VET workers’ problem-solving skills in a technology-rich environment

Author(s):

Raija Hämäläinen(presenting / submitting)Bram De Wever(presenting)Sebastiano Cincinnato Antero Malin

Conference:

ECER 2014

Network:

02. Vocational Education and Training (VETNET)

Format:

Paper

Session Information

02 SES 12 C, VET Workers' Learning Journeys

Paper Session

Time:

2014-09-05

09:00-10:30

Room:

B023 Anfiteatro

Chair:

Andreas Sebe-Opfermann

Contribution

In general, the European workplace has been changing rapidly over the last few decades. According to scholars like Frey and Osborne (2013), and Stenstöm and Tynjälä (2009), the key challenge in addressing this evolution for workplace involves developing vocational skills and professional expertise that match the changing needs of European society. Specifically, a radical structural change is now occurring in the industrial sector that involves millions of workers with vocational education and training (VET) (e.g. in Finland alone, 100,000 jobs have disappeared from the industrial sector over the past ten years (4.9.2013)).

These organisational changes result in changes in the workers’ occupations (Attwell, 1997). Teräs and Teräs (2010) emphasise that responding to the changing needs of the workplace is related to workers’ professional development. In the case of workers with VET (with routine, intensive work tasks), an increasing amount of occupations are succumbing to computerisation (for a detailed description of computerisation, see Frey & Osborne, 2013). In short, these alterations have resulted in two extremes: 1) workers change occupations because their previous jobs have been outsourced or replaced by technology (Crafts, 2004) or 2) workers stay on at the same workplace, but their job descriptions change (Maclean & Wilson, 2009; Tuomi-Gröhn & Engeström, 2003). In sum, the needs of the current European workplace are challenging workers’ professional expertise. This provokes new needs for VET and lifelong learning.

Currently, there has been a large increase in the variety of skills that workers with vocational education must have (Wolf, 2011; Fuller & Unwin, 2011). In line with this, the rapidly-advancing technological landscape in the industrial sector is challenging workers’ expertise with regard to problem-solving in technology-rich environments (TRE). A variety of technological tools and information is required to solve problems in the workplace (OECD, 2013). As a direct result of this advancement, workers are facing a major technology challenge, as there is a snowballing need for continuous professional development to deal with the evolving character of technology (Herder et al., 2006). Thus, it is widely agreed that problem-solving in TRE is one of the most important requirements for working life skills. At the same time, it is not yet clear what kinds of abilities workers with VET backgrounds currently have with regard to problem-solving skills in TRE.

Based on this background, we focus on the VET workers problem-solving skills in a TRE. The aim of this study is to identify and discuss problem-solving skills in TRE of workers with VET in Finland. Two main approaches guided this study. First, we explored what basic skills 16-65-year-old adults with VET in Finland have regarding problem solving in TRE. The first research question is

RQ1: What is the level and distribution of problem-solving skills in TRE for workers with VET?

Considering the changing needs of European workplaces, especially with relation to the societal expectations of workers problem-solving skills, a second aim was to identify workers with VET that can be defined as “at-risk” (i.e. having very limited problem-solving skills), “weak performers”, “moderate performers” and “strong performers”. Having identified the “at-risk”, the “weak performers” and the strong performing adults, a related aim was to explore which variables are highly associated with being either at-risk or more proficient as a worker. Because of the need for problems-solving in TRE is likely to increase in the future, we focused on examining in particular the younger (16–40-year-olds) VET adults’ skills. The respective research questions are

RQ2a: How is the level and distribution of problem-solving skills in TRE related to adults with other educational backgrounds?

RQ2b: What are (the background) indicators for problem-solving skills in TRE for VET workers?

Method

OECD PIAAC (Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies) data were used for this work, relying on participants’ performance in problem-solving in TRE. PIAAC is a large-scale, ongoing programme for monitoring performance in literacy, numeracy, and technology-rich problem-solving among adults. In practice, PIAAC is a survey of adults’ competences in 24 countries. In this study, we will focus on the assessments of problem-solving in TRE in Finland. More specifically, we aim to use PIAAC data to provide indicators of the knowledge and skills of adult population and to shed light on a range of factors that contribute to thriving/successful VET workers’ skills. Data collection and analysis The data collection encompassed both the tests of problem-solving skills in TRE and the background questionnaire including questions about skills used. 5464 adults among 16-65-year-olds were involved (weighted response rate 66%, sample 8099) in Finland. 4503 adults participated in the test concerning problem-solving skills in TRE and answered the questionnaire about skills used. First, to allow researchers to understand what kinds of skills participants used and how actively, participants answered questionnaires about their backgrounds. Second, a computer-based test was used to capture the level of problem-solving skills. In short, the main aim of this assessment was to illustrate the extent to which adults use technology effectively to solve 21st-century problems (see OECD 2013). Proficiency scores for each participant were estimated based on the test performance. Each of the assessed areas had a theoretical scale ranging from 0 to 500. Based on the scores in the problem-solving test, participants were grouped into four proficiency levels: Level 1 included scores from 241 points to 290 points (“weak performers”); Level 2 included scores from 291 points to 340 points (“moderate performers”); and Level 3 (“strong performers”) included scores equal to or higher than 341 points. Participants scoring below level 1 were classified as “at risk”. Additionally, the sample encompass 'not classified' group of participants that, for example, failed in the preliminary computer test. Thus, the data analysis consisted of three steps: 1. We calculated the level and distribution of problem-solving skills. 2. We identified the differences in problem-solving skills between age and educational backgrounds. Chi-square tests were used to test for independence of the classification groups (VET – other educational background, and > 40 vs ≤40 years). 3. Based on correlations, we identified the most important background factors associated with problem-solving skills.

