1
Prof. Dr. Felix Rauner
Keynote Presentation on:
Fields and Perspectives of TVET Research
ASEAN-CHINA International Forum on Technical and Vocational
Education and Training (TVET)
13th
October 2010
Beijing Normal University, China
FG Berufsbildungsforschung (I:BB)
Universität Bremen
Leobener Straße / NW 2
28359 Bremen
Tel.: +49 (0) 421 218 62632
e-mail: [email protected]
www.ibb.uni.bremen.de
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Introduction
The research questions, methods and results of scientific research are usually described by the
members of the scientific communities with a view to their own traditions. Rupert Maclean
and I have documented the state of TVET research in cooperation with more than one
hundred researchers who represent the variety of areas in this relatively new discipline
(Rauner, Maclean 2008). Of course there is no time to present the details here, which would
also mean to talk about topics that most of you are already familiar with. Therefore I would
like to start instead with a different perspective and take a view from outside – from the
perspective of related disciplines – on vocational education and its investigation. I will then
turn to the question as to what issues and problems are challenging vocational education now
and in the near future.
In the works of a large number of researchers who discuss the shift from the industrial society
to a postindustrial knowledge society, vocational education is hardly ever mentioned.
If this transformation thesis were correct, then TVET researchers and vocational pedagogy
would have lost their subject matter. The educational agenda of the “knowledge society” is
exemplified in the paradigm of “College for all”.
In many countries education policy has led to a system in which vocational education exists
only in the form of higher or academic vocational education. These programmes follow the
structures that were established in the 19th
and 20th
centuries for the qualification of medical
doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers and economists.
Is the thesis that vocational education disappears in modern economies supported by scientific
evidence? Will TVET research be limited to history? In order to answer these questions one
has to consult several research disciplines that are concerned with education systems as a
dimension of social change:
the social sciences with sociology in the centre, which analyse processes of social
change and the relationship between the employment and education systems;
labour market research, which investigates the sectors of the employment system and
their change; this branch of research gives answers to the question how the proportions
between the segments of high, intermediate and low qualification levels are changing;
business administration and labour studies, which analyse the processes of
organisational and human resource development;
and also international comparative educational research, which can deliver information
about the quality of the competing education and training systems.
TVET research is well advised to consider the research questions, methods and results of
these disciplines since this is the only way to define the genuine domain for TVET research.
The result might be that the subject matter – vocational education – is lost when the
occupational form of labour is deprived of its normative function in the course of the
flexibilisation of labour markets.
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1 Flexible labour markets lead to a strengthening of professional identity
The development of occupations in the wider sense is a topic of several disciplines.
Socio-historical occupation research addresses the development of occupations as a
specific societal phenomenon in a historical perspective.
Sociological occupation research is concerned above all with the occupational form of
societal labour as an aspect of the changing world of work.
Labour market research is concerned, among other things, with forecasts of the
development of occupations and occupational fields.
The sociology of occupations and vocational pedagogy investigate, for example, the
relevance of professional work and related vocational education and training
programmes for the development of professional identity.
The establishment of vocational disciplines (Pahl 2010; Pahl, Rauner 1998; Bannwitz,
Rauner 1993) in the context of the education of VET teachers occupational research
was considerably extended (Rauner 2006). The epistemic interest of these disciplines
is related to the development of vocational education, the planning of VET and the
design of VET programmes.
Typical research questions of these disciplines are:
What is the development of occupations and occupational fields in the course of the
change of work and technology?
What are the characteristics that are constitutive for a specific occupation?
What are the impacts of professional work on the organisational structures and
innovation processes in the economic sectors concerned?
What differences in terms of content do exist between the occupational profiles and
the professional tasks that are actually performed?
Is it possible to integrate occupations into core occupations and should occupations be
differentiated according to vocational disciplines (vgl. Rauner u.a. 2000)?
