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The Delphi method was utilised to solicit the views of senior people responsible for policy, staff development and other significant Vocational Education and Training (VET) commentators, about the challenges faced by VET practitioners and the associated staff development issues. The researchers found that the Delphi method appeared to offer some advantages over more common forms of research with such people. The paper presents some key findings from the research in order to illustrate points about methodology. Appendices provide an example of a Delphi survey form.

Published abstract.

The volume of collected papers is indexed at TD/TNC 60.88. Show less

This paper contributes to the ongoing debate about the relationship between the social and individual as it is enacted in personal learning and the remaking of cultural practices through work. It discusses progress in a two-year study of the work, working lives and learning of 12 individuals: four groups of three employees each. The concept of relational interdependence between individual and social agency is used to understand the progress of their participation, learning and remaking of cultural practices that comprises their work. In identifying and elaborating bases of these interdependencies and their consequences for changes to individuals’ cognitive experience and sense of self and the remaking of cultural practices, four linked and overlapping bases for understanding the processes of interdependencies emerge: (i) reflection and review; (ii) performance roles; (iii) prospects for dialogue and (iv) how conceptions of rewards and recognition are constructed. In different, but distinct, ways these four bases provide a means to elaborate interdependencies at work, thereby providing a platform to analyse processes of individual learning and the remaking of work practices and concepts throughout working life.

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The purposes and implementation of adults' lifelong education (LLE) has been shaped by two imperatives: i) neoliberal reforms and ii) focuses on employability and economic outcomes. This has led to LLE taking similar pathways across many countries, i.e., away from a focus on personal and cultural betterment, to one associated with promoting individual employability. However, policies and practices in Japan offers a nuanced contrast to the general trend. That is, the overall focus on LLE, particularly for older Japanese is premised on social engagement, personal enrichment and often captured in 'social education'. There is also a focus on sustaining the adult employability, including the re-employment of retirees, in structured ways and tailored to meet their needs and enacted at the local level.

This paper reviews the manifestations of LLE in Japan to examine how its goals and educational provisions are being developed, enacted, engaged with and evaluated. Overall, it is suggested that Japan has not wholly embraced the tight economic focus on promoting and supporting LLE associated with employability imperatives. Perhaps through the electoral power of the aged population, the provision of educational experiences is focused on longevity, cultural betterment, further education and reducing the social isolation of older Japanese.

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This thesis examines links between social and cognitive contributions to thinking and acting. It delineates how historical, cultural, community and individual sources of knowledge influence the construction of knowledge. Specifically, the thesis investigates the cognitive consequences of participation in everyday vocational practice and relates cognitive activity to different social sources of knowledge. The study supports predictions about how the construction of representations of knowledge in memory and problem-solving strategies are influenced by the social circumstances of the acquisition of that knowledge and individuals’ personal histories, which are themselves socially determined. Initially the thesis synthesises links between social and cognitive contributions to knowledge and advances an initial reconciliation between cognitive and socio-cultural perspectives on knowledge. A practical investigation of two studies of a vocational activity (hairdressing) in four communities of practice with eleven subjects is used to examine theoretical predictions.

The findings have implications for the development of vocational knowledge. As different types of knowledge are needed in different circumstances, there are implications for how knowledge can be accessed and appropriated, and how knowledge can be organised and developed.

The condensed, published version of this thesis is indexed at TD/TNC 50.11. Show less

The role of learning and development specialists has changed radically in the past 20 years. Previously viewed as a necessary cost in good economic times, learning and development professionals have gradually developed an increasingly wide range of specialisms and become key organisational figures as companies increasingly value knowledge generation and innovation as key competitive advantages. This recent study has gathered data from high-level specialists and a broad national member base to build a profile of the current body of learning and development professionals.

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This book offers a range of emergent perspectives about learning through and for work. The common focus among these perspectives is to understand how individuals engage in and learn through their work. This includes how they learn about, manage and respond to change in their work and develop approaches and responses to learning in, through and for their working lives. In presenting and discussing these approaches and issues, the book comprises a series of chapters of original research representing emerging and contemporary perspectives on learning through and for work, enacting effective work practices and learning throughout working life, and for different kinds of work and work life contexts. The chapters are: Emerging perspectives on workplace learning / Stephen Billett; Field-specific educational practices as a source for students' vocational identity formation / Anne Virtanen, Paivi Tynjala and Marja-Leena Stenstrom; Negotiating professional identity / Katja Vahantanen and Stephen Billett; Teacher educators; workplace learning / Paivi Hokka, Helena Rasku-Puttonen and Anneli Etelapelto; Women auxiliary workers' learning and discoverning 'self' through work / Jillian Cavanagh; Farm women learning to become and belong: Jan Allan; Promoting professional subjectivities and personal agency at work / Salme Hanninen and Anneli Etelapelto; Conceptualisation of learning through errors at work / Johannes Bauer and Regina H. Mulder; Reflection and professional competence / Martin Gartmeier, Stefanie Kipfmueller, Helmut Heid and Hans Gruber; Leadership development / Sarojni Choy and Brian Delahaye; Supporting experience sharing as participatory workplace practice / Kaija Collin and Susanna Paloniemi; Developing conceptual knowledge in road transport through guided learning / Jason Lewis; Negotiating engagement / Ray Smith; Conditions of work environments in fostering transfer of training / Dagmar Festner and Hans Gruber; Perspectives, prospects and progress in work-related learning / Anneli Etelapelto. Show less

