Initial Vocational Education And Training Research Articles

Emotional Intelligence and Success in Initial Vocational Education and Training: A Study Among Healthcare Assistants and Social Care Workers

Context: Research on emotional intelligence (EI) shows this concept's decades-long positive influence on well-being, self-efficacy, employability, and academic and professional achievement. Indeed, several studies have demonstrated that students with high EI have better grades and quality of life, as well as are more employable than students with low EI. By considering the two conceptualizations of EI as either an ability or personality trait, the present study investigates EI's influence on training achievement in initial vocational education and training (IVET). We posited that the two types of EI positively influence training achievement in a complementary way: Ability EI relates to achievement in theoretical training, while trait EI relates to achievement in practical training. Furthermore, these links are mediated by apprentices' engagement at school and in learning.  Method: To test our hypotheses, 92 dual IVET health and social care apprentices in their last year of vocational school completed an online survey composed of validated scales measuring EI as an ability, EI as a personality trait, personality traits, and school engagement. The apprentices' grades were also obtained with their permission.  Results: The findings confirmed our hypotheses and reflected EI's positive influence on training achievement. We observed that participants with high EI (as an ability and personality trait) obtained better grades than participants with lower EI. Moreover, our results showed that ability EI has a direct influence on achievement in theoretical health and social care training, while the link between trait EI and practical training is indirect and mediated by engagement in learning.  Conclusion: The present study confirms EI's positive influence on school achievement in the VET context and further corroborates the important role that EI can play in dual IVET apprentices' achievement, particularly in the health and social sectors. This original study contributes to research on the VET system by placing EI among the skills necessary to ensure professional success. 

Challenges and Risk Factors of Early Leaving from IVET: Perceptions of Students and Schools´ Staff

AbstractA concern across many vocational education systems is the high dropout rate from their programs. This problem is likely to be exacerbated at time of low unemployment rates when employers are less demanding about the certification of skills at the time of employment. This qualitative study examines the factors associated with students leaving early from Initial Vocational Education and Training (IVET) institutions in Estonia. The study analyses the challenges and potential risk factors of IVET early leaving from both the students and staff members points of view. The research participants were 20 Estonian IVET students and 12 staff members from various vocational schools. The study highlights the complex interplay of students’ challenges and emphasises the importance of addressing them to promote retention and success in vocational education and training programmes. The study employs the Self-Determination Theory, more specifically, the conceptual frame of basic psychological needs to interpret the data. The results of the research indicate that students at risk are mainly shaped by their primary school experience prior to vocational school, with teachers and peers as the main influencers.

A holistic student-centred guidance framework supports Finnish vocational education and training students in building competence identity

This study deals with competence-based and student-centered Finnish initial vocational education and training (IVET). The main research question is how holistic guidance supports the building of the student’s competence identity in Finnish IVET. The holistic guidance in competence- and work-based vocational education and training is formally implemented when a personal competence development plan (PCDP) is drawn up for each student and informally in various interaction situations in studies, work, and leisure time. The guidance actors supported student’s personal growth, guided learning and provided career guidance. For this study, interviews were carried out with IVET students (n=15) and IVET teachers (n=29). The analysis carried out combined data-based and abductive qualitative content analysis methods. In the analysis results, the different guidance actors were organised into the following five levels of guidance: 1) IVET teachers, tutors, and workplace instructors, 2) IVET study counsellors and special needs teachers, 3) student welfare personnel, 4) leisure time actors and hobby instructors, and 5) employment specialists. Based on the results, a framework was designed for holistic student-centred guidance in Finnish IVET. This framework describes how active student agency and multidisciplinary guidance work can support the building and updating of the student’s competence identity. This study revealed that guidance processes are complex and highlights that many actors are, not only guidance specialists, needed to fulfil the task.

