Books in the Studies in Vocational and Continuing Education series

This volume discusses vocational education and training and the tensions that apprenticeship faces in the new scenarios of production and labour market relations. It discusses weaknesses and innovation in well-reputed dual systems as well as the introduction of apprenticeships in non-dual systems and their coexistence with formal school VET.

This book highlights a variety of developments and analyses from countries like Australia, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, South Africa, India, Ukraine and the United States, but also from a more global perspective.

Vocational Education has been, and still is, an active player in the tensions between labor and citizen rights, economic and social and local development, skilling the workforce and educating the adult population. This book provides examples of practices of resistance and emancipation.

Understanding today's Vocational Education and Training (VET) systems requires a comprehension of the rise and development, i.e. of the foundations of topical VET. This book provides a comparative view of its development in Europe. The contributions of renowned authors give insight into conceptual questions, cases and challenges in this field.

Challenges and Reforms in Vocational Education

This volume comprises transformations of vocational education and work, the impacts of gender, ethnicity, culture and globalization as well as the anticipation of possible futures of vocational education and work. With contributions from European VET researchers it assembles critical reflective, empirical, cross-cultural and historical perspectives

Focusing on national qualifications frameworks and on the dual model of vocational training, this volume analyses the challenges that are tied to the transfer of models in the domain of vocational skills development. It brings together contributions from authors involved in both the theory and practice of vocational skills training development.

Vocational education that includes both in-company training and schooling is a highly successful educational model ¿ in fact, it has come to be considered the most effective kind of youth education to date. The development of this so-called Dual System is often attributed to Georg Kerschensteiner (1854-1932). In this book Kerschensteiner¿s work is presented in the context of modernization processes in Germany at the beginning of the 20 century, when the urgent need was felt to balance general education and vocational needs. The corresponding discourse was influenced by modern thinkers like Dewey, Weber and Simmel. This book thus offers new insights into the reform of vocational education and into educational thinking more in general.

This book compares vocational training in Australia, Ireland and the UK and analyses why social partner cooperation in training differs between cases. In-depth case studies show that this divergence is due to different coalitions between political parties, unions and employers in training reform politics.

Against the background of increasing qualification needs there is a growing awareness of the challenge to widen participation in processes of skill formation and competence development. This book focuses on conditions, and processes which help to combine vocational education and training (VET) with qualifications leading into higher education.

This edited volume address the topical questions of internationalisation in higher education, where especially different transnational mobilities and activities are the central development feature. The chapters are offering case studies from different continents and areas, such as the Nordic countries, Eastern and Western Europe and Asia.