network information) complement and enrich each other, highlighting the added value of our network analytical approach

Arrangers and orchestrators: the diverging role of the state in Danish and German vocational education and training

Abstract This article compares the changing role of the state in initial vocational education and training (VET) in Germany and Denmark. Scholars have argued that collectivist VET systems face a stark choice between erosion through dualization or state take-over that crowds out decentralized cooperation by firms. Yet, recent work suggests that the state can revitalize the traditional firm-based system of VET through so-called state ‘orchestration’ and soft measures promoting inclusive training. Comparing Germany to Denmark, we argue that there is a second path to revitalization when the state acts as an ‘arranger’, more heavily involved in the provision and governance of VET, and using it for second-chance education. Unlike orchestration, arrangement is only possible where the state itself has achieved some independent capacity in training. We trace this divergence to small policy choices in the 1970s that have had large downstream effects on state capacity and power relations with business.

Participation through qualification? De-, dis-, and special qualification of refugee women in the German vocational training system

ZusammenfassungBerufliche Qualifizierung gilt international gemeinhin als Garant für nachhaltige Erwerbsarbeit von Geflüchteten. Seit der erhöhten Fluchtzuwanderung im Jahr 2015 hat sich das Feld beruflicher Qualifizierung in Deutschland erheblich ausdifferenziert. Trotz hoher Erwerbsambitionen und bestehender Qualifizierungsbedarfe landen geflüchtete Frauen bisher jedoch kaum in qualifizierter Erwerbsarbeit oder beruflicher Ausbildung. Dieser Beitrag bearbeitet den Zusammenhang zwischen beruflicher Qualifizierung und Arbeitsmarktsegmentierungen am Beispiel fluchtmigrierter Frauen in Deutschland, indem er segmentationstheoretische Ansätze und deren jüngeren feministisch-sozialkonstruktivistischen Erweiterungen auf das Berufsbildungssystem überträgt und mit empirischen Befunden unterfüttert. Anhand von qualitativem Interviewmaterial mit Akteur:innen in Arbeitsverwaltung und Trägerorganisationen von Arbeitsmarktintegrationsprojekten werden verschiedene Zuweisungspraxen rekonstruiert, die 1) aus symbolischen Auf- und Abwertungen beruflicher Qualifikationen bestehen und 2) durch Einschätzungen von (nicht) vorhandenen Qualifizierungsoptionen charakterisiert sind. Der Artikel illustriert, wie das Zusammenspiel aus geschlechtsspezifisch-rassifizierenden Zuschreibungen und der Strukturiertheit vorhandener Berufsbildungs- und Arbeitsmarktinstitutionen die Positionierung der Gruppe am unteren Ende der Arbeitsmarkt- und Ausbildungshierarchie nach sich zieht. In der Folge erfahren geflüchtete Frauen eine Zuweisung in Richtung De‑, Dis- oder Sonderqualifizierung, die in unqualifizierte, prekäre (feminisierte und migrantisierte) Anlern- und Hilfsjobs auf dem segmentierten Arbeitsmarkt kanalisiert und eine unsichere berufs- und ausbildungsvorbereitende Übergangsphase der Gruppe verlängert. Der Beitrag beleuchtet damit die bislang wenig erforschte Frage, was als berufliche Qualifikation und insofern förderliche Qualifizierung im Kontext von Flucht gilt (oder nicht). Aufgrund gegenwärtiger Ausbaupläne beruflicher Weiterqualifizierung in Deutschland nach österreichischem Vorbild ist dies eine zunehmend relevante Frage.

Can German vocational training combat skill shortages in developing countries? Evidence from dual training system in the Philippines

AbstractThis paper examines the labor market impacts of the Philippine Dual Training System (DTS), a vocational training program that combines firm‐based on‐the‐job training (OJT) and conventional institution‐based training, using a recent survey that tracked graduates from DTS and regular institution‐based programs. The estimation results using fuzzy regression discontinuity design show a significantly positive impact on the most recent monthly earnings. The impact significantly increases with the OJT intensity, measured by the number of hours a week in OJT. The above results imply that vocational training has to be aligned with actual production technologies and work practices to narrow skill gaps and create positive returns.

