This volume features 70 contributions presented at the 6th Crossing Boundaries Conference in Vocational Education and Training held in Palma, Mallorca, Spain, from 21 to 23 May 2025. These contributions reflect the diverse and evolving field of vocational education and training (VET) research in 2025. The papers tackle critical issues related to access, participation, educational outcomes, and reforms in VET across various regions and contexts. Collectively, they express a strong commitment to re-evaluating VET as not just a means for labour market integration, but as a space for personal growth, social inclusion, and democratic engagement. Whether in urban areas or rural settings, and across dual systems or school-based models, the papers collectively explore how policy, culture, and context influence the opportunities and challenges of inclusive VET. Additionally, multiple contributions suggest specific strategies such as curriculum reform, participatory governance, and cross-sectoral collaboration that can effectively address ongoing gaps. Unlocking the full potential of VET to address societal challenges demands ongoing critical reflection and a steadfast commitment to equity, quality, and inclusion.
A key issue highlighted in many papers is the impact of structural inequalities on participation in various VET pathways and their associated career prospects. Several studies indicate persistent trends of gender segregation, socio-economic divides, and challenges faced by migrants. Additionally, some studies explore how vocational aspirations develop and are limited across different educational systems and emphasise that targeted support, along with acknowledgement of learners' backgrounds and goals, can enhance participation and outcomes. Another key focus is on transitions and trajectories - not just from school to work, but throughout the life course. Whether examining early vocational decision-making, adult learning, or mid-career upskilling, many contributions emphasise the need for VET systems to accommodate diverse and non-linear educational journeys. This necessitates more flexible offerings, guidance structures, and recognition mechanisms that are aligned with learners' realities. The development of VET professionals represents a third major strand. Several papers argue that inclusive VET needs a redefinition of the roles and skills of teachers, trainers, and guidance personnel. There is an emerging agreement that VET professionals require assistance to address the increasing diversity of learners alongside the evolving challenges of digitalisation, sustainability, and work-based learning.
Keynote speeches: Gender segregation in Spanish VET system: current situation, impacts and possible solutions / Elene Quintana-Murci and Maria Tugores-Ques; Co-creating with stakeholders in developing new strategies to social inclusion in vocational education and training / Vibeke Krane. Conference papers are as follows: Getting skills right for food and beverages manufacturing companies in South Africa / Stephanie Allais; Navigating life courses: the impact of vocational skills and capital on adult education choices in Sweden / Hamid Asghari; Resource-rich and inclusive vocational education: driving entrepreneurial intentions in disadvantaged student populations / Priscilla Bahaw, Abede Mack, Sadiq Chulfam and Ayanna Stephens; New competence requirements for trainers in Swiss apprenticeships / Antje Barabasch and Anna Keller; Beyond skills: the multifaceted role of vocational education in post-Soviet Azerbaijan / Majid Bayramli; German skilled labour in the context of digital transformation: insights into the technology readiness / Dana Bergmann; 'Excellence' in vocational education and training / Sandra Bohlinger; Crossing borders while crossing cultures: challenges of European dual TVET transfers to West-African construction training systems / Alexandra Bohra and Felix Meckmann; Inclusion for all: a look at upper secondary education in Norway and Switzerland / Lorenzo Bonoli, Marlise Kammermann and Evi Schmid; Beyond single dimensions: exploring differences in sexism among Italian iVET students through an intersectional perspective / Flavio Brescianini and Elena Luppi; Vouchers as vehicles of change in Croatian vocational adult education: two theoretical perspectives / Nikola Bukovic and Teo Matkovic; Bridging education and business: the transformative impact of dual learning in Italy's VET system / Virginia Capriotti; Presenting OrientaDig: co-creating a competence framework for guidance in the digital society / Jonatan Castano-Munoz, Celia Moreno-Morilla and Soledad Romero-Rodriguez; Recruiting and retaining industry partnership in a vocational-oriented education program in Hong Kong: challenges and recommendations / Kara Chan and Jasmine Zhang; Factors influencing the effectiveness of online training for TVET engineering educators: towards inclusive and accessible professional development / Nataliia Dolgova; Profiles of VET students attending apprenticeship courses in Portugal: educational trajectories and reasons to enrol in VET / Alexandra Doroftei and Sofia Marques da Silva; Incorporating intercultural competencies into vocational