Impulse for the VET column Flexibility as connecting concept ECER Hamburg September 2003 Wil van Esch CINOP Policy Research The Netherlands.

Impulse for the VET column

Flexibility as connecting concept

ECER Hamburg

September 2003

Wil van Esch

CINOP Policy Research

The Netherlands

On the way to the knowledge society

• Industrial- Standard programs- Distinction head-hands

- Knowledge and skills more or less closed

- Education and training in one institution

- Differences between students deviation of the standard

- Vertical hierarchy

• Knowledge- Individual learning

trajectories- Head-hands-heart integrated

by competences- Knowledge and skills stream

- Open learning environments

- Differences are the starting point

- Horizontal organisation

Needed changes in present VET-system

• Opening of a second royal route to higher education• Removal of partitions between the parts of VET

(prevocational-secondary vocational-higher vocational)

• Activation of hidden and wasted talent• Raising responsivity• Raising attractiveness VET through career building• Strengthening tailor-made trainings• Raising external orientation of educational institutions• Raising professionality

Impulse regulation

• Aim: realisation qualification profit• Two tracks: innovation of contents and

institutions• Regulations for 2000 en 2001, continuation

for 2002-2005• Distribution prevocational-secondary

vocational-higher vocational 3:2:1• For 2002-2005 2 monitors: qualitative and

quantitative

Themes education institutions

- Career orientation and guidance- Programmatic connection- VET-specific pedagogy and didactic- Knowledge infrastructure

Themes Lead bodies

• Improving connection qualification structure secondary vocational education with prevocational and higher VET

• Strengthening the quality of work-based learning

• Development of a competence-based qualification structure

Definition of flexibility

• All activities meant to optimalize the adjusting and specification to characteristics and needs of students and clients of prevocational, secondary vocational and higher vocational education and training

Administrative-legal

Organisational and environment

Competence-basedVET

Program and curriculum

Professional

Pedadogic-didactic

Figure: The wheel of flexibility

Administrative-legal flexibility

• Commission-Boekhoud: no central attention• Important condition for successful

implementation

Organisational and environmental flexibility

• Is Impulse concept central part of strategic policy?• Is Impulse concept translated into operational policy?• Are the Impulse incentives put into action with the

focus on strengthening the concept of career building and the transition within VET?

• Is the environmental potential (schools, trade and business, lead bodies, others) used as a source for the realisation of the Impulse concept?

• Do the lead bodies promote the transition within VET?

Flexibility of programs and curriculum

• Are training programs constructed taking into account the wishes and needs of students and clients (trade and business)?

• Are there connections between attainment goals of the parts of the VET-column?

• What do these connections look like (comparison-integration)?

• Are there connections between the parts concerning work-based learning?

• Are there possibilities for flexible access, flexible transfer en flexible testing?

Pedagogic-didactic flexibility

• Is there competence-based learning and training VET-wide?

• Is there a competence-based education approach VET-wide?

• Is there a longitudinal career building?

Professional flexibility

• Is professionalism aimed at strengthening the career and column concept a central part of the professionalism policy of VET-institutions and Lead bodies?

• Are there connections between the parts within VET concerning this professionalism?

Results concerning environmental flexibility

• Impulse regulation has stimulated the cooperation between VET-institutions and between these and other institutions in the region

• The cooperation with trade and business though is very difficult

• Cooperation mostly bilateral• The cooperation is concentrated at the transition

prevocational-secondary VET and less at secondary VET-higher education. Higher VET is mainly directed at general secondary education

• Cooperation mainly at strategic level

knowledge infrastructure

7

14

25

0 20 40 60 80 100

secondary- higher VET

within secondary VET

prevocational-secondary VET

conn

ectio

n

Indicator

Results concerning organisational flexibility

• The Impulse concept is mostly part of the strategic policy of institutions

• There are big differences between the stage-management

• The approach of radical innovations (such as integrated, longitudinal learning trajectories) is by way of pilots

• Often here the greatest bottlenecks: engaging personnel difficult because of the late publication of the regulation, priority at primary process, difficult to arrange substitution of personnel

Results concerning programmatic and curricular flexibility

• In terms of the innovation cycle most activities are in the stage of development: a lot is sowed, harvesting still has to begin

• Reconstruction of programs and curricula from a competence-based angle

• Enormous variety: from orientation and exploring to completely integrated, longitudinal learning trajectories

• Most qualification profit to be reached at trainings which have a lot in common

programmatic changes

48

24

29

0 20 40 60 80 100

secondary- higher VET

within secondary VET

prevocational-secondary VET

conn

ectio

n

Indicator

Results concerning pedagogic-didactic flexibility

• Here too mostly in the initial stage • There is a longer tradition• Here and there successful implementation• Longitudinal apprenticeship and work-based

learning very rarely

career guidance

17

19

43

0 20 40 60 80 100

secondary- higher VET

w ithin secondary VET

prevocational-secondary VET

conn

ectio

n

Indicator

pedagogic-didactic changes

21

22

40

0 20 40 60 80 100

secondary- higher VET

within secondary VET

prevocational-secondary VET

conn

ectio

n

Indicator

Stimulating and impeding factors

• Stimulating factors- Sharing of knowledge through

cooperation and networking

- Clear frameworks

- Bottom up approach

- Adequate organisational and financial conditions

- Adequate project management

- Linking up with running innovations

- Looking for regional nearness

- Culturel aspects

• Impeding factors- Law and regulations- Image forming- Relation with trade and

business more difficult in economic heavier times

- Complexity in content and regional complexity

- Complexity of broad, multilateral networks of cooperation