When it comes to the development and modernisation of occupational curricula, occupational
research requires research and development concepts that have a basis in the relevant
vocational disciplines. The EU project “Car Mechatronic” gives an example how curriculum
development in the context of internationalisation and technological as well as economic
developments can be analysed and organised appropriately (Lichte et al. 1993; Rauner, Spöttl
2002).
The methodological conclusions for a modern occupational research are a consequence of the
function of the latter for curriculum development. The most relevant issues here are the
boundaries and overlaps between occupations and occupational fields as well as the
identification of training contents. What is of interest for vocational pedagogy and
occupational research is the aspect of the lateral and vertical distribution of tasks. For
instance, the analysis of the horizontal division of labour entails the question how the
differentiation of professional tasks influences organisational learning. Since there are
contrary trends in the development of occupations like the revision of specialisations in the
course of the development of core occupations on the one hand and the definition of new
specialist profiles on the other there is a considerable need for further research.
4
Occupational research has a decisive role with regard to the attractiveness of occupations and
thus for the potential for identification that they have for trainees and employees. The latter is
of crucial importance for the occupational commitment, the quality awareness and other
subjective attitudes that are highly relevant for the realisation of modern organisational
concepts in the enterprises. The commitment of employees is studied by two different
research strands. On the one hand industrial sociology and the sociology of work especially in
the 1980s conceptualised different subjective attitudes towards work, e.g. the distinction
between work ethic and professional ethic (Jäger, Bieri, Dürrenberger 1987; Jäger 1989). On
the other hand management research and behavioural research (especially in the USA) has
been conducting empirical studies of different forms of “commitment” since the 1950s
(Balfour, Wechsler 1996; Blau, Paul, St. John 1993; Cohen 2007).
In this branch of occupational research a distinction is drawn between cross-occupational and
occupation-specific approaches. For example, an international comparative study investigated
the professional identity of nurses, electronics technicians and travel agents by means of
qualitative research methods (Brown, Kirpal, Rauner 2007).
The cross-occupational analysis of professional identity as well as occupational and
organisational commitment is carried out with the help of scales (cf. Rauner et al. 2009,
124 ff.).
Prof. Dr. F. Rauner
Work Ethics
Organisational
Commitment
…
…
…
Occupational/
Vocational Identity
…
Occupational/
Vocational
Commitment
Vocational identity and its fields of reference
Fig. 1: Occupational identity and dimensions of commitment (Rauner et al. 2009, vol. 1, 120)
The research findings make it possible to develop identity-commitment profiles, which give
information about the strengths and weaknesses of training occupations and their
implementation in the training practice.
This type of subject-oriented occupational research can be regarded as a valuable supplement
of traditional forms of occupational research.
On the basis of extensive empirical research four types of professionals can be identified.
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Type 1: Autonomous, responsible professionals
This type of professional can be found especially in traditional craft trades as well as a
number of industrial metalworks occupations that have a long tradition of vocational training
(e.g. toolmaker). The commitment in the work process is based predominantly on the
identification with the occupation and on the fact that the professional identity is already quite
strong during the training. Accordingly the occupational commitment is high. It is especially
the professional ethic that motivates employees to strive for performance and quality.
Affiliation with the company, on the other hand, is less important, as is activity on the basis of
instructions. Professional self-esteem is strong, and so is the willingness to fulfil professional
tasks in an independent and responsible manner. In the occupation of metal worker this
orientation can be identified with lower scores on the scales for commitment and identity
(Fig. 2).
Fig. 2: Professional orientation of beautician, cook, hairdresser, car mechatronic’s fitter and electrician for
production engineering, apprentices with occupational orientation
Type 2: The highly committed professional
The trainees in occupations like car retailer or industrial mechanic have a strong professional
identity and a strong professional ethic while at the same time (and somewhat contradictorily)
they also show a preference for activity on the basis of detailed instructions in the context of
corporate hierarchies.