Educational inclusion or inequality? Opportunities and barriers for refugees with a temporary suspension of deportation for the purpose of training in the German vocational education and training system

ABSTRACT This article examines the legal novelty of the so-called ‘Ausbildungsduldung’ (temporary suspension of deportation for the purpose of training) in Germany. Since research on this topic is still sparse, the current article analyses the impact of toleration status on training trajectories of young refugees. These trajectories are strongly linked to the completion of vocational training and thus successful integration achievements. The impact of a temporary suspension of deportation for the purpose of training on educational trajectories was assessed using interviews. The results indicate that refugees’ training is hampered by numerous challenges and stressors. Moreover, refugees with a temporary suspension of deportation for the purpose of training are subjected to further restrictions resulting from their limited juridical capital. Hence, refugees’ tolerated status might directly influence or even impede numerous levels of the training process. Thus, refugees with a tolerated status complete their training under unequal social and legal conditions.

Sustaining the Quality Development of German Vocational Education and Training in the Age of Digitalization: Challenges and Strategies

The digital transformation of the working world has been bringing profound impacts on German vocational education and training (VET). This study analyzes the challenges that German VET is experiencing in the context of digitalization as well as the strategies to overcome these challenges. Based on the concept of sustainable cooperation between vocational schools and companies, this study proposed a theoretical framework for preserving the sustainability of VET in the digital era from three dimensions: the capability of industrial service, attractiveness, and adaptability. Meanwhile, through the content analysis method applied to the study of official research and statistical reports, policy documents, journal articles, etc., three key challenges for German VET are found: the insufficient service capacity of German VET for industrial digitalization, the decreasing attractiveness of VET, and the low level of application of digital competencies. German federal agencies have developed multiple strategies in response, including (1) strengthening the capability of training digital talents through the modernization of the training regulations and framework curricula in 2021; (2) reshaping VET as a more promising track for individuals via information support and expanding development pathways; (3) enhancing the willingness to participate in and the capacity to provide vocational training of companies through financial measures; (4) promoting the digital transformation of VET through the financial support of projects and development of practical assistance.

Restricted by Measures Against the Coronavirus? Difficulties at the Transition from School to Work in Times of a Pandemic

The paper begins with the prerequisite assumption that social deprivation is a fragile and porous category. Thus, our hypothesis is, that how people are affected by the restrictions against the spreading of the coronavirus is often discussed in far too general and simplistic terms. It is often taken as a given, that the virus and the restriction measures not only have caused severe difficulties for us all (due to social distancing, fear, affected health, etc.), but that the measures have exacerbated already previously existing forms of social deprivation. Therefore, it is assumed that marginalized groups are particularly affected by these effects of the pandemic. Two major German studies show the alleged effects of the relevant measures on adolescents and emerging adults (COPSY and FIBS) against the backdrop of social and economic deprivation; their results confirmed that social deprivation entails a higher degree of being affected by the pandemic.However, this picture becomes thwarted by considering the results of 10 narrative interviews, that were conducted by us with emerging adults in a German vocational training institute between April and August 2021 and showed variegated forms of experiencing issues related to the pandemic. In our analysis, we used the method of objective hermeneutics. In this paper, we present our considerations by outlining two contrastive experiences with the Covid-19 pandemic, in order to highlight the divergent ways in which the pandemic has been experienced even among individuals who previously had been affected by social deprivation – at least at first glance – in similar ways. The conceptual lens through which we interpret these two examples is, firstly, the one of precariousness and precarity (Butler 2009). And secondly, the concept of recognition derived from Honneth’s pertinent theory and Butler’s account of recognizability will play a pivotal role. While Honneth’s approach allows us to emphasize the normative and existential role of the fulfilment of our basic desire for recognition and the detrimental implications of disregard, Butler provides us with the means to thoroughly analyse the socio-historical conditions of misrecognition and social invisibility. Moreover, Butler focuses specifically on the recognizability of precariousness (Honneth’s triad of love, being respected as a rights bearer and solidarity shows a different focus). Combining qualitative research on precarious live circumstances with a theoretical perspective on recognition can also be found in a stunning research on couples in atypical working relations (Wimbauer and Motakef 2019). Proceeding from these theories and ‘applying’ them to our empirical material, we seek to call into question a too generalizing and hegemonic picture of how people were affected by pertinent restrictions. Qualitative interviews are able to point us to significant differences in the experience of the restrictions.In terms of an outlook, we suggest that a sensitization for previously excluded kinds of experiences forms a crucial basis for a less normalizing, that is, more inclusive account of interpreting the affectedness and needs of variegated social groups; the pandemic has influenced and altered structures of the recognition of vulnerability and, by the same token, made them more explicit. It thus is an occasion for a critical engagement with the recognizability of needs, deprivation, discrimination, and related phenomena.

