Rediscovering Apprenticeship: Research Findings of the International Network on Innovative Apprenticeship (INAP)

203 Pages·2010·1.758 MB·English

by  Felix Rauner, Erica Smith (auth.), Erica Smith, Felix Rauner (eds.)

REDISCOVERING APPRENTICESHIP
UNESCO-UNEVOCBookSeries
TechnicalandVocationalEducationandTraining:
Issues,ConcernsandProspects
Volume11
SeriesEditor-in-Chief:
ProfessorRupertMaclean,CentreforLifelongResearchandDevelopment,theHongKongInstituteofEducation,China.
(FormerlyUNESCO-UNEVOCInternationalCentreforTechnicalandVocationalEducationandTraining,Bonn,Germany.)
AssociateEditors:
ProfessorFelixRauner,TVETResearchGroup,UniversityofBremen,Germany
ProfessorKarenEvans,InstituteofEducation,UniversityofLondon,UnitedKingdom
EditorialAdvisoryBoard:
DrDavidAtchoarena,DivisionforEducationStrategiesandCapacityBuilding,UNESCO,Paris,France
DrAndrásBenedek,MinistryofEmploymentandLabour,Budapest,Hungary
DrPaulBenteler,StahlwerkeBremen,Germany
MsDianeBooker,TAFESA,Adelaide,Australia
MrJohnBudu-Smith,formerlyMinistryofEducation,Accra,Ghana
ProfessorMichelCarton,NORRAGc/oGraduateInstituteofInternationalandDevelopmentStudies,Geneva,Switzerland
DrChrisChinien,WorkforceDevelopmentConsulting,Montreal,Canada
DrClaudioDeMouraCastro,FaculadePitágoras,BeloHorizonte,Brazil
DrWendyDuncan,AsianDevelopmentBank,Manila,Philippines
DrMichaelFrearson,SQWConsulting,Cambridge,UnitedKingdom
DrLaviniaGasperini,NaturalResourcesManagementandEnvironmentDepartment,
FoodandAgricultureOrganization,Rome,Italy
DrPhilippGrollmann,FederalInstituteforVocationalEducationandTraining(BiBB),Bonn,Germany
DrPeterGrootings,EuropeanTrainingFoundation,Turin,Italy
ProfessorW.NortonGrubb,GraduateSchoolofEducation,UniversityofCalifornia,
Berkeley,UnitedStatesofAmerica
DrDennisR.Herschbach,FacultyofEducationPolicyandLeadership,UniversityofMaryland,
CollegePark,UnitedStatesofAmerica
DrOriolHoms,CentreforEuropeanInvestigationandResearchintheMediterraneanRegion,Barcelona,Spain
ProfessorPhillipHughes,AustralianNationalUniversity,Canberra,Australia
ProfessorMoo-SubKang,KoreaResearchInstituteforVocationalEducationandTraining,Seoul,RepublicofKorea
DrBonaventureW.Kerre,SchoolofEducation,MoiUniversity,Eldoret,Kenya
DrGünterKlein,GermanAerospaceCentre,Bonn,Germany
DrWilfriedKruse,SozialforschungsstelleDortmund,DortmundTechnicalUniversity,Germany
ProfessorJonLauglo,DepartmentofEducationalResearch,FacultyofEducation,UniversityofOslo,Norway
DrAlexanderLeibovich,InstituteforVocationalEducationandTrainingDevelopment,Moscow,RussianFederation
ProfessorRobertLerman,UrbanInstitute,Washington,UnitedStatesofAmerica
MrJoshuaMallet,CommonwealthofLearning,Vancouver,Canada
MsNaingYeeMar,UNESCO-UNEVOCInternationalCentreforTechnicalandVocationalEducationandTraining,Bonn,
Germany
ProfessorMuntherWassefMasri,NationalCentreforHumanResourcesDevelopment,Amman,Jordan
DrPhillipMcKenzie,AustralianCouncilforEducationalResearch,Melbourne,Australia
DrTheoRaubsaet,CentreforWork,TrainingandSocialPolicy,Nijmegen,Netherlands
MrTrevorRiordan,InternationalLabourOrganization,Bangkok,Thailand
ProfessorBarrySheehan,MelbourneUniversity,Australia
DrMadhuSingh,UNESCOInstituteforLifelongLearning,Hamburg,Germany
DrManfredTessaring,EuropeanCentrefortheDevelopmentofVocationalTraining,Thessaloniki,Greece
DrJandhyalaTilak,NationalInstituteofEducationalPlanningandAdministration,NewDelhi,India
DrPedroDanielWeinberg,formerlyInter-AmericanCentreforKnowledgeDevelopmentinVocationalTraining
(ILO/CINTERFOR),Montevideo,Uruguay
ProfessorAdrianZiderman,Bar-llanUniversity,RamatGan,Israel
UNESCO-UNEVOCHeadofPublications:
AlixWurdak
Forfurthervolumes:
http://www.springer.com/series/6969
Rediscovering Apprenticeship
Research Findings of the International Network
on Innovative Apprenticeship (INAP)
Editedby
FELIXRAUNER
UniversityofBremen,Germany
ERICASMITH
UniversityofBallarat,Australia
123
Editors
Prof.FelixRauner Prof.EricaSmith
TVETResearchGroup UniversityofBallarat
