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The development of critical thinking skills in students is one of the cherished and prominent objectives of education; however, in spite of its acclaimed significance, critical thinking has remained one of the most elusive goals of education systems. Although nurturing and inculcating critical thinking skills have been presumed to be the responsibility of academic education, within recent times the philosophy of education has changed to one that recognizes critical thinking as a viable inclusion in vocational education. The purpose of this research was twofold: (1) to investigate how Vocational Instructors, Administrators and Internal Verifiers of a specific programme in Trinidad and Tobago conceptualize critical thinking in vocational education; and (2) to determine their perceptions of factors that impact the development of critical thinking in the adult students of the programme. By means of a Case Study in the Qualitative paradigm the perspectives of fifteen purposefully selected persons were gained primarily through open-ended and semi-structured interviews. An eclectic blend of various theoretical frameworks was used to interpret the data which revealed that participants equate critical thinking in vocational education to being proactive, evaluation, extrapolation, rigorous questioning, and problem solving. The commonly reported factors impacting the development of critical thinking in adult vocational students were their socio-economic status, educational attainment and levels of reading, attitudes, and their culture/religion. Other factors reported with less frequency were teachers’ instructional style, teachers’ personalities, students’ expectations, classroom climate, design of the curriculum, institutional factors such as time and resource constraints, and students’ physical and mental barriers. This research highlights the need for vocational instructors to: (a) resist the urge to conduct their classes on the archaic principle of teaching as primarily transmitting knowledge; and (b) facilitate the learning process by nurturing the development of critical thinking in vocational education through its various manifestations.

Students’ dropout rates in Malta remain significantly high despite national and institutional efforts to address this issue. The purpose of this thesis is to give voice to critical student perspectives on a diverse set of issues that is typical of contemporary student life. Through their voices, I examine students’ experiences within Maltese Higher Vocational Institutions. This thesis uses a mixed methods approach (questionnaire, focus group and observational field notes) within an ethnographic case study framework, located within the two main Maltese Higher Vocational institutions - Malta College of Arts, Sciences and Technology and the Institute of Tourism Studies. The implications of the researcher’s insider status within one of these institutions is also discussed. The empirical research starts with an exploration of the current provision of student support services and moves onto an in-depth and wide ranging documentation of the myriad challenges that students currently face - academic, institutional, financial and emotional. By evidencing the volume and range of critique, the thesis aims to show, that these are not isolated or unique concerns and that they go to the heart of relationships between students, staff, administrators and management within any educational institution. It substantiates some of the students’ critique by drawing upon recent external audit reports for both institutions. It situates the findings within the critical literature calling for greater student participation in the design and delivery of education and related services. In doing so, it makes the case of transforming Maltese Higher Vocational Education into a student-centred educational enterprise which has the ability and willingness to view students as parents in education. The thesis therefore, also considers key concepts of student voice, student-centredness, personalised education and student partnership in education and problematises them.

The focus of this research is Vocational Education (VE) of secondary level and English for Specific Purposes (ESP). Research shows that despite the significance placed on VE (UNESCO 2012), a number of discrepancies are found regarding its link with the employment market worldwide, mainly attributed to the appropriateness of the material. Against this background, this study investigated the link between the English language needs of businesses in Greece and the English language skills VE schools offer at present. The study employed a mixed methods research methodology. It consisted of business English language needs questionnaires with businesses (N=136), interviews with teachers (N=10), and a focus group discussion with learners (N=8) as data collection tools. Additionally, an evaluation of the “English for Economics and Administration” VE textbook was conducted and the impact of newly designed ESP material on learners was examined through pre-post-tests. The findings of the businesses survey revealed the need for more emphasis on speaking and listening skills than writing or reading. The evaluation of the target textbook suggested a lack of these skills and lack of authenticity, interactivity, motivation, contemporary content and communicative tasks required by the workplace. To address this gap some new ESP materials were designed to supplement part of the target textbook. The findings show that both learners and teachers found these materials communicative, contemporary, authentic and relevant to learners’ future working needs. In the Greek context this research is unique in that it investigates the link between VE of secondary level and workplace, which has not been addressed in the Greek literature so far. The research has implications for practitioners who could participate in materials design, and for policy makers who should base ESP materials design on learners’, and workplace needs analysis.