Comparisons between the Chinese and German Vocational Education Systems (VET) Shaped by Sociocultural and Economic Factors

Comparisons between the Chinese and German Vocational Education Systems (VET) Shaped by Sociocultural and Economic Factors

Training Maturity as an Argument Used in Politics over Time

The “training maturity” of young people has been a controversial term within the German vocational training debate for many years. The various interest groups use the term many times, but often with very different intentions. Despite this intensive discussion on training maturity, there are hardly any scientifically analyses on the topic so far. This study takes up this research gap and asks whether there is a connection between the situation on the training market and the political use of the argument of young people’s lack of training maturity in political discourse. Specifically, against this background, the discourses conducted at the political level on the lack of prerequisites of young people between employers’ and employees’ representatives and state actors are examined in a historical comparison. To this end, written documents from 1970 to 2017 were examined and compared using the sociological analysis of discourse. The discourse analysis shows that both employers organisations and trade unions constantly adopt contrary positions. However, the findings also show that depending on the situation on the training place market, the different actors argue in different constellations and intensities and also pursue changing lines of argumentation.

How Personality, Emotions and Situational Characteristics Affect Learning from Social Interactions in the Workplace

The present study examines the effects of social interactions’ situational characteristics, emotions, and personality on self-perceived learning from social interactions at work based on diary and survey data. The sample comprises 43 German vocational education and training (VET) trainees in various apprenticeship programs. During the diary period of ten working days, the participants were instructed to record five typical social interactions at work every day. Quantitative data of 1,328 social interactions were analyzed by means of multilevel analysis. Regarding social interactions’ characteristics, the analysis revealed the baseline level of instrumentality, an interruption of the social interaction, its instrumentality and questions asked by the trainee during the interaction as positive predictors of self-perceived learning. A trainee’s higher speech proportion, however, was a negative predictor. Regarding state emotions, the emotional experiences of bored and motivated were identified as significant positive predictors of learning from social interactions at work. Emotions’ baseline level as well as personality traits had no significant influence. The results indicate that social interactions’ situational characteristics have the biggest influence on self-perceived learning from social interactions.

The evolution of educational wage differentials for women and men in Germany, from 1996 to 2019

This paper studies the evolution of three higher education wage differentials from 1996 to 2019 in Germany. We distinguish between degrees from academic universities, degrees from universities of applied sciences, and the master craftsman\\craftswoman certificate. The educational reference category is a standard degree within the German vocational education and training system. Based on samples of male and female workers from the Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), regression methods show that all three educational wage differentials in 2019 exceeded the ones in 1996. However, workers graduating from universities experienced an inverse u-shape pattern with a maximum of about 0.5 log points around 2012. Since then, their wage differential decreased by nearly ten percent (about 0.045 log points). Although the decrease is not statistically significant at conventional levels, we think that nearly ten percent can be regarded as economically meaningful. We argue that this pattern is related to university expansion and changes in graduates’ subject-choice composition during that expansion. The paper concludes with a discussion of possible alternative explanations.