education and the impact on integration in Germany / Alexandra Drexler; Are degree apprenticeships widening participation to higher education and higher-level role for under-represented groups? / Katherine Emms and Andrea Laczik; The two-year apprenticeship and occupational development in Switzerland: a success story between inclusion and labour market orientation / Sonja Engelage and Alexandra Strebel; Identifying and delineating the specific needs of the VET sector in relation to the implementation of universal design for learning / Frederic Fovet; Understanding the transfer of learning in apprentices: individual characteristics, motivational beliefs, and training quality / Arturo Garcia de Olalla Gutierrez, Matilde Wenger, Florinda Sauli and Jean-Louis Berger; The neighbourhood training centre: a case study on the intersection of education policies and non-school agents / Daniel Garcia-Goncet and Elena Romeo Ortiz; Skilled workforce for the hydrogen economy: international review of national workforce studies / Michael Gessler; Beyond STEM: a methodological approach to measuring gender gap in university education in technology across six Latin American countries / Milagros Gimenez and Violeta Guitart; Why systemic, credible and trustworthy research matters in vocational education: the importance of beginning with practice and being present in the conduct of educational research / Maggie Gregson and Daniel Gregson.
Investigating occupations in transition and the implication for vocational education and training / Victoria Hepplethwaite and Presha Ramsarup; Perspectives on multiple pathways for college and career readiness through high school career academies in the United States / Victor M. Hernandez-Gantes and Edward C. Fletcher; Key drivers of inclusive digital transformation of European vocational education and training system / Cesar Herrero Ramila, Jonatan Castano Munoz, Soledad Romero Rodriquez and Celia Moreno Morilla; The implementation of dual vocational education and training in Costa Rica: an analysis of dual VET based on the criteria for duality / Claudia Hunink and Irina Rommel; 'Thinking outside the box': holistic skill development for vulnerable groups as a new educational practice in challenging times / Sebastian Ixmeier and Dieter Muenk; Re-engaging students: secondary vocational education as a strategy against school dropout in Argentina / Claudia Jacinto, Eugenia Roberti and Nancy Montes; Fostering practically based learning and transitions from education to work through 'third spaces' in higher education / Natasha Kersh, Andrea Laczik and Katherine Emms; Long-term unemployed women with impairments living alone: towards employment, social participation and health through the German employment service / Stefan Kohlhof; Analysing costs and benefits of dualized VET in developing countries: a methodological discussion / Lena Krichewsky-Wegener and Katharina G. Jaik; Access to and accessibility of the initial vocational education and training (IVET) system in Turkiye and Germany / Ida Kristina Kuhn, Andreas Saniter, Kiymet Selvi and Ayse Dilek Keser; Postponing training: a strategy for dealing with the tension between producing and training in Swiss dual VET programmes / Nadia Lamamra and Matilde Wenger; Maid in the making: interrogating the role of vocational training institutions in the domestic work labour migration industry from Kenya to the Gulf States / Paula Mahlck; Third sector organizations as VET providers: two case studies in Spain / Fernando Marhuenda-Fluixa; Towards a new governance of VET?: the role of Dualiza Bankia Foundation in the adoption of dual VET in Spain / Luis Martinez-Izquierdo and Monica Torres Sanchez; Development of the vocational education and training system in extreme conditions: the case of Ukraine / Sergii Melnyk and Andrii Lytvynchuk; The relationship between vocational expectations and school adjustment in initial vocational training / Rita Miciuliene and Kristina Kovalcikiene; The role of the car industry in integrating migrants in the workforce and society: preliminary findings of a comparative case study of Sweden and the USA / Lazaro Moreno Herrera, Victor M. Hernandez-Gantes and Sofia Antera; Online tools to support career planning on the pathway to vocational education and training (VET) or general education / Christof Nagele, Annika Wyss, Benedikt Hell and Barbara E. Stalder; Vocational education and underskilling: lessons from European skills and jobs surveys / Caroline Neuber-Pohl, Giovanni Russo, Giulia Santangelo and Katarina Zigova; Empowering VET teachers with the skills to tackle the challenges of sustainable development and drive innovation / Chiara Ostuni; Social-ecological transformation in the automotive sector: the case of a car workshop and dealership / Susanne Peters and Frieda Klaus; Educational strategies to prevent dropout in vocational training programs: a pilot approach / Carme Pinya-Medina, Carlos Vecina-Merchante, Julia Vilasis Pamos and Maria Tugores-Ques; VET from non-VET providers: how can NGOs help to close the vocational training gap for disadvantaged learners in Europe? / Tessa Pia Pittrof, Jorg Markowitsch, Agota Scharle and Eva Steinheimer.
