Reforming VET for Social Cohesion

Review of European Studies, 2014

During the last two decades the international socioeconomic circumstances have changed dramatically. The European Union has engaged in an effort to achieve socioeconomic adjustments in an attempt to confront the changes in the international environment, especially the persisting financial crisis. Many European Union policies were reoriented due to the socioeconomic transformations; among others, greater emphasis was given to the promotion of an innovative spirit in Vocational Education and Training (VET). This paper aims at discussing the main legislative interventions and institutional tools through which the European Union pursues the reorganisation of VET systems in terms of operation and quality. The importance of these initiatives is strongly related to the ability of the member states to ignite development actions and economic growth. The paper also attempts to assess the aspirational character and the prospects of success of such policy initiatives to increase the opportunities of European citizens for educational and employment mobility. These EU interventions aspire to increase the opportunities of Europeans to be educated or trained, to develop their competences, to broaden their knowledge and creative spirit by accessing multiple educational environments, to take advantage of professional opportunities in the common European area. In the long-run this will serve to invigorate the economic potential of the European economy and contribute not only to the European integration, but also to the confrontation of social turmoil.

Country report: Bosnia and Herzegovina The study analyses the institutional framework for vocational education at the national level and reviews the previous research literature on the relationship between vocational education and social inclusion/exclusion and social cohesion in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The paper provides an analysis of three case study schools in Sarajevo, Mostar and Foča and the local ‘skills development system’ in which they are located. The policy process and the policy debate are analysed while the main research findings from the participatory action research with the three case study schools and localities are elaborated in detail. The research findings at the national and local level explain how the research has provided insights into the issues relating to interrelation between VET schools, social inclusion and social cohesion. Finally, the paper provides recommendations for each of stakeholder groups for improvement of the VET system and its role in social inclusion and cohesion improvements in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

European Journal of Education, 2005

This report presents a synthesis of the findings of a participatory action research (PAR) project with a focus on policies and practices for social inclusion and social cohesion in vocational education and training (VET) systems in nine case study countries. The research methodology was designed with a specific focus on three carefully chosen vocational schools and training centres in the case study countries to investigate the main barriers and potential opportunities for building inclusive VET systems. The research was conducted by a team of researchers from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in conjunction with nine country case study teams in South Eastern Europe, Turkey and Israel from July to October 2013.

The article provides an alternative theoretical framework for evaluating contemporary issues facing education, specifically vocational education and training (VET) in Europe. In order to accomplish this, it draws on the theoretical insights of the capability approach in the work of Amartya Sen; the concept of vulnerability as intrinsic to every human being, established by Fineman and Grear; and the concept of oppression advanced by Iris Marion Young. By developing the core concepts of each of these theories, the paper presents a human-based evaluative tool for education and argues that a fundamental misconception has arisen as to the purpose of post-compulsory education, a misconception generated by the wholesale application of the language of skills and productivity to the field of education, thus relinquishing its role to purely economic interests. The social justice framework presented herein aims to present a possible alternative approach to discuss and evaluate VET, in which humanistic concepts such as the recognition of human vulnerability and agency are central to the debate.

Impact of education and training. Third …, 2004

The macrosocial, as opposed to the microsocial or economic, benefits of education are often neglected by researchers and policy-makers. An emphasis on individual actors and communities as the foundations of macrostructures has limited potential when understanding societal properties. Macrosocial concepts such as social cohesion and societal values have received much attention in sociological theory as it relates to education and this paper is part of what we identify as a wider rediscovery of such concepts in educational research and policy. The macrosocial is conceptually different from the microsocial in terms not only of level, but also in terms of its emphasis on the relational properties of social functioning. These conceptual differences are highlighted through discussion of various macrosocial indicators-crime, social cohesion, societal values and citizen participation. Beginning with an analysis of crime, we discuss why developmental and economic perspectives on criminal behaviour offer a limited understanding of crime, particularly in a comparative context. However, the structural antecedents of crime (particularly inequality and labour market position) are shown to be powerful explanatory tools. Next we move to consider social cohesion, trust and values. Classical sociological accounts clearly construe cohesion as a macrosocial issue but current policy debates rarely refer to classical conceptions and freely conflate societal aspects of cohesion with micro and meso concepts of social capital and community. Through a discussion of these themes we ascertain that national and historical differences in these properties cannot be explained as aggregated microphenomena. Moreover, the educational system, including vocational education and training (VET), has a pivotal (yet sometimes contradictory) role to play in the construction of social cohesion. It is not as clear that active citizenship and the antecedents of civic and political participation are macro phenomena in the same way as social cohesion. There are clear mechanisms involving resources and status which link VET to all aspects of participation. However, there are also cultural differences in the nature of participation and the relationships between participation and general trust. There is, therefore, a need for micro relationships between education and citizenship outcomes to be understood in terms of local and national context as part of a more general macro-micro synthesis. From this review of literature we discuss the ways in which we may evaluate the relationship between VET and macrosocial outcomes. Although an evaluation in a summative and final sense would be ill-conceived in terms of societal outcomes, a hybrid of formative evaluation and macro causal forms of comparison is potentially fruitful. We employ a macro causal and evaluative form of comparison through the use of both macrosocial and microsocial data. These enable us to test hypotheses related to distributional considerations and the primacy of cultural over individual factors. Although the results are 1. The macrosocial benefits of education (1) 'Do you trust people in general?' Impact of education and training 132 Impact of education and training 158

European Journal of Industrial Relations, 2007

■ This article examines recent developments in social dialogue over vocational training and lifelong learning. The central concern is how to develop coherent European polices for increasing social partner influence in this domain, given the diversity of national systems of VET and structures of social dialogue across Europe. The study draws on a survey of 13 countries and concludes that despite these disparities, cross-national differences in social partner involvement are less than might be anticipated. Initiatives like the social partners' Framework of Actions are seen as pressures promoting convergence, but this is likely to occur paradoxically as a result of increasing diversity within member states.

2022

One of the oldest in the European Union, the vocational education and training (VET) policy is rich and complex. It influences the content of VET programmes, determines the conditions for accessing VET, and shapes the rules for the acquisition, validation, certification, and international recognition of competences and qualifications. This book presents the organisation, objectives, areas of action, and main achievements of the EU VET policy. The book shows how the development of VET policies in the European Union is based on a coherent vision the design of which Union authorities, Member States, and civil society stakeholders play an active role in; and how it follows a methodical approach for the ultimate purposes of economic growth and social cohesion.

Online Submission, 2005

A European-wide survey on social dialogue over vocational education and training demonstrated that the social partners have a formal role in VET policy making in all the countries covered and are involved in the implementation of VET actions, particularly at sector and local levels. While the structures of participation vary according to the degree of state regulation and the locus of training, social partner involvement is extensive irrespective of the nature of the regulatory framework and is likely to increase.