An Institutional Analysis of Local Lifelong Learning Approaches to Early School Leaving in Italy and Spain

In this paper, we will analyze how a few initial vocational education and training (VET) schools have elaborated wide-ranging responses to early leaving from education and training in Liguria (Italy) and Catalonia (Spain). In contrast with many members of the EU and the OECD, the prevailing institutional arrangements in these two countries hardly support disadvantaged youths to catch up with basic academic performance and find an appealing pathway between compulsory and post-compulsory education. Despite this bias of official policies, we argue that some initial VET schools manage to navigate the interface between social structure and agency and accommodate the aspirations of disadvantaged students by involving local stakeholders and shaping school time organization in a particular way.

Enhancing Critical Thinking Skills and Media Literacy in Initial VET Students: A Mixed Methods Study on a Cross-Country Training Program

Context: In the last few decades, the constant and exponential changes in the society's consumption of information have increased the awareness of practitioners from the education and training field, on the need for training programs for the enhancement of critical thinking skills and media literacy among students from Initial Vocational Education and Training (IVET) who are less exposed to intellectual trainings than their peers in traditional education pathways.  Approach: With this impetus, the present paper reports the results of a mixed methods study evaluating a training program for such competences. Based on a cognitive psychology theoretical framework, the training program consisted in three main techniques through which trainers can work with students in the classroom. N= 35 trainers from five different countries (i.e., Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands) were instructed about the training techniques and implemented them in their training centres. Then, a total of N= 288 students among these countries were involved in the testing of the training, which took place on a duration average of 5 months. Mixed methods approach was used to evaluate the effectiveness and quality of the training. Notably, prospective statistical analysis evaluated the training's impact of the participating students and compared with a control group. Qualitative interviews examined the training's lived experience with a group of students and trainers.  Findings: The quantitative and qualitative analysis of pre/post- measures of critical thinking skills and media literacy of the experimental group, and the comparison with the control group, indicate an increase in these competences and confirm the efficacy of the training intervention.  Conclusion: These results inform about the usefulness of the training program cross-culturally and the feasibility of training strategies based on cognitive psychology. Moreover, the paper offers a methodological contribution thanks to the proposition of the mixed methods approach for training programs assessment. 

A hidden source of innovation? Revisiting the impact of initial vocational training on technological innovation

ABSTRACT While an increasing number of studies postulate that vocational education and training (VET) activities have a positive impact on the innovative capacity of training companies, empirical evidence on the topic remains contradictory. This study exploits establishment data from a representative survey of German companies to estimate the relationship between firms’ participation in initial VET and their innovation outcomes. Our results show that the direct effects of initial VET on technological innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are on average quite weak. If at all, a training firm’s initial VET activities are associated with product innovation activities and not with process innovation. Larger effects can only be observed in case of microenterprises with fewer than ten employees. In these firms, initial VET is associated with a higher probability of (local) new-to-market product innovation if it is accompanied by changes in organisational processes that support individual learning and knowledge creation. We conclude from this finding that the knowledge diffusion function of the VET system primarily holds relevance for the smallest of the training companies and that initial VET is only positively related to technological innovation when it goes along with organisational learning in the training company.

A Quantitative Cross-Regional Analysis of the Spanish VET Systems From a Systemic Approach: From a Regional Comparative VET Research Perspective

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to analyse comparatively, at regional level, the current state of a wide range of indicators of Vocational Education and Training (VET) at regional level in Spain. This will make it possible to characterise and better understand the existence of a variety of regional VET systems, including the Initial VET and Continuous VET subsystems within Spain, doing so under a multidimensional approach examining VET supply and demand.
 Methods: Systemic analysis of Spanish VET indicators leads to a selection of 54 indicators, which are then compared at regional level using k-means clustering. This approach identifies similarities and differences (clusters) across all of Spain's 17 autonomous communities (Spanish regions). The correlation between the variables is then analysed to examine the interaction between the VET system's supply and demand dimensions.
 Findings: The results show that 19 indicators explain the main differences between autonomous communities, which form two distinct clusters. Both VET supply and VET environment and demand influence cluster formation and inter-cluster differences. In the set of indicators that differentiate the two clusters of autonomous communities, close interaction is detected between certain indicators of VET supply and demand, especially those referring to the STEM occupational group, which confirms the correlation between these dimensions, albeit to a limited extent.
  Conclusions: While it is necessary to analyse the differences between clusters in greater depth, the results suggest that Spain’s regions are split into two distinct groups (clusters) in which the respective VET systems are developing and advancing differently. Moreover, there is evidence of a small number of significant interrelations between indicators of VET supply and demand, which point to both the VET system's specialisation and its inclusive nature.

