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The Dearing Report on 16-19 qualifications argues that the proportion of the cohort who can benefit by A-levels has reached its limits and proposes a broad-based Advanced Diploma, based on the A-levels, but leaving the A-levels themselves unchanged. This chapter argues that leaving the A-levels unchanged is a very small step towards an advanced level curriculum of the future. The authors examine the A-level curriculum and consider what purpose it serves, and look at the history of A-level reform and the lessons that can be learnt from it. Emphasis in this chapter has been placed on the distinction between the ideological and educational roles of A-levels and the distinction between subject and connective specialisation as curriculum principles. The authors conclude that A-level reforms failed in the past because people did not have a clear idea of what the alternatives to A-levels might look like and because past governments have had political and ideological interests in preserving A-levels.

The monograph from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 68.248. Individual chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 68.249 to TD/TNC 68.261. Show less

This report will describe the situation concerning the governance of [vocational and technical education] VTE [in Lebanon], with particular reference to VTE management, how finance and funding are organised, and the extent to which quality assurance approaches are being harnessed; the purpose is to help to secure improvements in VTE policy and implementation. The report will go on to consider which improvements to aspects of VTE governance can be made and how these can be introduced. The report is based on the expectation that VTE - alongside other education sub-systems and productive sectors - has an important role to play in developments in the Lebanese context and that realistic improvements in VTE governance can assist all the agencies and stakeholders who engage with VTE to make sure that the sector can better fulfil its labour market and social missions, and make a positive contribution to innovation.

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This document provides a cross-country analysis of the current situation in relation to [vocational education and training] VET governance in the nine countries in the [southern and eastern Mediterranean] SEMED region that are participating in the [European Training Foundation's] ETF's [Governance for Employability in the Mediterranean] GEMM project. It presents a clear review of the challenges that these countries are facing as they seek to improve VET outcomes through better management and partnership at the national and local levels.

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In 1998, more than 100 researchers and vocational training experts from most European Union (EU) Member States and other countries in Central and Eastern Europe attended a conference that was held in collaboration with the German Federal Ministry for Education, Science, Research and Technology and the European Training Foundation (ETF) to: examine how comparative vocational training research is related to policy and practice and how it contributes to the transfer of innovation in the European context; and assess the current situation and highlight prospects for the development of comparative vocational training research in future.

This conference paper was presented at the first workshop and is based on the findings of a 1997 research project which analysed trends in policies and practices in the education and training systems of the current Member States of the European Union over the last 10 years in order to contribute to an understanding of the trends of convergence and divergence and their policy implications at European level. The research was carried out at the Institute of Education, University of London for the European Commission’s Directorate General XXII. The paper begins with an overview of the convergent and divergent trends and briefly explores some of the underlying factors. It then explores the trends in initial postcompulsory vocational education and training, and in continuing education and training.

The volume of papers is indexed at TD/TNC 72.305; selected papers are indexed from TD/TNC 72.306 to TD/TNC 72.330. Show less

The effective governance of education and training in the UK is the responsibility of the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and is a major priority of the UK government. Many aspects of initial and continuing training are subject to continuous reform as the UK builds on its strengths and addresses challenges in the emerging systems of lifelong learning. Priorities in the UK are closely in line with the objectives of the Lisbon strategy. Vocational education and training (VET) systems in the UK tend to be complex as well as fast changing. This short review gives an overview of the main structures, trends, and challenges. Key elements include the notion of competence to define the content and assessment of VET learning and an increasingly flexible and diverse approach to learning provision. The contents are: General policy context; Policy developments; Institutional framework; Initial vocational education and training; Continuing vocational training for adults; Delivery mechanisms and providers; Training of teachers and trainers; Skills and competence development; Guidance and counselling; Financing investment in human resources; European and international dimension. Included as appendices are: Acronyms and abbreviations; Glossary; Legislative and bibliographic references; Main organisations.

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In this chapter, the authors look at vocational education and training (VET) as an integrating factor with the potential to bring about articulation across geographical, social, cultural and political boundaries. They also contend that VET systems cannot develop in isolation and that some sort of regional integration is inevitable. The authors examine the common challenges faced by VET systems and the experiences within the European Union (EU). They also examine ways of facilitating and managing regional learning, with reference to the Maastricht study and the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). The chapter concludes with a section on lifelong learning policies.

The book from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 100.51. Individual chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 100.52 to TD/TNC 100.244. Show less

This report describes the governance of [technical and vocational education and training] TVET in Israel with particular reference to TVET management, how finance and funding are organised, and the extent to which quality assurance approaches are being harnessed. The report will go on to consider which improvements to aspects of TVET governance can be made and how these can be introduced. The purpose is to help to secure improvements in TVET policy and implementation. The report is based on the expectation that TVET - alongside other education sub-systems and productive sectors - has an active and innovative role to play in economic, labour market and social developments in the Israeli context. After an introduction locating TVET in Israel in its wider context, the report describes and further analyses the governance of [vocational education and training] VET.

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This report provides an account of recent developments in Europe and in the Mediterranean region in the field of qualifications and the recognition of qualifications. It concerns the internal and international recognition of qualifications, providing an analysis of why the recognition of qualifications has become an important issue on policy agendas, what the challenges are, and how countries and territories in the Middle East and North Africa, and elsewhere, are responding. The conclusions reached will focus on national and international issues facing countries and territories in the Mediterranean region, reforms that are underway and further steps that can be taken. Chapter two of the report sets out the main factors that are motivating or driving an increased interest in the region in improving the recognition of qualifications. Chapter three describes how global factors (such as inward investment and migration in internationalised labour markets) and international and European policy responses (such as the Bologna process for higher education and the establishment of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF)) are influencing policies for qualifications development in the Mediterranean region. Chapter four turns the spotlight directly onto qualifications reform in the region. The chapter explores how (and why) governments and stakeholders in the region are seeking to make their qualifications more legible, more coherent and of better quality. While examples will be drawn from across the region, the chapter pays particular attention to the widely shared policy interest in national qualifications frameworks (NQFs), and to developments in the four countries in the region that are involved in the current ETF NQF project.

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For a long time, [technical and vocational education and training] TVET has been considered a path for absorbing low performing students both from basic and secondary education. Its poor quality and its lack of relevance to the needs of the labour market are associated with the absence of clear mechanisms to analyse labour market needs and link these to education and training provision. Participation in the TVET system by labour market actors is minimal, and no systematic approaches to reduce the gap between the supply and demand of skills have yet been implemented. Thus, programmes in vocational schools are based more on the availability of equipment and teachers, than on meeting identified needs. The TVET system [in Libya] comprises three types of school: intermediate institutes, higher institutes and technical colleges. In addition, both the Ministry of Labour and the Warriors Affairs Commission are now prioritising programmes to support former fighters' integration into the labour market. Before the revolution, vocational training was implemented through three types of institutions: private enterprises and/or companies (on job training), women's centres (for women) and vocational training centres. Currently, these systems are not functioning.

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The development of the European single market and rapid technological changes have resulted in major economic changes in Europe and have convinced the governments of the need to upgrade their economic and training systems in the face of economic globalisation. This paper summarises the degree to which the common economic and demographic context and the common policy vocabulary have produced a convergence in European education and training systems, with particular reference to the decade beginning in 1984. The extent to which there has been a common movement and the extent to which there has been a significant resulting convergence in European education and training systems are outlined with respect to: levels of participation; public expenditure on education; governance and regulation; the secondary phase of compulsory education; initial post-compulsory education and training; and continuing and higher education and training, including lifelong learning. Show less