Modularisation is being implemented in education systems all over the world in order to make provision more flexible, individualised and economic (in the sense that learners will only have to learn what they do not know already). In the EU, modularisation of education has taken place especially in vocational education and training (VET) and higher education and it is politically and scientifically being forwarded as a viable solution to solve the problems of (re)-integrating disadvantaged young people into especially the VET sector. The overriding argument is that by breaking down learning components into smaller self-contained units which are meaningful in themselves in respect of content and time disadvantaged young people will be able to gain a sense of achievement within a manageable period of time. In this sense, modularization should be able to motivate this group of young people who often have experiences of failure in connection with basic schooling. Modularisation is in other words a solution to a pressing problem in many European countries.   

In various European countries, the experiences with modularisation are at different stages: the UK has a long history of modularisation which goes back to the introduction of the NQF system in the 1980s. In other countries, such as Belgium, Germany, Portugal and Romania modularisation is part of education reforms, and the education system and especially teachers still have to learn how to work with modules and modularised approaches. There is in other words a potential for learning across the countries and for sharing experiences on how modularised approaches work for the groups of young people who never acquire a qualification at upper secondary level.

The aim of the symposium is to tie the political and the practical level together and discuss modularisation of VET schemes for disadvantaged young people from a comparative, critical and not least didactical perspective. The proposed symposium is based on an EU funded project “Inclusive Modules – moving young people on” which has allowed researchers to draw on international findings and experiences from six partners countries participating.

The symposium will include four presentations:

·         Modularisation of VET in Europe – state of the art;

·         Disadvantaged young people – definitions and policy initiatives;

·         Modularisation, disadvantaged young people and methods to investigate teachers’ needs for CPD;

·         A didactical tool for working with modularised approaches for disadvantaged young people.

The research is based on following methodological approaches: 

• comparative research carried out by research institutions in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Portugal, Romania and the UK. The research institutions have analysed national contexts and approaches to modularisation and disadvantaged young people. The national research has been compared and good and bad practices have been identified;
• action research through the involvement of teachers and other stakeholders through experts circles. These expert circles have created an interaction between the researchers and the stakeholders in the development of a didactical model for modularisation of schemes for disadvantaged young people.

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