Entry into and Completion of Vocational Baccalaureate School in Switzerland: Do Differences in Regional Admission Regulations Matter?

Upper secondary education in Switzerland is divided into a general and a vocational path. Approximately two thirds of adolescents attend the vocational path. The initial vocational education and training (IVET) can be combined with a federal vocational baccalaureate (FVB), which enables graduates to enter universities of applied sciences. The proportion of FVB holders varies considerably between Swiss regions. We study how admission regulations affect regional entry and graduation rates and how they interact with individual characteristics. We use longitudinal register data from the Federal Statistical Office to study individuals’ chances of pursuing and obtaining a vocational baccalaureate in combination with data about cantonal admission criteria to vocational baccalaureate schools. We find that higher admission barriers reduce individuals’ chances of pursuing a vocational baccalaureate, particularly among apprentices with low socio-economic status and those who pursue an FVB after their VET diploma. Against our expectations, high admission barriers are associated not only with lower entry rates but also with lower graduation rates.

Supporting Apprentices’ Integration of School- and Workplace-Based Learning in Swiss Initial Vocational Education and Training

ABSTRACT In a dual initial vocational education and training (IVET) system, an integration between school- and work-based learning is essential to provide apprentices with necessary trade-specific skills and to ensure the quality of training. However, apprentices often perceive a disconnection between learning sites. Accordingly, based on the concepts of boundary crossing and school-workplace connectivity, this study aimed to investigate how the integration between school- and work-based learning contributed to the quality of Swiss IVET from the perspective of apprentices, vocational teachers and in-company trainers. Data were collected through focus groups (n = 64) and thematic data analysis was carried out following an inductive and deductive approach. Key findings indicated some issues related to sociocultural differences between school and training company: a general devaluation of school-based learning (non-aligned with workplace-learning or perceived as useless) and the diversity of apprentices’ experiences at the training company. Furthermore, the analysis revealed how these situations perceived as disconnected can become learning opportunities: by applying a skill acquired at school in the workplace that is not part of the routine (learning mechanism of transformation); by bringing in the classroom authentic situations experienced by apprentices at work (learning mechanism of reflection). Implications for training and teaching are addressed.

Enhancing critical thinking and media literacy in the context of IVET: a systematic scoping review

PurposeThe alignment between the labour market and initial vocational education and training (IVET) is placing always more importance on technical knowledge and skills, whilst metacognitive competences such as critical thinking and media literacy are increasingly neglected. In the context of IVET, this results in authors and practitioners paying always more attention to how to devise possible training interventions, with the double aim of implementing their educational pathways and enhancing students’ critical thinking and media literacy. This paper aims to report the state of the art concerning such processes of enhancement in IVET students.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted the method of systematic scoping review to address the research questions on how to enhance critical thinking and media literacy in the context of IVET.FindingsThe paper presents the analyses of the n = 19 contributions collected. Then, it proposes an initial conceptualization of the dimensions of critical thinking and media literacy. Moreover, by combining evidence from various contributions, the review proposes implications for educational practices and strategies. Around these pieces of knowledge, further avenues of research and practice are proposed.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributes to the literature on critical thinking and media literacy in the context of IVET by advancing initial comprehensive conceptualizations of the two dimensions. Moreover, the study advances initial practical implications for teachers and trainers for the development of training interventions.Originality/valueThe originality of the present review rests in its proposal of definitions of critical thinking and media literacy; moreover, it widens the discussion of practices on how to enhance such metacognitive competences. Indeed, the study identifies the teaching and training practices meant to enhance critical thinking and media literacy and proposes applied implications in the context of IVET.

