Praktinį problemos aktualumą nulemia dabartinė Lietuvos situacija: jos ūkiui perėjus į rinkos ekonomiką, kurioje nuolatinis lavinimasis ir ugdymasis yra vertinamas kaip priemonė, padedanti darbuotojui išlikti konkurencingu bei efektyviu siekiant tikslų ir panaudojant turimus išteklius. Didėjanti jaunimo migracija į užsienio šalis, tame tarpe aukščiausios kvalifikacijos specialistų emigracija rodo, kad didelė dalis darbuotojų Lietuvoje nėra pasirengę įsidarbinti bei dirbti. Tokiu būdu, vis aktualesne tampa įsidarbinamumo kompetencijos ugdymo bei ugdymosi problema. Profesinis rengimas orientuotas į asmens įsidarbinamumą, apimtų ir subjektyvių veiklos lygmenį tam tikro mokymosi/studijų dalyko/programos rėmuose, bei laiduotų tam tikrų socialinės ir profesinės veiklos formų įvaldymą įvairiose darbinėse, socialinėse ir kultūrinėse situacijose. Disertacinio tyrimo mokslinis naujumas - pagrįsta įsidarbinamumo kompetencijos reikšmė analizuojant veiklos sistemos bei profesinio rengimo požiūrius. Susisteminta mokslinė medžiaga pagrindžianti įsidarbinamumo kompetencijos struktūrą. Įsidarbinamumo kompetencija profesiniame rengime suvokiama bei kompetencijos ugdymas modeliuojamas, analizuojant įsidarbinamumo kompetencijos turinį bei raišką. Taip papildoma įsidarbinamumo kompetencijos samprata. Sukurtas įsidarbinamumo kompetencijos ugdymo profesiniame rengime modelis, grindžiamas profesinio rengimo ugdymo proceso veikėjų bei ugdymo turinio veiksnių sąveikos rezultatais. Disertacinio tyrimo... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The practical relevance of the problem is determined by the current situation of the Republic of Lithuania which has become market economy where lifelong training and learning are considered the means of helping employees stay competitive and effective in pursuing their objectives and using available resources. Increasing migration of young people – including top qualification specialists – to other countries shows that most of the employees in Lithuania are not prepared for employment and work. Thus, the problem of training and learning employability competency becomes more and more relevant. The scientific novelty of the study: The importance of the employability competency has been grounded through the analysis of approaches of the activity system and vocational training. Scientific data grounding the structure of the employability competency has been organised. The employability competency in vocational training has been perceived and development of competency modelled through the analysis of content and expression of employability competency. Theoretical impact of the study: supplemented concept of employability competency. Grounding of the place of the employability competency in the context of professional and general competences. Description of employability competency content. Revelation of the interaction between this competency and professional activity. Creation of a model of employability competency development in vocational training.

Praktinį problemos aktualumą nulemia dabartinė Lietuvos situacija: jos ūkiui perėjus į rinkos ekonomiką, kurioje nuolatinis lavinimasis ir ugdymasis yra vertinamas kaip priemonė, padedanti darbuotojui išlikti konkurencingu bei efektyviu siekiant tikslų ir panaudojant turimus išteklius. Didėjanti jaunimo migracija į užsienio šalis, tame tarpe aukščiausios kvalifikacijos specialistų emigracija rodo, kad didelė dalis darbuotojų Lietuvoje nėra pasirengę įsidarbinti bei dirbti. Tokiu būdu, vis aktualesne tampa įsidarbinamumo kompetencijos ugdymo bei ugdymosi problema. Profesinis rengimas orientuotas į asmens įsidarbinamumą, apimtų ir subjektyvių veiklos lygmenį tam tikro mokymosi/studijų dalyko/programos rėmuose, bei laiduotų tam tikrų socialinės ir profesinės veiklos formų įvaldymą įvairiose darbinėse, socialinėse ir kultūrinėse situacijose. Disertacinio tyrimo mokslinis naujumas - pagrįsta įsidarbinamumo kompetencijos reikšmė analizuojant veiklos sistemos bei profesinio rengimo požiūrius. Susisteminta mokslinė medžiaga pagrindžianti įsidarbinamumo kompetencijos struktūrą. Įsidarbinamumo kompetencija profesiniame rengime suvokiama bei kompetencijos ugdymas modeliuojamas, analizuojant įsidarbinamumo kompetencijos turinį bei raišką. Taip papildoma įsidarbinamumo kompetencijos samprata. Sukurtas įsidarbinamumo kompetencijos ugdymo profesiniame rengime modelis, grindžiamas profesinio rengimo ugdymo proceso veikėjų bei ugdymo turinio veiksnių sąveikos rezultatais. Disertacinio tyrimo... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The practical relevance of the problem is determined by the current situation of the Republic of Lithuania which has become market economy where lifelong training and learning are considered the means of helping employees stay competitive and effective in pursuing their objectives and using available resources. Increasing migration of young people – including top qualification specialists – to other countries shows that most of the employees in Lithuania are not prepared for employment and work. Thus, the problem of training and learning employability competency becomes more and more relevant. The scientific novelty of the study: The importance of the employability competency has been grounded through the analysis of approaches of the activity system and vocational training. Scientific data grounding the structure of the employability competency has been organised. The employability competency in vocational training has been perceived and development of competency modelled through the analysis of content and expression of employability competency. Theoretical impact of the study: supplemented concept of employability competency. Grounding of the place of the employability competency in the context of professional and general competences. Description of employability competency content. Revelation of the interaction between this competency and professional activity. Creation of a model of employability competency development in vocational training.