Expected Outcomes

The overall analysis showed wide-ranging distribution of skill levels for adults with VET. The results show that only 24.7% of adults with VET can be considered to have moderate (22.1%) or strong (2.7%) problem-solving skills in TRE. In general, the results show that on average 16.6% of VET adults can be considered at risk; however, more VET adults over 40 years (22.1%) than 16–40-year-olds (8.1%) were classified as “at risk”. When comparing adults with VET to adults with other educational backgrounds, data show that adults with VET have weaker problem-solving skills than adults with other educational backgrounds. More specifically, this study indicates that the probability of having fragile problem-solving skills is two times higher for adults with VET. Furthermore, one critical finding is that within the 16–40-year-olds age group with VET, the chance of being at risk is three times higher than within adults with other educational backgrounds. Additionally, our study aimed to find the background indicators for problem-solving skills in TRE. In general, two variables seem to be the most important indicators for VET workers’ problem-solving skills in TRE. Using ICT at home (r = .41, p<.001) and applying numeracy skills at home (r = .34, p<.001) have the strongest correlations with problem solving. Furthermore we found other statistically significant indicators for VET workers that we will illuminate in our presentation. In conclusion, our findings indicate that more than 75 % of VET workers in Finland have weak skills or lack of skills in solving problems in TRE. For the future, this is critical, as economic and societal changes are radically altering the nature of work-life. Therefore, we propose two main recommendations. Firstly, contemporary work environments call for flexible tools for problem-solving in technology-rich work settings, and secondly, new approaches for VET workers´ lifelong learning are needed.

References

Attwell, G. (1997). New roles for vocational education and training teachers and trainers in Europe: a new framework for their education. Journal of European Industrial Training, 21(6/7), 256–265. Crafts, N. (2004). Steam as a general purpose technology: A growth accounting perspective. Economic Journal, 114, 338–351. Fuller, A. and Unwin, L. (2011). Vocational education and training in the spotlight: Back to the future for the UK’s Coalition Government?, London Review of Education 9(2), 191–204. Frey, C. & Osborne, M. (2013). The future of employment: how susceptible are jobs to computerisation? Retrieved January 15, 2014 from http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf Herder, E., Koesling, A., Olmedilla, D., Hummel, H., Schoonenboom, J., Moghnieh, A. & Vervenne, L. 2006. European Lifelong Competence Development: Requirements and Technologies for Its Realisation. Paper presented at the International Workshop in Learning Networks for Lifelong Competence Development, March 30-31, 2006, Sofia, Bulgaria. Retrieved January 15, 2014 from http://dspace.learningnetworks.org/bitstream/1820/767/1/Paper30.pdf OECD (2013), The Survey of Adult Skills: Reader’s Companion, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264204027-enMaclean, R., & Wilson, D.N. (2009). International handbook of education for the changing world of work: Bridging academic and vocational learning. New York: Springer. Stenström, M-L. & Tynjälä, P. 2009. Introduction. In M-L. Stenström & P. Tynjälä (eds.) Towards integration of work and learning. Strategies for connectivity and transformation. Springer (pp. 3-10). Teräs, H. & Teräs, M. (2010). 21st Century Professional Development - Bridging the Gap Between Higher Education and Working Life. In J. Sanchez & K. Zhang (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education 2010 (pp. 836-843). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved October 14, 2013 from http://www.editlib.org/p/35652. Tuomi-Gröhn, T., & Engeström, Y. (Eds.). (2003). Tuomi-Gröhn, T., & Engeström, Y. (Eds.). (2003). Between school and work: New perspectives on transfer and boundary-crossing. Amsterdam: Pergamon. Wolf, A (2011), Review of Vocational Education – the Wolf Report, Department for Education, London. Retrieved January 15, 2014 from http://www.wallartrockers.com/nybep/uploaded-images/pdf/The-Wolf-Review(1).pdf

Author Information

Raija Hämäläinen (presenting / submitting)

University of Jyväskylä

Finnish Institute for Educational Research

University of Jyväskylä

Bram De Wever (presenting)

Ghent University

Educational Studies

Gent

Sebastiano Cincinnato

Department of Educational Studies, Ghent University,Belgium

Antero Malin

University of Jyvaskyla, Finland

Finnish Institute for Educational Research

Jyvaskyla

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