Labour Market Success of Initial Vocational Education and Training Graduates: A Comparative Study of Three Education Systems in Central Europe

ABSTRACT This paper compares within-country programmes of initial vocational education and training (IVET) in Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany and their outcomes. Specifically, it aims to analyse and compare the labour market success of graduates of different tracks at the ISCED 3 level in both early and later stages of their careers. The comparison is based on the analysis of PIAAC 2013 OECD study data. A composite multidimensional indicator was constructed to measure labour market success and subsequently used as a dependent variable in regression models. The results indicate that in the systems with dual IVET at the ISCED 3 level (Germany and Austria), graduates are indeed more successful at the labour market than their counterparts with other ISCED 3 tracks. However, their advantage diminishes in later stages of the career. Additionally, in Austria, the success of dual education young graduates is mediated by individual characteristics. In the system with only school-based IVET (the Czech Republic), this track does not guarantee substantively higher labour market success for young graduates compared to other ISCED 3 tracks and also to those with lower education. Czech apprentices in the later stages of career succeed even less than those with below ISCED 3 education.

The collaboration between Swiss initial vocational education and training partners: perceptions of apprentices, teachers, and in-company trainers

This study aims to investigate the Swiss initial vocational education and training (IVET) partnership from the perspective of several stakeholders on the ground. Collaboration between stakeholders is essential in dual IVET to connect school- and workplace-based learning and to ensure the quality of the entire system. However, such collaboration can be challenging, given the different epistemic natures of the school and the training company. Apprentices, that regularly cross the boundaries of vocational school and training company, often struggle to connect the learnings that they have acquired from both places. Adopting a boundary crossing perspective, we explore perceptions of IVET partnership in terms of challenges and learning opportunities for the stakeholders on the ground. We realized focus groups with apprentices, vocational teachers, and in-company trainers (N = 64) from several professional fields. The data were analyzed in an inductive and deductive manner, using a thematic analysis. The main results highlight that the participants consider the collaboration between stakeholders to be weak: the links between schools and training companies appear to be scarce and not supported by explicit or formal strategies. Further, the apprentices act as brokers, but they are often not supported in connecting school- and workplace-based learning. These results can provide new insights into how the IVET partnership could be designed.

How do teachers collaborate in Hungarian VET schools? A quantitative study of forms, perceptions of impact and related individual and organisational factors

BackgroundThis study investigates teacher collaboration in Hungarian vocational education and training (VET) schools based on an online survey of teachers (n = 303). Collaboration of teachers has long been appreciated for its significant benefits including increased motivation, job satisfaction, self- and collective efficacy, as well as its role in teacher professional development and school improvement. Collaboration of teachers working in VET schools, especially in VET systems where initial VET is provided to young people and (in part) within compulsory education, appears as particularly desirable, given the special context, objectives and challenges of this sector and the spread of competence-based education. However, relatively little is known about VET teacher collaboration, especially in Hungary, where three different profiles of teachers—general subject and vocational teachers and vocational trainers—work in VET schools. The aim of our study was to provide data about how Hungarian VET teachers collaborate, which could validate prior research results on teacher collaboration as well as identify any special features of the VET context.MethodOur study design was exploratory, descriptive and correlational, applying quantitative statistical analysis. We measured teacher collaboration (practice and perception of impact) and explanatory individual and organisational factors selected for our research framework by adapting instruments of previous empirical studies (most importantly, OECD’s TALIS). We analysed connections between collaboration and independent variables created by principal component analysis.ResultsOur data show that sharing-type collaboration (professional discussions and exchange of materials) are widespread among Hungarian VET teachers. They are much less likely to participate in deeper collaborative activities that presuppose higher levels of interdependence, and they also appreciate the impact of deeper collaboration less. Female respondents participate in sharing-type activities more than their male colleagues, and middle-aged (40–55) are most active in both types of collaboration and perceive the most impact. Collaboration practices correlate most with perceptions of their impact. More frequent collaboration and perceptions of higher impact are related to teachers’ sense of higher self-efficacy and relaxed, tolerant and encouraging collegial relationships. Structural barriers seem to influence only sharing and perceptions of impact. Small, but statistically significant differences in collaboration were found between the three teacher profiles. Vocational trainers (who instruct vocational school practice) showed the highest level of participation in deeper collaboration, while vocational teachers were least likely to participate and perceived the least impact. No significant associations were found between collaboration and prior or current work experience in the taught vocation.ConclusionsOur results largely confirm and validate previous research on teacher collaboration in lower level and general educational contexts by providing data on VET teacher collaboration. They also note the role of some VET-specific factors, such as structural barriers and small, but statistically significant differences between different VET teacher profiles.