With the increasing emphasis on developing graduate employability skills, termed as CoreLife Skills in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and growing use of technology in education; this research investigates the assemblage of CoreLife Skills through technological innovation in a vocational education and training (VET) institute in the UAE. Further, the research explores the influence of teachers and students' technology adoption on the technological innovation. Using a case study research strategy, the project draws on the concepts of the sociology of translation from Actor-Network Theory as both a methodological and analytical tool to inform multiple data collection methods: interviews, observation, review of documents and technological artefact. The research unfolds the socio-material assemblages using existing frameworks: Levels of Teaching Innovation (LoTi), HEAT (higher order thinking, engaged learning, authentic learning and technology use), and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). The research stirred the development of technology enhanced learning and CoreLife Skills development (TEL-CSD) framework for effective integration of technology to enhance students’ CoreLife Skills. Cases of technological innovation underpinned by the TEL-CSD framework suggest that technology integration at LoTi Level 3 or above resulting in the generation of HEAT at the corresponding level, did enhance students’ CoreLife Skills. Based on the findings, two conclusions were drawn: CoreLife Skills cannot be developed independently of general learning and cognitive skills, and technology alone cannot promote CoreLife Skills. The findings suggest that teachers and students’ technology adoption influenced mobilisation of allies and sustainability of the actor-network. This also provides tools for critiquing the proposed universality of the UTAUT as a technology adoption model, since influences such as power dynamics, personal characteristics, technical limitations and glitches are absent in the UTAUT. This research thereby demonstrates the usefulness of actor-network approaches in reconsidering and revising existing models in the field of education.

This study explores ways in which sixteen mature learners develop their professional praxis through participation in a Higher Education work-based learning (HEWBL) programme. It examines the theoretical underpinnings of work based learning (WBL) emphasising the role reflection plays in developing learners’ professional praxis. Outcomes indicate how learners’ engagement can be mapped, suggesting a typology that may support future HEWBL developments. UK-based HEWBL has expanded significantly since the 1980s in response to Government pressure, as a means of meeting demand for higher-level skills necessary to compete globally. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) play a crucial role in providing effective workforce development opportunities through HEWBL, as these widen participation and develop and support employees becoming self-managing professionals and autonomous learners. Reflective learning is central to many HEWBL programmes aiming to develop professional praxis, yet its efficacy as a pedagogical strategy is contested. This thesis provides empirical evidence for praxis development through reflective learning, thus illuminating its effectiveness as a pedagogical strategy. The study adopted a multiple-case study approach. The sixteen learners were primarily public sector employees aged over 25, engaged in professional roles. As such, participants were under-taking HEWBL voluntarily to promote their career prospects. Detailed accounts of learners’ WBL experiences were obtained via analysis of semi-structured interviews, completed novel reflective learning templates and essays. The thesis reports that learners develop professional praxis in four learning domains, namely affective, lifelong, professional and organizational. The study established a method for mapping praxis across each domain, thus making each observable. Scoring “strength” of evidence for each domain generated maps that enable identification of two distinct learner groups: one comprises predominantly lifelong and the second predominantly affective learners. This finding implies HEWBL generates contrasting outcomes for learners, and, in turn, suggests that planning HEWBL may be improved by taking these into consideration.

Over the last two decades, a considerable number of studies have been made on quality management issues in the field of education such as meeting the needs of students and parents. Yet, little attention has been given to that of the vocational higher education institute. In response to this gap, this study aims to review the operation and effectiveness of the quality assurance (QA) system at the IVE(Tsing Yi), and challenge the validity of various quality improvement approaches and concepts. Indeed, this is the first local research into this subject matter and two key stakeholders of the institute, namely the students and employers are involved. At a time when all forms of training are expected to meet the needs of the trainees and the industry, this study finds that there are several mismatches between stakeholder expectations in vocational education offered by the IVE(Tsing Yi). There is no consensus about the desirable balance between generic and vocational-specific skills and knowledge, which implies some of the quality management literature is controversial. For example, the findings bring out a problem with the idea of fitness for purpose, and suggest a more complex reality that quality cannot be defined by either the students or the employers. Rather, quality should be viewed through a multi-dimensional or layered approach, and vocational education needs to be responsive to different stakeholders. In addition, the study reveals problems in the performance indicators approach, in particular that it fails to provide prescriptive suggestions for service improvement. This study shows the student-centred approach is also a problematic view of quality management as most of the students do not grasp the trend of the labour market and the core qualities that the employers are looking for. In respect of reviewing the quality systems of the IYE(Tsing Yi), the results demonstrate that some performance indicators of the existing QA system do not represent the felt needs and expectations of the customers. This implies an urgent need for the management to review the existing QA practice in order to accommodate the ever-changing environment, and to satisfy the requirements of both accountability and self-improvement. In examining the results, a range of recommendations at the practice, policy and research levels are made.

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