The training and professional types 1 and 2 represent the paradigms and objectives of modern
curricula and training regulations (Fig. 3).
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Fig. 3: Professional orientation of industrial mechanic, sales clerk and automobile business administrator;
attractive versus less attractive vocational training
Type 3: The ‘unremarkables’
The same type like type 2 can also be found on a low level of identity and commitment. This
type includes the training in occupations like retailer, office clerk, transport and logistics
specialist, but also construction mechanic or lorry driver. It can be assumed that the
introduction of identity-supporting learning methods especially in company-based training
can lead to a considerably higher commitment of the trainees (Fig. 4).
Fig. 4: Professional orientation of retail trade clerk, forwarding clerk and bank clerk; traditional business
occupations
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Type 4: Operationally oriented professionals
This is the case above all for administrative assistants, secretaries of lawyers and notaries, but
also certain mechanical occupations (Fig. 5).
Fig. 5: Professional orientation of warehouse clerk, clerk in public administration, articled clerk and plant
mechanic; industrial orientation of the trainees
2 “Knowledge society” – a category obscures the reality of the world of
work
The development trends in the world of work are also discussed from the perspective of the
structural change of the industrial society. Over the past decade the idea has become prevailed
that the industrial society was transforming into a knowledge society. All over the world the
catchy term “knowledge society” gives rise to the illusion that one could feed people with
services, banking and a worldwide network of information and communication technology.
The tempo of de-industrialisation was taken for an indicator of the modernisation and the
capacity for innovation of developing and developed countries. Today only about 10% of the
employees in the USA are working in the manufacturing sector. Before the financial crisis this
situation was approved by many economists. The shift of employment from the primary to the
secondary (manufacturing) to the tertiary (service) sector, the so-called tertiarisation of the
employment structure was considered a law of societal change at least since Fourastié.
According to mainstream economics, countries that passed through this transformation faster
than others had a competitive advantage. The expansion of the service sector and the
corresponding academic drift in education were and still are regarded as paradigms of modern
social and educational policy. The category of the “knowledge society” is not only a summary
of this tendency, but is also regarded as a self-explaining paradigm in political and public
debates: The association of “knowledge society”, “science” and “scientific education”
dominates the debates and prevent the reflection of empirical facts as well as scientifically
sound perspectives of social development.
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The risks of this fiction were already pointed out in the MIT study “Made in America –
Regaining the productive edge” at the end of the 1980s. The paradigm of the tertiarisation of
the employment system and the corresponding deindustrialisation policy were criticised as a
wrong track. It is a surprise that this outstanding study had a shocking impact, but did not lead
to a sustainable change in American innovation and economic policy. The decline and loss of
industrial competence in the production sector in the USA (and related services) is continuing
to this day (Vocker 2010). The low employment rate in the productive sector in the United
States is now recognised as a mal development by the US government – nearly 25 years after
the findings of “Made in America” were became known to policy makers and executives:
„Late in 1986 the Massachusetts Institute of Technology convened its first commission on a
major national issue since World War II. We did this to address a decline in U.S. industrial
performance perceived to be so serious as to threaten the nation’s economic future“ (MIT
1989). “[…] we believe [that] manufacturing is crucial to the nation’s economic well-being
and that our findings for manufacturing can be readily extended to other sectors of the
economy“ (ibid. 4). The MIT commission points at the errors of an economic policy that
brings about deindustrialisation: “Indeed, some see a transition from manufacturing to
services as an inevitable and desirable stage in the economic development of the nation, with
the U.S. increasingly leaving manufacturing to other countries. We think this idea is mistaken.
A large continental economy like the United States will not be able to function primarily as a
producer of services in the foreseeable future” (ibid. 39). The qualification of skilled workers
for the manufacturing sector is identified by the MIT commission as the crucial point for a
turn in the economic development. What was identified correctly in 1989 is even more true
now: Without the industrial production of food, renewable energy as well as user-friendly
buildings for living and working and an infrastructure of communication, all this on a high
level of environmental compatibility, the “good life” cannot be realised. Without an efficient
and ecologically oriented industrial production the business-to-business services would lose
their meaning (Kalmbach et al. 2003).
