Search Results for
"Students"

Vocational Education and Training (VET) plays an important role in the reshaping of upper secondary school curriculum. Retention to the end of secondary education in Australia went from 35% in 1980 to 72% in 2000. This increase caused major problems for the senior school curriculum which historically prepared students for university entrance but now has to serve multiple purposes. While the purposes of VET suit different groups, our interest is those students alienated from, reluctant to complete, or attempting re-entry into senior secondary education. Our objective is to understand policy reforms in this area, in order to assist stopping the spiral of disadvantage in which these young people are caught. We shall argue that VET has the potential to re-engage young people with education. With the labour market becoming more knowledge-based, such re-engagement becomes increasingly important. We ask to what extent is the post-compulsory curriculum serving student and family ambitions for employment in a way that is equitable and inclusive?

The 'brain fag' syndrome, which was first reported from West Africa in 1960 among students, has been shown to occur very widely in African students in western educational systems south of the Sahara. This study investigated the distribution of its symptoms in a group of apprentices chosen by convenient sampling from Ile-Ife, a university town about 240 km northeast of Lagos in Nigeria. The subjects who (in contrast) were training under an indigenous form of education - the African apprenticeship system - consisted of 183 (69.8%) males, and 79 (30.2%) females, in the age range of 13-26 years (mean ± SD 18.2 ± 3.0 years). Questionnaires were interview-administered to collect data on the sociodemographic, economic, and family background, English language proficiency, and the degree of the presence of brain fag symptoms. Results indicated a generally low rate of brain fag symptoms among these different types of apprentices. A relationship between proficiency in English, but not socioeconomic status, with brain fag symptoms was found. In the case of the Nigerian apprentices investigated here, brain fag symptoms were not significantly associated with the method of training learning (which is dependent mainly on verbal instructions in the vernacular from their bosses, and vicarious learning by observing the boss at work). The implications of these findings for two of the theories advanced for the pathogenesis of the brain fag syndrome were discussed. Copyright © 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel.

The German vocational system has faced significant challenges since 1990, including the impact of German unification; challenges posed by globalisation and the shift from a production-based to a post-Fordist economy; changes related to the European Union, migration, and immigration; and demographic changes within Germany that have affected both students and teachers in the system. The following article details these challenges and their impact on the German vocational system, and then reviews a number of structural responses being implemented to address these challenges. These responses include the creation of new and modernised occupations; attempts to increase the number of training placements for youth; efforts to improve coordination and cooperation among all partners; specialised pilot projects to address specific challenges; and an expansion in the traditional model of the 'dual system'. While these efforts have benefited a large number of young people, the author contends that they have not completely addressed the challenges in the system, especially the need to more accurately project economic needs and then train accordingly. Moreover, despite attempts to create better transparency, the added forms have made the system more confusing and complex. The author suggests that it is worth questioning the continued relevance of the Berufskonzept for the system as a whole, and that it would be useful to open up a discussion of possible reforms on a deeper structural level.

[No abstract available]

Looks at the nature of workplace learning, stating that there is a concern about the link between it and the classroom. Examines the transition from training to work by means of research carried out among two cohorts of students from a private vocational training college in Australia. Concludes that college-based and workplace training are different which is a challenge that companies need to recognise and accommodate. © 2002, MCB UP Limited

Examines the use of micro-businesses for undergraduate placements on business and management courses. Such businesses are often not considered for placements by HEIs because graduates have tended to obtain employment in larger organisations. However, the graduate labour market is changing and micro-businesses can be used as a vehicle for linking theory and practice and developing transferable skills. The research involved an in-depth study of two cases where the author operated as a participant observer. Key factors contributing to the efficacy of the work experience were found to include the preparation of students for their placements; mentoring of both students and placement providers by a suitably qualified academic tutor; and support following the placement to help all the parties involved to reflect and learn from their experience. In particular there is a need for the development of effective learning networks consisting of students, micro-business owner-managers and placement tutors. © 2002, MCB UP Limited

The past few years have seen an increase in the amount of attention focused on invention and design education at the college and K-12 levels. Given these efforts, the dearth of research on students' preexisting conceptions of invention is surprising. Knowledge of invention beliefs and attitudes will inform educational efforts by allowing educators to target the curriculum and accompanying activities more effectively than is possible without this knowledge. In this study, 55 sixth-grade students completed open-ended survey questions related to their conceptions of"invention." Results suggest that students have few or simplistic conceptions of the invention and patent processes. Prior exposure to invention instruction or previous experience with inventing did not appear to have an impact on students' conceptions of invention. In order to dispel these superficial implicit theories, educators involved with invention programs should consider the use of active, situated teaching techniques such as project- and problem-based learning. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Colleges may be well placed to compete with industry training providers if retention continues to be a key factor in attracting and retaining funding under the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), but college managers will need to be proactive in their approach. Issues concerned with the retention and early leaving, or drop out of students have assumed renewed significance and emphasis in the further education (FE) sector since incorporation. Under the new LSC, where value for money is a key measure of success, increasing recruitment, improving retention and seeking to understand and address early leaving, from a wide range of education and training programmes, are set to remain high on the agenda, for managers working in FE and industry training organisation. This article summarises research carried out with training provider managers to explore strategies to improve retention on training programmes previously funded by the Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs). The article concludes that, staff employed by training providers to support trainees and provide training, are a key factor in reducing the rate of early leaving. Provision of monitoring, support and guidance is a key factor for improving retention, although not all factors affecting retention can be controlled by training provider managers, especially when trainees’ decisions are influenced by financial considerations. © 2002, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

There is considerable pressure to expand the student take-up of university places in the United Kingdom. This has had implications for the nature of provision and pedagogy in higher education. In particular there is a tension between graduateness as a state after the completion of a course, and employability as an assessment of the economic worth of a student at that time. This investigation charts the background to the tension and reports on findings from 400 students at the commencement, and 400 students at the completion of their university courses. Evidence indicates that economic motivation is more important than the pursuit of knowledge and that instrumentalism directed towards employment is increasingly expected of higher education courses. Graduateness alone is not seen by students as a sufficient basis for continued personal and institutional investment and hoped for success in a highly competitive, flexible, and globally responsive, environment. The extension of partnerships between higher education and employers is considered essential if student numbers are to be maintained. © 2002, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Provides an overview on a German lighthouse research project called L3 ("Lifelong Learning - Learning as a utility") in the area of e-learning systems that supply e-learning services via a virtual private network. More specifically, this paper focuses on a new approach of meta-tagging learning elements to enable the flexible execution of courses depending on the individual learning styles of the students. The notion of a content aggregation model is introduced and a set of tools and a first prototype of an associated run-time environment are described. An extension to the existing standardization according to SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) is given to project future developments in this area to allow more in-depth implementation of didactical knowledge into courseware systems. A basic ontology on instructional units is described, which provides extensions to additionally allow advanced learning scenarios where group learning is supported in the design and implementation of the courseware. First results of the evaluation are provided, as the material becomes used in vocational training centres as part of the e-learning service. © 2002 IEEE.