Abstract
This international comparative analysis of higher level vocational education examines developments across five countries: England, Germany, Australia, Canada, and the USA. The authors consider how current developments address two key policy concerns: an emphasis on high skills as a means of achieving economic competitiveness and raising productivity; and the promise of increasing access for students hitherto excluded from higher education. We address these questions in relation to specific country contexts, in order to highlight similarities and differences in developments within the European arena and in a wider global context. We locate our analyses in an understanding of the different political and socio-economic conditions within different countries, which render particular reforms and innovations both possible and realizable in one context, but almost unthinkable in another. We argue for the need to recognize and embrace diversity in provision, while using comparison across countries as a means of challenging taken-for-granted assumptions of how things are and what is possible within individual country contexts. Such comparative analysis is a prerequisite for answering questions of policy transfer and learning from others.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Trends in vocational education and training research |
Subtitle of host publication | Proceedings of the European Conference on Educational Research (ECER), Vocational Education and Training Network (VETNET) |
Editors | Christof Nägele, Barbara E. Stalder |
Place of Publication | Bern Switzerland |
Publisher | Vocational Education and Training Network (VETNET) |
Pages | 53-60 |
Number of pages | 8 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781723598005 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2018 |
Event | European Conference on Educational Research 2018 - Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bolazno, Italy Duration: 4 Sept 2018 → 7 Sept 2018 http://www.eera-ecer.de/ecer-2018-bolzano/ |
Conference
Conference | European Conference on Educational Research 2018 |
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Abbreviated title | ECER 2018 |
Country/Territory | Italy |
City | Bolazno |
Period | 4/09/18 → 7/09/18 |
Internet address |
Keywords
- higher vocational education
- equity
- higher level skills
- comparison