When the employees of the manufacturing sector and the associated production-related
services are taken together, this extended manufacturing sector accounts for nearly 60% of the
employees in Germany. The industrial sector remains the backbone of a modern industrial
society. 90% of the resources that businesses spend on research and development are in the
manufacturing sector. The overall share of the manufacturing sector in the German national
product, according to Huber (2010, 72) is about 80%.
The modern process of industrial production remains the basis of prosperity and a prerequisite
for avoiding poverty and environmental damage (Huber 2010, 72/73).
This insight is important for the qualification of professionals. The challenge for TVET
research is to develop perspectives for the qualification of the workforce with the help of a
domain-specific occupations and qualification research. The fashionable discussion of the
consequences that the alleged transformation from the industrial to the knowledge society
points for education and training in the wrong direction. There is reason to believe that TVET
research ought to address the modernisation of industrial society and consider what
contribution could be made by the qualification of the work force.
3 The definition of higher education as academic or scientific education
has no scientific justification!
The sociological thesis put forward by Daniel Bell (1973) that in the postindustrial society
scientific and theoretical knowledge would be the new axial system of cultural and economic
development has been fascinating researchers and policy makers ever since. The “college for
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all” policy has its roots in this idea. The reality of the world of work with its qualification
requirements, however, is totally different.
Fig. 6: Occupations that require a high profile, and tertiary education in the population aged 25 to 64 (cf.
Müller 2009, p. 45)
The proportion of highly qualified employees in developed national economies is
approximately 20% on average. The chances of university graduates to be employed in a
high-skill job range between 40% and 90%. A “College for all” policy ignores the reality of
the employment system and diminishes the educational and career prospects of the workforce.
TVET research is challenged to take part in the development of education systems that allow
for permeability and progression between vocational and higher education according to a
concept of parallel tracks. The career pathways for professionals
in the manufacturing sector, business occupations and the personal service sector
for scientists and researchers
for professionals in politics and administrations
in the transportation sector (e.g. ship and aircraft crews)
and for entrepreneurs and employees in the entertainment and arts sector
require parallel learning pathways that are open for the qualification up to the level of
“experts”.
In a system of parallel educational tracks a chef is comparable with experts in other
professional domains, e.g. a scientist or an aircraft pilot. The definition of higher education as
academic education is not supported by research and can be regarded as a maldevelopment of
education systems. The main reason for a hierarchical structure of education in which
vocational education is concentrated at the lower and academic education at the higher levels
lies in the fact that TVET research did not succeed in clarifiying the specific quality of
professional work process knowledge, which could have been the basis for the development
of vocational tracks up to the master level. A fundamental insight concerning professional
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competence development that was achieved in our KOMET project is the fact that problem
solving in the world of work, unlike the solution of research problems in the system of
academic disciplines, is based on the capacity of holistic problem solving (Rauner et al.
2009).
The objective and subjective requirements of processing and fulfilling professional tasks are
immediately connected to occupation-specific skills. The levels of professional competence
define the objective and subjective requirements that have to be formulated for the fulfilment
of professional work tasks. They constitute a generalisable concept of requirements.
These requirements are derived from the objective conditions of work in society (Fig. 7).