This paper reports on the first phase of a research project which investigated how young people in non-metropolitan areas in Australia imagine and navigate their pathways as they leave school and make choices about their future trajectories. The overall research question was: How do, and how could, young people imagine and navigate pathways related to post-school education, training and employment? There were three sub-questions: Who are the influencers and how do they affect the decisions? What could change to provide better post-school outcomes for a larger proportion of young people? What could change for communities and employers to better utilise young people's talents? The paper involved interviews with relevant organisations in the communities who had frequent contact with young people. This was the first phase of the project. Later phases involved interviews in schools and with young people, both those still at school and those who had left.

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There is a growing interest in practice-based learning in countries with both advanced and developing economies. Much of this interest is directed towards augmenting students' learning within vocational or higher education programmes of initial occupational preparation or those for professional development (i.e. further development of occupational knowledge across working life). The worth of contributions from practice settings and experiences with authentic instances of occupational practice, of course, has been long acknowledged in the major professions and trades. Indeed, most trades and professions have a requirement for individuals to engage in an extensive period of practice prior to being accepted as a tradesperson or professional. So there is now a growing interest in occupationally specific higher education programmes providing these kinds of experiences for novice practitioners. However, beyond their use in initial occupational preparation, there is a wider set of considerations about the utility of practice-based experiences to promote ongoing development across working life. In particular, occupational practice and experiences in practice settings are now being used as a vehicle for professional development. Increasingly, educational programmes organised by universities, technical colleges, and professional bodies, are often either premised upon or partially based within the learner's occupational practice. Hence, at this time, there is a wide and growing acceptance that the experiences provided in practice settings, usually workplaces or work settings, are essential for developing the knowledge required to effectively practice occupations.

Published abstract.

The book from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 101.323; individual chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 101.324 to TD/TNC 101.338. Show less

The rediscovery of the value of apprenticeships has been one of the most significant trends in vocational education in recent years. In this volume, the renewed interest in the apprenticeship tradition and the various steps towards the implementation of innovative apprenticeship programs are analysed and discussed from different perspectives. The beginning chapters describe recent developments in apprenticeship training in different national contexts. The remainder of the book analyses the way in which both the quality and profitability of apprenticeship act in concert as the most influential drivers of innovation in this field.

The chapters are as follows: Introduction: rediscovering apprenticeship / Felix Rauner and Erica Smith; Competence development through workplace learning: the case of the French vocational baccalaureat / Benedicte Gendron; The transition from vocational education and training to higher education in the German-speaking countries / Peter Schlogl; Plural administration in dual systems in selected European countries / Felix Rauner, Wolfgang Wittig and Ludger Deitmer; Creating the social foundations for apprenticeship in Ireland / Barry Nyhan; Italian apprenticeship reform: impact from national and regional perspectives / Sandra D’Agostino, Elmo De Angelis and Ludger Deitmer; Towards innovative apprenticeship: the evaluation of the development of integrated regional VET centres in Hungary / Magdolna Benke; The distinct nature of work-based VET in England: a reflection of employer interests? / Michaela Brockmann, Linda Clarke and Christopher Winch; We need them, they need us: work-based learning programmes for young people in the Mediterranean region / Richard Sweet and Helmut Zelloth; We’re here to help: agencies dealing with apprenticeships in Australia / Erica Smith; Apprenticeship in the United States: patterns of governance and recent developments / Robert I. Lerman; Comparing two cases of training practice: implications for trainers’ professional development / Philipp Grollmann; Facilitating learners’ motivation and competence development in the workplace: the UK context / Natasha Kersh and Karen Evans; Coaching and collaborative work based learning in Dutch VET: the ‘TEAMstages’ project / Jeroen Onstenk; Costs, benefits and quality of apprenticeships: a regional case study / Felix Rauner and Lars Heinemann in collaboration with Dorothea Piening and Rainer Bischoff.

Individual chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 101.306 to TD/TNC 101.319. Show less

The paper describes a recent research project which analysed 10 national apprenticeship systems to draw out a model framework which was used to suggest options for the development of the Indian apprenticeship system. The paper discusses the successes and challenges of this model of analysing apprenticeship systems, including the advantages and disadvantages of bringing findings from other countries to inform national developments. It also discusses the challenges posed when working with a team of researchers across many national cultures to compare and contrast apprenticeship systems.

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