This article focuses on the question of what strategies general education graduates can use to improve their chances of entering an attractive vocational education and training (VET) programme in Germany. We look, in particular, at grades in the school-leaving certificate and the additional acquisition of a higher qualification at a vocational…

This article examines the fit (or lack thereof) between the competencies needed by the sport industry and the proficiency of sport management students. The authors apply importance-performance analysis as a strategic management tool to analyze the results of two competence-oriented datasets in a German context. They find that students'…

In this collection, different experts from a range of backgrounds consider the current plan to defund many Business and Technician Education Councils (BTECs) and other popular Level 3 Applied General qualifications. Together, the chapters argue this could close off a useful and proven route for students from a wide range of backgrounds, including…

Qualifications frameworks are tools for describing qualifications of an education or training system by classifying them into levels. Each level provides a clear description of what the holder of a qualification knows, understands and is able to do. They are important tools for making qualifications transparent and comprehensible, within and…

The research project "LAKTAT -- Non-Professionals in German All-Day Schools: Qualifications, Orientations, Institutional Integration" examines the role and impact of nonprofessional staff in all-day schools, focusing on their pedagogical orientations and organizational integration. The study explores critical questions: How does a sense…

Skills-based education can provide a way forward to sustainable development in a developing country. It is a hopeful scenario that more than 60% of the population of Pakistan is less than 30 years of age and almost half of them are under 15 years of age. It is important for the policymakers and planners to learn from the societies where human…

Qualifications frameworks are tools for describing qualifications of an education or training system by classifying them into levels. Each level provides a clear description of what the holder of a qualification knows, understands and is able to do. They are important tools for making qualifications transparent and comprehensible, within and…

This study seeks to reveal the heterogeneity in occupation-specific wage returns among graduates of the German vocational education and training (VET) system. We distinguish between VET graduates with and without a higher education entrance certificate (i.e. an Abitur). To implement our hierarchical multi-level analyses, we exploit the latest wave…

England has a 'pre-qualification' system of higher education admissions, where applications and offers are made to young people before exam results are received. While in most cases offers are conditional on achieving a grade target in A Level exams, recent years have seen an exponential growth in 'unconditional offers', where the offer of a place…

Recent vocational education and training (VET) reforms in many countries have focused on reducing the number of VET qualifications available and restructuring qualifications so that they better meet the needs of working life. This literature review provides examples of how VET qualifications have been rationalised in various countries and briefly…

Vocational education and training (VET) can play a transformative role in reducing CO[subscript 2] emissions and improving the energy efficiency of buildings across Europe. Nearly zero energy building (NZEB) requires an energy literate workforce, with broader and deeper theoretical knowledge, higher technical and precision skills,…

Based on an exceptional cache of documents charting Cambridge Assessment's examinations in 1938, this article uncovers evidence of the board's early, pioneering work with displaced learners. The newly discovered documents form part of an archive collection already catalogued, relating to the work of Jack Roach who was responsible for the Cambridge…

More than a quarter of all trainees in Germany's dual vocational training system have the Abitur -- the German school-leaving qualification that entitles them to go to university. Some go to university after completing their apprenticeship, but others move straight into full-time employment. There is currently very little reliable empirical data…

There is no doubt about the necessity for the inclusion and the integration of minority groups in German school system. Although there are different recognised politics and developments within the school policy of the 16 federal states in Germany, there are also common important political issues. While heterogeneity in minority groups is…

Students tend to be overconfident about their future performance in university exams, which can lead to demotivation when faced with unexpectedly bad results. We hypothesized that overconfidence is partly a personality trait but also partly results from students' insufficient knowledge of what is expected of them in university exams. It follows…