Prof. Dr. F. Rauner
orientation on business and work processes
vocationaltasks
functionality
clearness/presentation
efficiency/effectiveness
sustainability
environmentalrequirements
social/societal aspects
creativity
Professional Competence: The ability of holistic
problem solving in vocational tasks
Fig. 7: The criteria of solving occupational tasks in a holistic completely way
When professional tasks are worked on the following requirements come into play. In each
specific case the skilled workers have to ascertain whether all or a subset of these
requirements are relevant for the work assignment in question. The opposite extreme is
represented by the scientific disciplines and their potential for problem solving. The closer the
study programmes in higher education get to the interdisciplinary knowledge of research
disciplines, the greater is the distance to the demands of the world of work. There is a
fundamental difference between a vocational education based on context knowledge and
holistic problem solving and an academic education based on theoretical knowledge. Donald
Schön, in his work “The Reflective Practitioner”, reports about an empirical study according
to which the professionalism of a medical doctor is 85% based on reflected work experience
and not on theoretical knowledge in medicine.
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knowlegde
to guide action
know that
knowledge
to explain action
know how
knowledge
to reflect actionknow why
work process knowledge
knowlegde
to guide action
know that
knowledge
to explain action
know how
knowledge
to reflect actionknow why
work process knowledge
Fig. 8: Work process knowledge
According to Schön the university, being a place where scientific knowledge is generated and
taught, is totally inappropriate for the impartation of professional competence: „I have
become convinced that universities are not devoted to the production and distribution of
fundamental knowledge in general. They are institutions committed, for the most part, to a
particular epistemology, a view of knowledge that fosters selective inattention to practical
competence and professional artistry“(Schön 1983).
TVET research therefore faces the challenge of deciphering the knowledge that is
incorporated in the practice of professional work. When we succeed in studying work process
knowledge (Fig. 8) and to implement this knowledge in the curricula and the practice of
vocational learning, this will give rise to a new quality of vocational education and to an
integrated system of vocational education from initial training up to the highest educational
level.
Therefore TVET research is called to participate in the development of a structure of parallel
learning pathways.
4 Ultimately each occupation has to be learned in practice
Each occupation, be it carpenter, doctor or teacher, must ultimately be learned on the basis of
reflected work experience. The professional work and business processes are a constitutive
part of any vocational learning process. The consequence for the organisation of VET
processes is that enterprises with their work and business processes have to be integrated in
vocational education. The principle of duality, which characterises the interplay of theoretical
and practical learning, is a universal principle. In the practice of VET a distinction is drawn
between:
one-phase or integrated duality in the apprenticeship tradition and
two-phase or alternating duality where a period of school-based vocational education
is followed by one or two years of work-based familiarisation with the occupation.
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The organisation of work processes in the enterprise is determined by economic
considerations. The recruitment and qualification of professional staff is accordingly decided
on the basis of business criteria. This leads to the question concerning the relationship
between costs, benefits and quality of company-based training. In economics there is a
traditional perspective on the training process as an investment in “human capital”. The
assumption is that a period of investment in education and training is followed by
employment. And it is only in the phase of employment that benefits can be expected from the
prior investment in human capital. This reasoning, which can indeed be applied to general
education, leads to a misconception when it is transferred to vocational education. Learning in
the work process includes an enormous potential for learning and development when the
learners are confronted with tasks that stimulate their competence development. From an
economcic point of view this means that learning in the work process is also a form of
productive work. In the ideal case a training programme can be self-financing when the
benefits generated by the trainees are equal to the resources invested by the enterprise in the
training process. Preliminary research findings on company-based training in Germany and
Switzerland suggest two effects that are surprising for the traditional economics of education.
Cost-benefit analyses in Germany and Switzerland show that in a three-to-four-year
training period the benefits of in-company training are higher than the costs. This is
the case even though the training allowances are approximately 25% to 35% of the
wages of skilled workers.
A positive correlation can be demonstrated between the quality of training and the
profitability of training. The higher the quality, the more profitable the training
(Fig. 9).
Prof. Dr. F. Rauner
Correlation between the quality of training
and the benefit of training:
Fig. 9: The correlation between quality and benefit of vocational training
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Only when the research on costs and benefits includes also the aspect of training quality there
is the opportunity to exploit the learning potential of work and business processes in
enterprises. The established methods of human resource management are based on the
traditional economic reasoning according to which any type of education – inculding in-house
training – requires investments in human capital. This explains the hesitation that many
enterprises with regard to supporting the professional qualification of their staff.