UniversityofBremen 663P.O.Box
LeobenerStr.(NW2) BallaratVIC3353
28359Bremen Australia
Germany [email protected]
[email protected]
ISBN978-90-481-3115-0 e-ISBN978-90-481-3116-7
DOI10.1007/978-90-481-3116-7
SpringerDordrechtHeidelbergLondonNewYork
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2009942418
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Series Editors Introduction
This important book is being published at a particularly opportune time: at a time
when there are on-going vigorous discussions and debates about the quality of
Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). The high world-wide
interest that exists concerning the quality of TVET is reflected, for example, in
thediscussionswhichoccurthroughtheUNESCO-UNEVOCInternationalCentre’s
e-Forum.
Commentatorsareconcernedbywhattheybelieveisthelow(andevendeclining)
quality of many TVET programmes, and in their deliberations are exploring what
canbedonetoimprovethequalityandrelevanceofTVETprogrammes.Thesedis-
cussionsareoccurringatalllevels:fromthemicro-level,wherequestionsconcern
thequalityofteachingandlearning,tothemeso-(whetherinstitutionsprovidethe
appropriateservicesandproducerelevantlyskilledgraduates),macro-,systemsand
policieslevels.
Concerning educational policies and systems, the quality debate encompasses
different levels. This book provides many good examples of discussions on the
nationallevel.Forexample,formanyyearsmajoreffortshavebeenmadetoclarify
VETqualityissuesattheEuropeanlevel,thisleadingtotherecentrecommendation
by the European Parliament and of the Council, to establish ECVET, a European
CreditsystemforVocationalEducationandTraining.
The discussion on quality relates mainly to key issues such as: the cost-
effectivenessofvocationaleducation;theimageofVETfordifferentstakeholders;
and, especially recently, to the transferability of qualifications and educational
outcomes both within countries and across borders. Here, the international trans-
ferabilityofVETisofinterestandconcern,beingoneofthekeyissuesthatclearly
differentiatesgeneralhighereducationfromvocationaleducation,andwhichhasan
important impact on the development and prestige of TVET. Another important
area is the transferability of the recognition and validation of skills and knowl-
edge within different educational sectors of Life Wide Learning, this being an
especially relevant question for apprenticeships due to the partly informal (and so
highly flexible and individual nature of the) studies which creates big challenges
in assessing the quality of both inputs (teaching) as well as the outcomes of study
programmes.
v
vi SeriesEditorsIntroduction
Various macro-level good practices are examined in this insightful book which
can be linked to quality issues concerning the coordination of apprenticeship
systems.Examplesinclude:
• ThearrangementofdualVET,sothatthefocusofthestudiesundertakenleads
more to professionalisation than to certification. Here the innovative French
’sandwich model’ can be referred to as an example (as described by Bénédicte
Gendron), where workplace apprenticeship is integrated into vocational studies
through various sessions rather than as one compulsary phase at the end of the
school-basedstudies.
• Aconsistentlegalframeworkfordualvocationaltraining,asisdescribedinthe
caseofSwitzerlandbyRauneretal.,whichlaysthefoundationsforanintegrated
governancesystembythedifferentstakeholdersinvolved.
• The cooperation of social partners (trade unions, government and employers)
withinajointnationalframework,asisthecaseinIreland(asdescribedbyBarry
Nyhan), which has set important elements such as: the organisation of appren-
ticeshipsprogrammesbasedonstandardsratherthanonlength;achievingagood
balance between on-the-job and off-the-job training; and, the need for a big-
ger contribution by employers into the study programmes, since they may be
regardedasbeingthemainbeneficiaries.