The school workshop as the basis for the continuation school (1908)

Abstract This classic essay—Die Schulwerkstatt als Grundlage der Organisation der Fortbildungsschule—by George Kerschensteiner (1854–1932) is here published for the first time in English, in a translation by Stephanie Wilde and Christopher Winch. The essay was highly influential in the formation of the successful economy in modern Germany. It has had a bearing on the development of modern conceptions of the place of work, career and profession in a human life, and of the significance of this or the development of both the society as a whole and the individual's Bildung. It provides the means to question again some of the assumptions embedded not only in contemporary thinking about vocational education but about the idea of education as a whole. Much turns in the discussion of differences between German and English expressions, and these are discussed in the complementary essay, ‘Re-Reading Kerschensteiner today—Doing VET in German vocational schools’, by Peter Sloane. An introduction to the broader context is provided in ‘Founding German Vocational Education: Kerschensteiner, Spranger and Fischer as key figures in the classical German VET Theory’ by Christian Steibe, Dina Kuhlee and Christopher Winch, the Editors of this Special Issue.

Vocational guidance and vocational counsellors (1920)

Abstract This classic essay—‘Berufsberatung und Berufsberater’ by Aloys Fischer (1880–1937) is here published for the first time in English, in a translation by Christopher Winch. Fischer discusses the vocational situation after the end of the First World War and considers the needs of young people seeking to choose an occupation in difficult circumstances. He emphasises that vocational choice is difficult and requires specialist help. To this end he describes what he takes to be the aims and duties of the role of vocational counsellor and describes that kind of preparation that such a counsellor needs in order to properly fulfil his/her role. Much turns in the discussion on differences between German and English expressions, and these are discussed in the complementary essay, ‘Aloys Fischer: Vocational Orientation and Vocational Choice as Fundamental Prerequisite for Vocational Education’ by Erika Gericke, which also explores Fischer's significance in the light of contemporary German VET. An introduction to the broader context is provided in ‘Founding German Vocational Education: Kerschensteiner, Spranger and Fischer as key figures in the classical German VET Theory’ by Christian Steibe, Dina Kuhlee and Christopher Winch, the Editors of this Special Issue.

Founding German vocational education: Kerschensteiner, Spranger and Fischer as key figures in the classical German VET theory

Abstract This introduction familiarises the readers of this Special Issue with some important information and arguments that set the life and work of Georg Kerschensteiner, Eduard Spranger and Aloys Fischer in context. In addition, it shows their relevance to current debates and policies in vocational education and training (VET) in both Germany and the Anglophone countries. As a first step, some important concepts in German VET that may cause difficulty in the interpretation for English-speaking readers are introduced and explained. Following from that, an outline of the historical context in which modern German VET was developed is set out and then the place of Kerschensteiner, Spranger and Fischer within that context is described with particular reference to the continuation school, the focus of Kerschensteiner's contribution. Spranger's main contribution was to integrate concern for VET within broader academic issues about education, while Fischer was concerned with young people's transition into the labour force at a time of considerable social and economic change. The introduction concludes with a discussion of the relevance of these thinkers and German VET more generally to the current situation of VET in England, with reference to such topics as ‘academic drift’ and liberal and civic education.

The educational task of the German vocational school (1958)

Abstract This classic essay by Eduard Spranger (1882–1963) is here published for the first time in English, in a translation by Stephanie Wilde. In this contribution Spranger discusses and advocates the need for a vocational school that addresses the civic and individual needs of students as well as the vocational requirements of the nation. He emphasises personal growth, the need for self-knowledge in making a vocational choice and makes a point about the importance of the social role of occupations and the role that being part of a community plays in developing citizenship. He identifies that tasks of the vocational school as both to develop greater self-awareness and to lead young people into civic and vocational engagement. In doing this he acknowledges the influence of Georg Kerschensteiner on his own thought. Much turns in the discussion on differences between German and English expressions, and these are discussed in the complementary essay, ‘The Legitimation of School-based Bildung in the Context of Vocational Education and Training. The Legacy of Eduard Spranger’, by Philipp Gonon. An introduction to the broader context is provided in ‘Founding German Vocational Education: Kerschensteiner, Spranger and Fischer as key figures in the classical German VET Theory’ ‘…’ by Christian Steibe, Dina Kuhlee and Christopher Winch, the Editors of this Special Issue.

