Introduction and theoretical framework (487)

In the Vocational Education and Training (VET) system of the Netherlands (and of many other countries inside and outside Europe), competence-based education (CBE) can be identified as leading paradigm for educational innovation (Biemans et al., 2004; 2009; Brockmann et al., 2008; Delamare Le Deist & Winterton, 2005; Mulder et al., 2007). CBE implies creating inspiring, meaningful and powerful learning trajectories and environments for students, in which they can develop their professional and personal competencies (being an important prerequisite for further education, employability, citizenship and lifelong learning) (Wesselink et al., 2010).

Another VET trend, stimulated by governmental policy in the Netherlands through experimental pilots,  is the design of continuous learning pathways to foster and streamline the development of students’ competencies (Kuijpers et al., 2010). Continuous learning pathways show for particular competence areas or subjects the curriculum continuity and sequence over a period of several to many years, enclosing more than one school or training type (Schoonenboom & Oud, 2006). Through continuous learning pathways, students’ learning processes at the different school type levels are supposed to be more strongly related and attuned to each other than before, when the various successive school types were more like separate worlds to the students. Continuous learning pathways are supposed to result in:

·         Substantial decrease of dropout rates;

·         Increase of student qualification levels (more students with diplomas corresponding with higher educational levels);

·         Increase of tailor-made learning pathways (reducing study time and preventing overlap);

·         Higher student motivation and satisfaction;

·         More efficient learning pathways with a high degree of involvement of the corresponding economic sectors (Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, 2005).

In the Dutch VET system, continuous learning pathways can connect different successive levels of the column: pre-vocational secondary education (vmbo), secondary vocational education (mbo) and/or higher (professional) education (hbo/wo). Some of these continuous learning pathways are especially designed to serve the learning needs of  particular groups of students with specific characteristics. For example, the so-called Green Lyceum (GL) variants within the life sciences domain, covering vmbo and mbo levels in 5 or 6 years instead of the regular 8 years, are especially designed for students who are both characterised by relatively high cognitive levels and a preference for practical, profession-related assignments related to the “green” domain. These continuous learning pathways are characterised by different design formats in terms of underlying educational philosophy, curriculum set-up, educational design, etc. Up until now, it is unclear how these differences in design format are related to students’ performance in these GL learning trajectories and to their satisfaction.

Therefore, the present study was designed to answer the following research questions:

1.            What differences can be found between various GL types in terms of student performance (and to what extent do these differences depend on study year)?

2.            What differences can be found between various GL types in terms of student satisfaction (and to what extent do these differences depend on study year)?

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