• The coherence of national systems with larger frameworks, such as in the case
of EU Member States, the European policies and practices (as described in the
chapteraboutItalianapprenticeshipreformbyD’Agostinoetal.).
• Support for thedevelopment of theproviders of learning inapprenticeship pro-
grammes,namelytrainers,asisexaminedinthechapterbyPhilippGrollmann.
ThisbookalsosuggestssolutionstoproblemsfacedbyVETthatcrossborders:
for example, in France, VET programmes have been reorganised and renamed as
being a ’Vocational Baccaluréat’ in order to raise the prestige and status of this
educationsectorforpotentiallearners.
The prevailing, almost all pervasive, low reputation of vocational studies is a
problemthatisreferredtobymanyauthorsinthebook.Studentsinvolvementwith
vocationaleducationareoftenpresentedasbeinga’secondchoice’whichstudents
becomeinvolvedwithafterfailingintheiracademicstudies,ratherthanbeingbased
on a conscious choice which reflects students’ interests, preferred learning styles
etc.Thisisunfortunatesincevocationaleducationgenerallyprovidesalargervari-
ety of learning settings and practical learning modules, provides a greater range
of learning-by-doing settings (rather than focusing mainly on creating theoretical
knowledge), and provides second chance opportunities for students who have not
beensuccessfulintraditional,academicallyorientedgeneraleducation.
Dualism may be viewed as being a quality aspect of vocational education. As
discussedbytheeditorsofthisbook,alloccupationsultimatelyrequireandinvolve
learning on the job, regardless of whether it is an academic or non-academic area
of employment. The wide variety of educational settings available is a valuable
aspect of vocational studies, providing students with real-life experiences during
SeriesEditorsIntroduction vii
theircourseofstudies.Thisbetterprepareslearnersfortheworldofwork,andalso
providesamoreholisticapproachtoteachingbytakingadvantage ofthedifferent
learning modalities available to learners. It is therefore anticipated that the dual-
ism of vocational education, a term which suggests that two different things are
involvedwhencombiningtheoreticalandpracticallearning,willbeatthecoreand
oneofmainbenefitsofvocationalstudies.
SeriesEditor RupertMaclean
June,2009

Preface
The INAP Network was founded in 2006 in Bremen within the framework of
an international conference on best practice in apprenticeships. The network
draws together common research interests in the international phenomenon of
‘re-discovering apprenticeship.’ It aims at the further modernisation of vocational
educationandtrainingthroughthemeansofinternationallylinkedresearchworkin
thesefields.
Boththefactthat,ultimately,eachprofessionandoccupationhastobeperformed
(andthuslearned)onthejobaswellastheparadoxthatthetransitiontowardsmore
flexible job markets actually leads to stronger vocational identity among workers
lead to a need for a new assessment of the meaning and importance of TVET in
modernindustrialsocietiesofthe21stcentury.
INAP offers an international platform of study and research for scholars and
researchinstitutionsfromcountriesallovertheworldandrepresentshighlydiverse
educational systems. In contrast to the situation we faced in the past century, the
tradition of “apprenticeship” is now challenged to integrate into the various edu-
cationalsystemsinamannerthatallowsasuccessfultransitionfromvocationalto
highereducation.Simultaneously,apprenticeshipshouldremainasolidfundament
forlifelongeducation.
Beginning an occupational career is no longer a one-way road without having
theopportunitytoaccessfurthereducationandacademiccareers.Onthecontrary,
school leavers often opt for apprenticeship before going to university and vice
versa!
Whethertheemerginginternationalinterestinapprenticeshipwillalsostimulate
a convergent development of VET systems towards an international architecture
of TVET remains to be examined by INAP in future research and discussions.
The merging of international job markets as well as continuing economic interna-
tionalisation legitimate a contention of a new balance between the drive towards
internationalisation on the one hand and a more culturally determined force of
localisationontheotherhand.
This book makes an important contribution to the international literature on
apprenticeship. It draws together some of the leading researchers in the area, and
provides a body of knowledge on current practices and issues that has previ-
ouslybeenlackinginthiscomplexinterdisciplinaryfield.Thelessonslearnedfrom
ix