Permeability in Education and Training: Typology and Comparative Analysis
Author(s):
Andreas Saniter (presenting / submitting) Karin Luomi-Messerer (presenting) Wolfgang Wittig Isabelle Le Mouillour
Conference:
ECER 2012
Network:
02. Vocational Education and Training (VETNET)
Format:
Paper

Session Information

02 SES 04 C, Completing VET: Drop-Out, Vocational Identity And Progression

Round Table

Time:
2012-09-19
09:00-10:30
Room:
FCT - Aula 23
Chair:
Trine Deichman-Sørensen

Contribution

Permeability in education and training has been a perennial issue in European policy making ever since the adoption of the Lisbon strategy in 2000. The opportunity for a learner to transfer from one learning opportunity to another, including transitions between different educational sectors or different countries, is seen as a resource of personal and professional development that has the potential of improving people's employability and quality of life. In this regard especially permeability between vocational education and training (VET) and higher education is an important aspect.

The contribution presents selected findings of the Cedefop study "From credit systems to permeability in education and training" (Cedefop, 2011) that was carried out between December 2009 and December 2011. The study examined existing regulations, instruments and practices ("mechanisms") employed to facilitate permeability in education and training in the 32 countries taking part in the Education and Training 2010 work programme. The aim was to generate a comprehensive picture of the situation concerning permeability in European countries and to develop a typology of permeability mechanisms.

The first part of the paper deals with the theoretical framework on which the study was based and describes the development of the typology. The first step consists in the formulation of a "theoretical typology" of mechanisms on the basis of descriptors derived from a review of relevant research literature. This typology, which serves as the core element of the comparative analysis of mechanisms in the 32 countries, is constituted by three descriptors, namely the rationale (access, admission, exemption, full equivalence), basis (formal learning only vs. formal, non-formal and informal learning) and scope (individual, institutional, general) of permeability, whose various distinctions allow for a total of 24 possible combinations or types. In the course of the empirical analysis, mechanisms were compared with and situated within this typology. Out of the 24 theoretical types, 11 were found to be instantiated by existing mechanisms. These constitute the "empirical typology".

The second part of the contribution presents these empirical types and discusses their relevance across countries and educational sectors. In particular, the relationship between permeability types and systemic factors such as the VET tradition in a country will be addressed here. In the concluding part we present some reflections on the overall success factors and effects of permeability mechanisms.

Method

The empirical investigation of the situation concerning permeability in education and training in the 32 countries involved a variety of qualitative research methods and data sources. Its main components were a comparative analysis on types of permeability mechanisms in European countries including the role of credit systems, a series of case studies on selected examples of the empirical types, and another series of case studies on EQF level 5 qualifications with a view to examining the questions of compatibility, comparability and coherence between ECVET and ECTS. The comparative analysis was carried out by means of an explorative semi-standardised survey of country experts that was supplemented by desk research. A reporting template was sent to country experts such as researchers or government officials in the countries covered by the study, and it was also used as an analytical framework for the desk research. The case studies involved interviews with representatives from education and training institutions as well as the study of national policy documents and statistics.

Expected Outcomes

The empirical types identified in the study largely form to distinct groups or classes. On the one hand there is a group of types that combine individual recognition procedures with a broad range of learning outcomes recognised, i.e. formal as well as non-formal or informal learning. On the other hand there is a group of mechanisms that apply at a general scale and are based on formal learning only. Between these two extremes there is a group of three types that constitute an intermediate class where mechanisms operate on the basis of formal learning only but are institutional instead of general in scope. As regards the relevance of types, it was found that especially types that involve permeability as "exemption" are represented in many countries. The same is true of the type called "general access by recognition of formal learning", which is predominantly exemplified by the acquisition of a university entrance qualification through vocational learning. The success of permeability mechanisms depends on a variety of aspects, such as economic incentives, available resources, and institutional or systemic factors. Sometimes the success also seems to depend on the sector.

References

Castiglione, Dario; van Deth, Jan W.; Wolleb, Guglielmo (eds.). The Handbook of Social Capital. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Cedefop. Linking credit systems and qualifications frameworks: An international comparative analysis. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2010. (Cedefop Research paper No 5). Cedefop. Contract No 2009-0228/AO/ECVL/ILEMOCredits&Permeability/017/09 'From credit systems to permeability in education and training'. Final Report, December 2011 (unpublished manuscript). Koch, Sascha; Schemmann, Michael (eds.). Neo-Institutionalismus in der Erziehungswissenschaft. Grundlegende Texte und empirische Studien. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2009. Lin, Nan; Erickson, Bonnie H. (eds.). Social Capital: An International Research Program. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Powell, Justin J. W.; Solga, Heike. Analyzing the Nexus of Higher Education and Vocational Training in Europe: A Comparative-Institutional Framework. Studies in Higher Education, 2010, Vol. 35. Stamm-Riemer, Ida; Loroff, Claudia; Hartmann, Ernst A. Anrechnungsmodelle: Generalisierte Ergebnisse der ANKOM-Initiative. Hannover: HIS Hochschul-Informations-System GmbH. (HIS Forum Hochschule 1/2011). Tutschner, Roland; Wittig, Wolfgang; Rami, Justin (eds). Accreditation of Vocational Learning Outcomes: European Approaches to Enhance Permeability between Vocational and Higher Education. Bonn: Nationale Agentur Bildung für Europa beim Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung. (impuls 38).

Author Information

Andreas Saniter (presenting / submitting)
Universitaet Bremen, Germany
Karin Luomi-Messerer (presenting)
3s
Wien
Wolfgang Wittig
Universitaet Bremen, Germany
Isabelle Le Mouillour
Cedefop

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