5 The international VET landscape is highly diverse
The internationalisation of economic development increasingly necessitates the establishment
of international VET structures in an educational environment that is higly fragmented so far.
As there is currently no comparative evaluation research there is the risk that it will not be the
best forms of vocational education that become paradigmatic. Michael Young, in a study for
the ILO, identifies the concept of national qualifications frameworks as an example of bad
practice that was created in the 1980s with the NVQ system in the United Kingdom. The
transfer of this modular certification system into several countries has rather impeded than
promoted the qualification of skilled workers (Young 2005). Therefore TVET research needs
to develop further the methods of international comparative research and to take into account
instruments of comparative evaluation.
An example is the international comparative evaluation study on the governance of dual
vocational education and training in Europe that was supported by the Bertelsmann Stiftung.
The methodology developed for this study makes it possible to assess the quality of VET
systems qualitatively and quantitatively on the basis of expert ratings.
The following two research instruments were applied in the comparative study:
1. Country studies: In accordance with a common structure country reports were prepared.
They provided an empirical basis for the comparative analysis and evaluation.
2. Expert evaluation workshops: On the basis of a theoretical framework for the evaluation
of the governance and support systems, quantitative and qualitative assessment of the
VET systems was carried out by national experts (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2009).
Results
Four key results of the study that are relevant for the quality of the dual organisation of
vocational education and training will be presented in this contribution.
Differences in the plural governance of dual VET systems
When a distinction between input and output-oriented governance as well as between
coordinated and fragmented governance is applied in the evaluation of VET management,
what becomes clear is that Germany is the only among the four countries to have a
fragmented input-oriented governance system in VET. The fragmentation of the governance
and support system is relatively strong. The prerequisites for the coordination of the relevant
actors and institutions are absent. In the first place this is a structural weakness of the German
VET system. The problem is intensified by an input oriented mode of governance that lays
emphasis on formal rules and their implementation, which considerably limits the
opportunities for the autonomous design and organisation of VET at the local level.
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Fig. 10: Governance of dual VET systems in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland (cumulative results)
Denmark and Switzerland, on the other hand, have more (DK) or less developed (CH)
systems of coordinated output-oriented governance. When this result is further differentiated
one can see the specific reasons for the shortcomings or strengths of the governance structures
in German VET.
Divergent concepts of curriculum development
Curriculum development in Germany (and Austria) is characterised by a high degree of
specialisation as shown by the figure of approximately 500 dual and school-based training
occupations. On the other hand there are only roughly 200 comprehensive occupational
profiles in Switzerland and 100 in Denmark. According to the principle of subsidiarity these
broad profiles are implemented and specified in the local and regional VET dialogue, taking
into account the practice-oriented training potential of local enterprises (Fig. 11).
Fig. 11: Structure of occupational profiles and curricula in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland
15
In Germany, there is a tendency of the social partners at the national level and of the
responsible public body (Ministry of Economics) to define specialised occupations and to
differentiate occupational profiles according to subjects, modules and other curricular
categories, thereby further promoting the input orientation in vocational education.
Different assessment systems and their effects
The system of single, isolated examinations in the shape of an intermediate and a final
examination leads to a persistent weakening of the trainees’ competence development.
In Denmark and Switzerland the continuous evaluation of dual training programmes is highly
developed. The vocational schools in Denmark even assume a managerial and coordinating
function. Above all, the Danish and Swiss examination systems avoid a reduction of the
assessment to one or two single examination dates.
This reduction of the performance assessment or the evaluation of professional competence
development is a considerable structural problem for the organisation and design of
vocational learning processes. Especially in the interval between the intermediate and the final
examination, systematic feedback on the development of professional competence is missing.
A crucial element of competence development is thus absent.
