A growing number of countries are introducing qualification frameworks (QFs) following a common definition of outcomes, level descriptors, and a set of occupational or knowledge fields. Botswana has been no exception to this trend. The passing of the Vocational Training Act (1998) led to the creation of the Botswana National Vocational…

Polytechnic education in Ghana is an offshoot of technical and vocational education and training, which makes internship a sine qua non for its students. The implementation of internships in the departments of hotel catering and institutional management in Ghanaian polytechnics is examined in this study. The perceptions of the stakeholders suggest…

The design of the national qualifications framework (NQF) in Lithuania started in 2006. The NQF was officially approved by the government decree in May 2010. This article explores the influence of the processes of institutional change on the reform of the national system of qualifications in Lithuania through the implementation of the NQF, looking…

Purpose: This paper seeks to discuss the challenges faced when trying to integrate entrepreneurship education in the training system, with a particular focus on vocational training. Design/methodology/approach: The data were collected through in-depth interviews, document reviews and focus group discussions. The respondents were drawn from VETA…

This article explores teaching assistants' (TAs) perceptions of suggestions that English schools should encourage large numbers of "low-achieving" school leavers to become apprentice teaching assistants. It reports on a piece of qualitative research that aimed to capture teaching assistants' views of these proposals. Semi-structured…

The perceptions of students, school and technical and further education (TAFE) staff involved in V Tracks, an early intervention program for Aboriginal school students are explored in this paper. The study identifies outcomes, challenges and recommendations for future program design. Overall, V Tracks was found to improve student engagement in…

Skill/competency approaches to workplace-based policy seek to assess and train for discrete individual competencies with the goal of increasing employability and productivity. These approaches have become increasingly prominent across a range of advanced capitalist countries. A substantial critique has emerged over this same period regarding…

Purpose: This paper seeks to investigate the provision of Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Small Ethnic Minority Businesses (SEMBs) operating in the West Midlands region of the UK. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative approach is employed, involving in-depth, face-to-face interviews with 66 owner/managers of small ethnic minority…

The European Post-16 Education Strategies and Parity of Esteem project examined problems arising from the disparity in esteem as regards initial vocational education and general/academic education. The final report of this 2-year project is presented here. The study examined uppersecondary school reforms within and across eight European…

A study was conducted to determine the demographic characteristics of Swaziland agricultural education professionals and their perceptions of the preservice teacher education program in agriculture in their country. Questionnaires were developed and mailed to 128 Swaziland agricultural education professionals, with a total of 116 usable…

This article reviews the reactions to higher-level National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) in the United Kingdom in the context of certification levels by level and subject. The most successful higher NVQs are linked to professional qualifying routes, have generic application across a range of sectors or fill gaps where qualifications were not…

In this paper we analyse individual vocational rehabilitation clients' decisions to enter active training or not. Although the Government pays the direct costs of training, the composition of the total costs of training may be decisive for individual choices. Based on labour market theory, we relate background characteristics of the clients to…

This study sought to determine the extent to which teacher education programs were addressing the realities of teaching tasks that will be faced by their students who are training to teach vocational education in secondary schools in Zimbabwe. Students and lecturers from two schools of education responded to questionnaires, interviews, and…

An Inter-agency Panel of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) experts, drawn from seven United Nations and other international agencies, was one of the highlights in the programme of UNESCO's International Experts Meeting "Learning for Work, Citizenship and Sustainability" (Bonn, Germany, 25-28 October 2004). The Panel…

Part of Canada's Exemplary Schools Project, Vancouver Technical Secondary School--a large inner-city comprehensive school--meets the needs of a diverse student population through "schools-within-a-school." Case study focuses on the "dilemma of difference," in which efforts of elite, vocational, cultural, and dropout-prevention…