Apprenticeships in England: initial or continuing VET? / Charlynne Pullen; The challenge of student dropout in vocational education and training in Spain: current situation, causes and solutions / Elena Quintana-Murci, Francesca Salva-Mut, Monica Moso-Diez, Antonio Mondaca Soto and Antoni Mestre Hernandez; Education and training for work: relativity and conflict in the distribution of resources, knowledge and opportunities / Graciela Clotilde Riquelme; The importance of interpersonal and emotional variables for best practices in basic/initial vocational education and training / Rosa Santibanez, Janire Fonseca and Alvaro Moro; The impact of benchmarks on EU policy monitoring process: a comparison of vocational education and training (VET) and adult learning (AL) sectors / Mantas Sekmokas; Model proposal for a joint IVET curriculum: examples of Turkiye and Germany with main justifications for the TR-DE Joint IVET Curriculum / Kiymet Selvi, Andreas Saniter, Ida Kristina Kuhn and Ayse Dilek Keser; Multimedia learning environment: development and design features of learning and work tasks for the sector of applied informatics / Christine Siemer and Vivian Harberts; Estonian vocational teachers' differentiated instruction practices in the context of inclusive education / Meidi Sirk, Reeli Liivik and Sirje Rekkor; From aspiration to apprenticeship: insights from a refugee pre-vocational programme / Barbara E. Stalder, Fabienne Luthi and Marie-Theres Schonbachler; CVET as strategy of inclusion for Generation X and Baby Boomers in a multigenerational future of work in Western Balkans countries / Oliana Sula; Vocational inclusion of migrants: perspectives from the workplace stakeholders in Sweden / Marianne Teras, Eva Eliasson and Ali Osman; Reference-group effects in vocational education and training (VET): an exploratory examination of contrast and assimilation effects on VET success / Nele Theuer; The Skills Experts Program at the German Chambers of Commerce Abroad: a model for implementing a global skills partnership?: a case study / Marina Triebelhorn; Making sense of the reasons for students dropping out from VET in Estonia: attention on emotional wellbeing / Meril Umarik and Inna Bentsalo; Skillful enough?: examining national skills strategies in times of transition / Daniel Unterweger and Eva Steinheimer; Teachers' social representations in vocational education: challenges concerning the axes of self-determination theory: learning autonomy, competences, and the teacher-student bond / Carlos Vecina-Merchante, Carmen Pinya-Medina, Arturo Garcia de Olalla Gutierrez and Teresa Adame Obrador; Why engineering students choose a career in teacher education: qualitative analysis of bachelor students' motives / Mats Vernholz and Katrin Temmen; Gender-atypical vocational training: the pioneers are dropping out / Pia Wagner, Ralf Dorau and Lisa Fournier; Emotional management in health and social care apprentices in Switzerland: a latent profile analysis / Matilde Wenger, Yoann Favre, Rayana Abbou and Marina Fiori; Inclusive-digital education at vocational schools: an empirical analysis of success factors and challenges based on a synthesis of three studies on teachers and school concepts / Rene Wuthrich; Dynamic vocational guidance: integrating deep reinforcement learning with item-response theory / Wenrui Yuan and Johannes Steinrucke.
Excerpts from publication and publisher's website. Individual papers are available in VOCEDplus.
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