Green light for vocational education? The transformation of secondary agricultural and forestry schools in central Europe Mgr. Jiří Votava Ing. Jiří Husa, CSc. Institute of education and communication, Czech university of life sciences in Prague

Structure of the presentation 1.Introduction 2.Methodology 3.Main agents in development of agricultural vocational education 4.Models and forecasts 5.Conclusions 6.Discussion

Introduction Research project 406/09/1479 funded by Czech Science Foundation Large ongoing survey, main results 2011 Before: Analysis of the qualification structure of the labour force in agriculture (Slavík, Rolls 2007) and more resarch projetcs

Methodology Delphi method, from 2009, 18 expert representants of vocational schools, employer, teacher trainers, local authorities Survey of providers of agricultural, forestry and related vocational schools (in process) Documents and experience of ENTER international network

Main agents in development of agricultural vocational education Definition of rural area (OECD, EU) - 3 categories: Predominantly rural region: more than 50% of the population of the region is living in rural communes (with less than 150 inhabitants / km2) Intermediate region: 15% to 50% of the population of the region is living in rural local units Predominantly urban region: less than 15% of the population of the region is living in rural local units

Main agents in development of agricultural vocational education Definition of rural area – number of inhibitants Rural: ≤ 2000 Urban: > 2000

10 z 10

11 z 10

Size of municipalities Level of education in % (Czech statistical office 2001) ZšSšSš s matVošVš Total233824,93,58,9 Up to199 inhabitants31,843,617,723,4 200 – 49929,544,518,72,13,5 500 – 99927,94419,92,34, – ,842,821,32, – ,942,122,52,75, – ,840,224,53,36, – ,337,926,33,88, – ,736,427,53,89, – ,735,726,93,99, and more16,830,529,24,716,8

Main agents in development of agricultural vocational education Four main agents: Production (agricultural, food, forestry) Employment (qulified working force) People (society, community) Rural development

Main agents in development of agricultural vocational education Under regulations of EU, rural development policy is focused on: Improving the competitiveness of the agricultural and forestry sector Improving the environment and the countryside Improving the quality of life in rural areas and encouraging diversification of the rural economy

Main conception of rural development Agricultural industry From traditional to innovative From production to processing From production to distribution and consumption

Changes in Czech vocational education in the last 20 years Curriculum Structure of vocational branches School governance and management Consequences of development in particular production sectors Demography of the student body Preferences of the public in education (Husa 2008, expert group )

Innovation and development strategies in selected EU states Dealing with the complexity of the contemporary society Decreasing the gap between science and society Preparing students for the increased competition Responding to internationalization Shifting from generalization to specialization Human resources development (extension - consultancy) Responding to the wishes of the capricious consumer Decreasing the gap between the consumer and the agricultural sector Dealing with the consumer paradox Sustainable production/quality orientation Considerations about GMOs (Mulder 2006, Slavík, Rolls 2007, expert group

Number of employees according to the legal form of the company and level of management Legal formNumber Higher management Middle and lower management Rank and file workers Physical person 2161,010,663,34 Limited company 772,494,5625,16 Joint stock company 1144,039,0864,19 Cooperative 1243,929,9766,34 Another legal form 61,674,5016,50 Other 31,000,000,33 Total 5402,545,1733,77 (Slavík, Rolls 2007)

Research models Current and potential recipients of education Need /want educationDo not need /want education Current and potential providers of education Offer relevant education Do not offer relevant education Employers Social partners

Demand and supply of workforce in green sector ALL ECONOMICAL ACTIVE ECONOMICAL INACTIVE URBAN REGIONS RURAL REGIONS ACITVE in „green“ sector“ – Employers and emploees in agricultural, food and forestry

Demand and supply of workforce in green sector ALL ECONOMICAL ACTIVE ECONOMICAL INACTIVE URBAN REGIONS RURAL REGIOENS ACITVE in „green“ sector“ – Employers and emploees in agricultural, food and forestry

First grade students of agricutlural and forestry vocational secondary school ) (Ústav pro informace ve vzdělávání 2009)

Employees in green sector In 1 000

Employment by occupations

Conclusions The future of agricultural secondary schools: Demand – supply driven reform, close collaboration with social partners New branches and specialisation New target groups (lifelong learning) New forms of education New balance between secodnary/tertiary and general /vocational education

Thank you for your attention

Basic/broad, general programmes 21,7 Teacher training and education science 3,4 Arts 1,6 Humanities 0,7 Social and behavioural science 5,0 Business and administration 9,8 Law 0,6 Life sciences 0,3 Physical sciences 0,9 Engineering and engineering trades 22,5 Manufacturing and processing 9,2 Architecture and building 6,6 Agriculture, forestry and fishery 4,2 Health 4,1 Personal services 5,1 Transport services 1,5 Security services 0,6

Zdroj: NÚOV, 2007