Impulse for the VET column Flexibility as connecting concept ECER Hamburg September 2003 Wil van Esch CINOP Policy Research The Netherlands

On the way to the knowledge society Industrial -Standard programs -Distinction head-hands -Knowledge and skills more or less closed -Education and training in one institution -Differences between students deviation of the standard -Vertical hierarchy Knowledge -Individual learning trajectories -Head-hands-heart integrated by competences -Knowledge and skills stream -Open learning environments -Differences are the starting point -Horizontal organisation

Needed changes in present VET- system Opening of a second royal route to higher education Removal of partitions between the parts of VET (prevocational-secondary vocational-higher vocational) Activation of hidden and wasted talent Raising responsivity Raising attractiveness VET through career building Strengthening tailor-made trainings Raising external orientation of educational institutions Raising professionality

Impulse regulation Aim: realisation qualification profit Two tracks: innovation of contents and institutions Regulations for 2000 en 2001, continuation for Distribution prevocational-secondary vocational-higher vocational 3:2:1 For monitors: qualitative and quantitative

Themes education institutions -Career orientation and guidance -Programmatic connection -VET-specific pedagogy and didactic -Knowledge infrastructure

Themes Lead bodies Improving connection qualification structure secondary vocational education with prevocational and higher VET Strengthening the quality of work-based learning Development of a competence-based qualification structure

Definition of flexibility All activities meant to optimalize the adjusting and specification to characteristics and needs of students and clients of prevocational, secondary vocational and higher vocational education and training

Administrative -legal Organisational and environment Competence-based VET Program and curriculum Professional Pedadogic- didactic Figure: The wheel of flexibility

Administrative-legal flexibility Commission-Boekhoud: no central attention Important condition for successful implementation

Organisational and environmental flexibility Is Impulse concept central part of strategic policy? Is Impulse concept translated into operational policy? Are the Impulse incentives put into action with the focus on strengthening the concept of career building and the transition within VET? Is the environmental potential (schools, trade and business, lead bodies, others) used as a source for the realisation of the Impulse concept? Do the lead bodies promote the transition within VET?

Flexibility of programs and curriculum Are training programs constructed taking into account the wishes and needs of students and clients (trade and business)? Are there connections between attainment goals of the parts of the VET-column? What do these connections look like (comparison- integration)? Are there connections between the parts concerning work-based learning? Are there possibilities for flexible access, flexible transfer en flexible testing?

Pedagogic-didactic flexibility Is there competence-based learning and training VET-wide? Is there a competence-based education approach VET-wide? Is there a longitudinal career building?

Professional flexibility Is professionalism aimed at strengthening the career and column concept a central part of the professionalism policy of VET-institutions and Lead bodies? Are there connections between the parts within VET concerning this professionalism?

Results concerning environmental flexibility Impulse regulation has stimulated the cooperation between VET-institutions and between these and other institutions in the region The cooperation with trade and business though is very difficult Cooperation mostly bilateral The cooperation is concentrated at the transition prevocational-secondary VET and less at secondary VET-higher education. Higher VET is mainly directed at general secondary education Cooperation mainly at strategic level

Results concerning organisational flexibility The Impulse concept is mostly part of the strategic policy of institutions There are big differences between the stage- management The approach of radical innovations (such as integrated, longitudinal learning trajectories) is by way of pilots Often here the greatest bottlenecks: engaging personnel difficult because of the late publication of the regulation, priority at primary process, difficult to arrange substitution of personnel

Results concerning programmatic and curricular flexibility In terms of the innovation cycle most activities are in the stage of development: a lot is sowed, harvesting still has to begin Reconstruction of programs and curricula from a competence-based angle Enormous variety: from orientation and exploring to completely integrated, longitudinal learning trajectories Most qualification profit to be reached at trainings which have a lot in common

Results concerning pedagogic- didactic flexibility Here too mostly in the initial stage There is a longer tradition Here and there successful implementation Longitudinal apprenticeship and work-based learning very rarely

Stimulating and impeding factors Stimulating factors -Sharing of knowledge through cooperation and networking -Clear frameworks -Bottom up approach -Adequate organisational and financial conditions -Adequate project management -Linking up with running innovations -Looking for regional nearness -Culturel aspects Impeding factors -Law and regulations -Image forming -Relation with trade and business more difficult in economic heavier times -Complexity in content and regional complexity -Complexity of broad, multilateral networks of cooperation