Developing Two-Year Apprenticeships in Norway and Switzerland

Over the last 15 years, different countries have developed low-level vocational education and training (VET) programmes for young people who struggle to enter or complete education at upper secondary level. Switzerland introduced nationally standardised two-year initial VET programmes in 2005, Norway in 2016. Data of interviews with curriculum experts in Norway and Switzerland provided an empirical basis to examine the underlying intentions for offering these programmes and the respective criteria for defining the learning outcomes and the curricula. The reference frame in Norway for identifying appropriate learning outcomes and selecting learning goals are the national curricula of the respective four-year VET programmes. In Switzerland, the learning outcomes of two-year curricula are defined by lower-level occupational activities which are usually identified in analyses involving active workers and experts in the respective fields. Despite these differences, the criteria for developing two-year curricula are largely the same in both countries. The findings further show that two-year VET programmes in Norway are not intended to lead to a direct labour market entry but are understood as a first step of a staged qualification whereas in Switzerland they are designed to find a viable balance between employability and permeability to the more demanding three- or four-year VET programmes. In both countries, the two-year apprenticeships do not correspond to a holistic concept of vocation.

Employers placing orders and students as commodities: Swedish post-secondary vocational education and training policy

ABSTRACT Established in 2009, Swedish Higher Vocational Education (HVE) gives employers an opportunity to initiate state-funded but locally conceptualised and managed training programmes. This article investigates the system, the ideas used in policy to mandate this arrangement of vocational education and training (VET) and the institutional relations of power and control between stakeholders that it represents. Fourteen Swedish educational policy documents relating to post-secondary VET and the establishment of HVE were analysed. The findings show that policy has placed much of the power and control over HVE with employers and that both public and private education providers are dependent on employers. The system does not create any institutional relations between trade unions and HVE. Nor does it encourage employers to collaborate more comprehensively than locally regarding single programmes, to conceptualise them and their curricula. Hence, the qualifications and positions of HVE graduates in enterprises, unlike those of graduates from initial VET in upper secondary education, are not negotiated by the stakeholders in the conventional Swedish model, where national employers’ organisations and trade unions are central actors. The findings also reveal that the HVE students, in policy documents, are construed as input material that, through training, are turned into products with exchange value – into commodities.

Job resources and career success of IVET graduates in Switzerland: a different approach to exploring the standing of VET

ABSTRACTAccording to common indicators such as the prestige of vocational education and training (VET), enrolment rates in initial VET (IVET) programmes, or the involvement of private partners, the Swiss VET system enjoys a high standing. In this paper, we took a different approach and examined the effects of educational resources (educational degree) and personal resources (core self-evaluations, CSE) on graduates’ job resources (learning opportunities, job control, social relations) and career success (career satisfaction, salary). The study included 1507 persons who were allocated to three groups: 1) IVET graduates without higher education degrees (N = 585), 2) IVET graduates with a higher education degree (N = 395), and 3) graduates from general education with a university degree (N = 527). We found that IVET graduates who did not pursue any higher education had fewer learning opportunities in their jobs and lower salaries than university graduates. The job resources and salary levels of IVET graduates with a higher education degree only differed a little from those of university graduates. Higher levels of CSE were related to more job resources, higher salaries and greater career satisfaction. The study underscores the importance of fostering employees’ personal resources and providing learning opportunities to all workers independent of the level of education.

Dual study programmes in Germany: blurring the boundaries between higher education and vocational training?