Re-reading Kerschensteiner today: Doing VET in German vocational schools—A search for traces

Abstract Georg Kerschensteiner is often called the ‘father of the vocational school’ in Germany. Working in the context of the German Empire in the 19th century, his historical achievement was to design a concept of vocational education that dissolved the opposition between general education and vocational education that had existed since Humboldt. He combined this with the idea that work processes have a positive educational effect. He is, therefore, part of the ‘work-school’ movement as well. The educational-theoretical and didactic positions elaborated by Kerschensteiner were, in different eras, received approvingly and disapprovingly in German vocational education and training research. A history of the discourse of German vocational education has emerged in which the considerations raised by Kerschensteiner are recurrently addressed and sustained. This article attempts to trace Kerschensteiner's influence on educational practice through various historical contexts including the vocational schools in Germany today.

Modular curriculum design under German vocational training standards

With the international development of vocational education, cultivating international high-end technical and skilled talents who meet the requirements of modern industrial development and have international competitiveness has become an important responsibility of current vocational colleges. By introducing the German “duale Ausbildung ”education mode and learning from the IHK vocational qualification certification examination method, the two sets of teaching standards in the German“duale Ausbildung ”education, J Mechatronics framework teaching plan and Mechatronics vocational training rules, are integrated to establish a curriculum design that meets the requirements of the enterprise’s professional post ability, and “double tutors” or “multi tutors” cooperate with modular teaching, Reform and innovate the way of curriculum assessment and evaluation, and cultivate high-quality and highly skilled talents.

Between Adaptation and Resistance: A Study on Resilience Competencies, Stress, and Well-Being in German VET Teachers.

We demonstrate the relationships between occupational demands in German vocational education and training (VET) teacher training, stress symptoms, and different behavioral resilience competencies. Taking into account interindividual differences in resilience competencies, we use a typological approach to identify different types of (trainee) teachers classified by their degrees and configurations of resilience competencies. Our empirical analysis is based on questionnaire data from 131 German vocational trainees and qualified teachers. The results reveal, among other things, that all three resilience competencies—resistance, flexibility, and dynamism—are significantly negatively correlated with the demands of working conditions and workload. Via a latent class analysis, we were able to identify three groups of (trainee) teachers who differed in their resilience competencies to adapt appropriately to different situations and their requirements (“behavioral flexibility”), to recover rapidly from setbacks and to defy the expectations of others (“behavioral resistance”), and to initiate changes as soon as they are necessary or desirable (“behavioral dynamics”). More resilient (trainee) teachers show, among other things, lower values for anxiety as an emotional stress symptom and higher values for job engagement. The findings are discussed with regard to implications for VET teacher training and we stress the need for equilibration on a systemic perspective.

A Study on German ODA to Korea - Focusing on Korean–German Vocational Training Cooperation Projects -

A Study on German ODA to Korea - Focusing on Korean–German Vocational Training Cooperation Projects -

Transfer of the German Vocational Education and Training System—Success Factors and Hindrances with the Example of Tunisia

As the German vocational education and training (VET) system, with its dual learning environment in both firms and vocational schools, is an international benchmark, many concepts and projects are aiming to transfer this approach to other countries and education systems. In such contexts, it is important to consider the specific concepts and requirements of educational transfer. This paper outlines success factors and hindrances for such endeavors. Therefore, a literature review is combined with empirical survey results from Germany. This is directed at a specific project regarding a transfer of the dual VET system from Germany to Tunisia, but it also exemplifies general factors for any such concept transfer. As important success factors, “quality assurance” and “perspectives for graduates”, for example, are identified.