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Researching vocational education and training - trends and prospects

Researching vocational education and training - trends and prospects. John Field, University of Warwick j.field@warwick.ac.uk JVET Conference University of Wolverhampton Telford 16 July 2001. An American perspective.

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Researching vocational education and training - trends and prospects

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  1. Researching vocational education and training - trends and prospects John Field, University of Warwick j.field@warwick.ac.uk JVET Conference University of Wolverhampton Telford 16 July 2001

  2. An American perspective As a profession we have not done a very good job of working to identify who we are, what we stand for, and what we can do for those we serve. Wendy Ruona (2000) “Core beliefs in human resource development” Academy of Human Resource Development

  3. UK Perceptions ESRC Teaching and Learning Research Programme Research in post-compulsory education and training has been identified as relatively weak in comparison with other educational studies and it has been targeted as being in need of “capacity building”

  4. Realities of VET research • Key areas of strength and quality • Close relationship between scholarship and practice • Some influence over policy

  5. Realities of VET research • Key weaknesses and gaps • Cosy relationship between scholarship and practice • Fragmentation and lack of cohesion

  6. Weaknesses and gaps • Topics such as informal learning, employer-based training, transfer of learning • Social contexts of learning • Genuine transdisciplinarity • Theoretical clarity • Methodological rigour

  7. Cosy relationship between scholarship and practice • Dominant paradigms go unchallenged • Debates are often covert • Collusion with practitioners and/or managers • Cross-sectoral perspectives and international comparisons are rare • Vulnerable to fads and gurus

  8. Tough institutional challenges • Creating a pedagogy appropriate to 21st century conditions and 21st century workers • Being at the forefront of relevance and customer responsiveness • Helping students & trainees to become motivated self-directed learners • Developing colleges and training providers as learning organisations • Promoting the innovative use of learning technologies so as to extend learning opportunities and overcome barriers of access • Supporting students to become knowledge workers in a knowledge-based economy (and knowledge-based society) • Promoting inclusiveness and meeting the public agenda for wider participation • Building capacities for learning across and through the lifespan

  9. Fragmentation and lack of cohesion • Poorly developed community of interest • Competition rather than collaboration • Lack of rigorous debate • Limited lobbying power • Widely shared sense of marginalisation • Poorly-informed purchasers of research services (government, research councils, charities, employers, trade unions)

  10. Is our day coming? • A top policy priority across OECD • The Learning and Skills agenda (LSDA) in the UK, similar elsewhere • Increasing funding flows (IGOs and employers as well as national and regional governments)

  11. Enjoying the new dawn • A knowledge society needs a learning form of governance • Research should rest on rigour, evidence, debate and critical edge • Think the unthinkable and question the unquestionable • No subject is too hot to handle • How do we educate the users and purchasers of research?

  12. The new policy agenda at work “To inquire into the need for a long-term, comprehensive strategy for continuing post-compulsory education and training . . . Which meets the needs and aspirations of individuals and society as a whole in respect of quality, relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, accessibility, accountability, funding levels and structures and delivery mechanisms” Scottish Parliament, Remit for Lifelong Learning Inquiry, July 2001

  13. Transforming institutions Lifelong learning implies a shift from a training/teaching paradigm to a learning paradigm in the work of institutions. This in turn has basic implications for the values and mission of institutions, their strategic planning, professional development, curriculum, employment practices, and above all the learning strategies enacted in their work. What are the implications for researchers….?

  14. Transforming institutions This carries clear risks and threats. It also affords an opportunity to re-define and assert the distinctive value and role of the work of VET institutions and VET researchers in new and dynamic conditions.

  15. For VET researchers there are also challenges . . . Relevance Rigour Ethics Engagement

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