Vocational colleges' social role has been under-developed because they have been marketised and privatised, and because the idea of the vocational college has not been advanced and institutionalised. The paper describes this for public vocational colleges in Australia, which are at the vanguard of competency-based education and in being…

In this paper I consider the social role vocational education can play in decentring settler-colonialism. Through focused programming located in community settings, these educational offerings provide opportunities for students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Connecting capitalism's relationship to this school system, I contend that…

While an increasing number of studies postulate that vocational education and training (VET) activities have a positive impact on the innovative capacity of training companies, empirical evidence on the topic remains contradictory. This study exploits establishment data from a representative survey of German companies to estimate the relationship…

Guidance has gained an increasingly important role in education. In this study, guidance for students with special educational needs within competence-based and customer-oriented, Finnish vocational education and training (VET) is examined from a governance perspective. Data were collected via focus group discussions among different categories of…

Online instructional videos have been presented as an efficient instructional method in workplace learning and vocational education and training (VET). Increasingly, public video-sharing sites like YouTube are used by firms, educators and learners to teach and learn about work practices, new work roles and skills. However, more knowledge is needed…

There is considerable international interest in transitions from school to work. This article approaches the issue as part of the debate around 'vocational maturity' ("Ausbildungsreife") in Germany and 'employability' in the United Kingdom. Vocational education and training systems in these two countries differ significantly, so the…

The paper adds to the literature on vocational education and training by developing an account of the role played by technicians, and vocational education and training, in innovation. It also fills a gap in the innovation systems literature by analysing the neglected role of technicians and providers of vocational education and training in…

In 2008, Brazil established a complex intersectoral policy, leading to an unprecedented overall and inland expansion of Vocational Education and Training. Federal institutions went from 140 units, built over 100 years, to 654 units in 2020, 600 of which are campuses belonging to the Federal Institutes of Education, Science and Technology. This…

The higher participation of England's ethnic minority students on vocational courses at the age of 16 initiates them onto the 'lower tier' pathway in tertiary education. Lower tier implies participating in certain vocational courses and entering lower status universities. Consequently, ethnic minority students in England have a weaker labour…

In recent decades, reforms of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) systems have mostly focused on the needs of employers to produce graduates ready for the labour market. The academic literature has extensively criticised the narrow focus on the performance of work tasks at the expense of other types of knowledge in the…

Recent research on vocational training in the global South suggests training may have the effect of unrealistically inflating trainee expectations of remunerative employment and upward social mobility. These studies, however, have focused almost exclusively on training for formal sector employment. The present paper, by contrast, explores how…

This paper explores the contrast between the policy vision for public technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges in South Africa, and governance and funding models that have shaped institutional forms and functioning over time. Policy aspires for TVET colleges to play a role in social inclusion and local economic development.…

Germany's VET system is highly gender-segregated and marked by high dropout rates. This article investigates the dropout behaviour of apprentices in gender-atypical training occupations. First, we investigate whether gender-atypical apprentices drop out at a higher rate than their majority peers. Second, we examine differences in the self-reported…

This paper explores the social role of tertiary education institutions in post-Soviet single-industry towns, where local development hinges on specific industries. The research methodology involved studying the perceptions of the dynamics of education-industry cooperation and student educational trajectories and educational choice. The data,…

This systematic review aims to examine empirical literature about advancing the social role of college-based higher education (CBHE). A thematic analysis of empirical evidence from the 58 included articles offers insights into the social role of CBHE, and the characteristics of CBHE colleges, students, and lecturers. The review indicated a growing…