Fig. 12: Assessment systems (temporal structure and role of learning venues) in comparison
Differences in the dual organisation of vocational training
The underdeveloped cooperation between the learning venues is one of the Achilles’ heels in
the German dual VET system. Due to the fact that the learning venues “company” and
“school” belong to different legal spheres the vocational school has become the junior partner
in vocational education (Fig. 13).
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Fig. 13: Structure and organisation of VET in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland
In Denmark and Switzerland, the cooperation of learning venues is based on a single legal
framework and an advanced coordination and support structure at the national, regional and
local levels.
Another example that demonstrates the effectiveness of an international comparative
education research on the basis of a comparative evaluation of education and training systems
is the PISA project.
6 The methodology of large-scale diagnostics can be applied to vocational
education as well
Developing a methodology for large-scale diagnostics in vocational education is a highly
sophisticated task for TVET research. This is due to a number of reasons.
1. The variety of occupations with their highly diverse qualification and competence
profiles makes it impossible to summarise them in a few cross-occupational
competence areas. The attempts to transcend the variety of professional tasks by
defining a general concept of technological literacy for industrial and technical
occupations and economic literacy for business occupations have failed. These
concepts have to be associated rather with general education since the level of
professional knowledge and skills is not attained.
2. The qualification requirements in many occupations are subject to a steady and
accelerating change due to technological innovations. The development of
occupational profiles and training programmes therefore remains a constant
challenge. This makes it difficult to use the contents fixed in the curricula as a
standard for the evaluation of professional competences.
3. International comparative studies and tests are made difficult by the fact that
competences are imparted in very different ways. Skills that trainees acquire in
country X in the course of a dual VET programme are taught in country Y by school-
based VET or even a university programme followed by a practical training period.
17
The competences to be acquired are difficult to compare as they are based on
reflected work experience in the first case and on theoretical knowledge and skills in
the second, where the affinity to professional competence is at best nominal.
It might be objected that the International World Skills is now looking back on a tradition of
40 years and organises contests for 50 occupations. The juries obviously have no difficulty to
reach a consensus about the occupational profiles and the tasks. The participants have about
three days to work on the complex project tasks. The results are evaluated on the basis of a
rating procedure and the winners are identified. Moreover, the rating results can even be
compared across occupations.
This methodology of competence diagnostics was applied in a first international competence
assessment project (China, Germany). On this basis an international comparative large-scale
competence diagnostics for vocational education can be developed. This, however, requires
not only international cooperation between researchers, but also between practitioners in the
field of vocational education.
The special feature of large-scale competence diagnostics for vocational education is the fact
that the test groups can be compared not only with regard to the competence levels, but also to
the competence profiles. The test results therefore not only allow for benchmarking, but also
deliver valuable information for training guidance and advice. For instance, the competence
profiles show which of the eight competence components are emphasised or neglected in the
training process.
22%
3%
59%
40%
56%
7%
23%
39% 3%
34%
15%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Vocational College
BITC Peking (n=116)
Elektroniker für
Betriebstechnik Hessen
(n=292)
Lehrer Peking (n=36)
Nominelle KompetenzI: Funktionale Kompetenz
II: Prozessuale KompetenzIII: Ganzheitliche Gestaltungskompetenz
Kompetenzniveau-Verteilung 2009, 1. Testaufgabe
Fig. 14: Percentage of the participants of three test groups distributed to the competence levels
18
Fig. 15: Competence profiles (results of 2009)
Conclusion
The modernisation of industrial societies depends on an advanced system of vocational
education. The internationalisation of VET structures requires a well-developed international
vocational education and training research that takes part in the development of modern VET
systems according to the concept of parallel learning pathways. The identification of higher
education with academic education has turned out to be a dead end. More than ever the world
is in need of the creativity of professionals and skilled workers. This competence requires a
concept of education that is rooted in the paradigm of holistic problem solving and oriented
towards the establishment of parallel learning pathways from novice to expert.
19
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