ABSTRACT Triggered by rising higher education (HE) participation rates in recent years there is an intense debate in Germany regarding the future value of vocational education and training (VET). While VET in Germany has traditionally been a major contributor to the successful transition of young people from school to the labour market, this role is questioned by an increasing proportion of school leavers that enter HE instead of initial VET. This paper introduces this debate to the international readership by analysing the available data and by discussing some of the implications of the current changes. For instance, there are a number of studies that identify the fields and types of VET that are in danger of being substituted by HE provision, assuming a competitive relationship between the two sectors. However, there is also growing interest in programmes that aim to combine vocational and academic learning in so-called ‘dual study programmes’, taking a complementary perspective of VET and HE. The analysis will lead to conclusions regarding the future shape of upper secondary and tertiary education in Germany and the links of different education sectors to the labour market.

The Interplay between Education, Skills, and Job Quality

Compared to general education, vocational education and training (VET) has been shown to facilitate young people’s integration into the labour market. At the same time, research suggests that VET falls short in teaching basic skills and, in turn, may lead to less adaptability to labour market changes and long-term disadvantages in individual labour market outcomes. To better understand the relationships between education, skills, and labour market outcomes, we examine to what extent job quality differs between individuals with general education and those with VET with respect to different skill levels. Furthermore, we investigate whether the relationship between type of qualification and job quality differs by skills. We broaden past research by considering four indicators of job quality: earnings, job security, job autonomy, and the match between respondents’ abilities and job demands. Using data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies for Germany, we demonstrate that individuals with academic education and advanced VET score higher in job quality concerning earnings and job autonomy as compared to individuals with initial VET. Comparing the two higher qualified groups, academic education is more associated with higher earnings than advanced VET, while the level of job autonomy is similar. Regarding the abilities-demands match, both groups score lower than individuals with initial VET. Moreover, higher literacy skills are associated with higher levels of job quality irrespective of the type and level of formal qualification. Finally, we find no empirical evidence that skills compensate for or reinforce disadvantages in job quality derived from professional qualifications.

Promoting workplace‐based training to fight youth unemployment in three EU countries: Different strategies, different results?

During the economic crisis, youth unemployment grew exponentially in many European countries. It was argued that countries with a high level of firm involvement in the provision of initial vocational training were better equipped to address this problem. Boosting workplace‐based training was therefore seen as the right strategy to tackle unemployment. Using Denmark, Spain and the UK as case studies, this article analyses how countries with different skill formation systems have improved this type of training. While the UK reinforced the voluntaristic character of its training regime, Denmark improved the quality of its vocational education, and Spain made reforms to the training and apprenticeship contract. Interestingly, the countries achieved different results. To explain this divergence, it is argued that while the reforms made in the UK and Denmark were compatible with the national institutions and coordination mechanisms, this was not the case in Spain, where reforms were implemented in a non‐complementary way.Key Practitioner Message: After the economic crisis it was argued that countries with a high level of firm involvement in the provision of initial VET were better equipped to fight youth unemployment. The study analysed how countries with different skill formation systems improved this type of training and assessed their relative success. The article shows that when implementing reforms policy makers must take into account the institutions and mechanisms of coordination that prevail in each country. Otherwise, reforms may be unsuccessful.

Initial VET in Spain

Initial vocational education in Spain was created within the formal education system in 1970. During the reform process, in 1990, it has been acquired modern architecture. During the period from 1990 to 2002, a series of reforms took place in the country, the most important of which was the adoption in 2002 of the national law on education, the main provisions of which were agreed upon with all stakeholders - the main political parties, social agents, employers and trade unions. The law introduced the following key features of the vocational education system in Spain: a mandatory curriculum module for all students of vocational education institutions that is implemented directly at the workplace; the same requirements for entry into higher education institutions for all searchers; active involvement of employers, representatives of trade unions, administrations in the process of developing of professional qualifications and vocational education curricula. The article provides a general overview    of Spain’s vocational education system in social and historical contexts. The institutional and legislative mechanisms, which ensure functioning of the corresponding system (functions of which are, in particular, the legislation of the management of the system of vocational education and training) are described. A general overview of the major reforms in the VET system in Spain is presented, which gives the reader a certain idea of the trends that have taken place over the years and indicate an increase in the prestige of vocational education and training.