‘Quality’ and ‘quality assurance’ in education have become global issues in the last decade. Educational institutions around the world are focusing on designing and implementing quality assurance systems to ensure students a high quality of education. In many countries, including Brunei Darussalam, the development of a national system of quality assurance in education has sometimes brought confusion and controversy. The main reason for this stems from the conflicting perspectives of different interest groups: mainly governments, administrators and academic staff, but students, employers and the general public also have significant voices. All, of course, are committed to quality but each regards quality in a slightly different way. This study set out to explore the perceptions of two groups of stakeholders, administrators and teachers, about the quality assurance system and in particular, the quality assurance of the assessment process in vocational and technical education (VTE) in Brunei Darussalam. The study examined the stakeholders’ understanding of the term quality and the significance of quality assurance measures. It assessed the extent to which these measures have been utilised by the Department of Technical Education (DTE) and its Vocational and Technical Education Institutions (VTEIs) and it also examined the challenges facing DTE and its VTEIs in ensuring quality VTE. A mixed-method research approach was used in this investigation, including document analysis, semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. The results provide insights into stakeholders’ perceptions of quality and a range of purposes for quality assurance system implementation. The effectiveness of the current system based on an external moderation system generated mixed views. The study identified the lack of a structured comprehensive quality assurance system for the assessment process in the DTE and VTEIs and highlighted ways in which quality assurance of the assessment process measures are currently formulated. Both groups of stakeholders agreed that there are challenges confronting the DTE and its VTEIs. Several recommendations were made to improve the current quality assurance measures. The study was timely in light of the increased interest in shaping quality assurance mechanisms in VTE in Brunei Darussalam. Overall this study carries implications for a better understanding of quality in VTE and issues related to the implementation of a quality assurance system.

Thesis (M.Ed. (Educational Management))--Mahidol University, 2008. / LICL has E-Thesis 0036 ; please contact computer services.

Vocational education and training (VET) is one of the key interventions targeting youth unemployment in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Its success in promoting better livelihoods and a more robust economy depends on both the availability and affordability of quality curricula and programs and the pathways leading to the labor market thereafter. Previous research on occupational sex segregation (OSS) has suggested that men and women exhibit different education attainment and confront discrete work opportunities due to social expectations governing women's roles within the home and outside of it. Around the world women continue to be economically disadvantaged and limited in their agency to choose decent work, specifically in male-dominated domains, such as construction and certain manufacturing jobs. This study sought to understand to what extent this was true for women who were trained and working in construction and manufacturing in Namibia. My findings confirm that norms governing ideas of what is masculine and feminine contribute to the channeling of women into professions perceived broadly to be socially appropriate for them in that developing nation. Discriminatory hiring practices and workplace treatment shed further light on why Namibian women may be underrepresented in these domains. The experiences of this study's participants did not necessarily align with past research findings regarding the burden of child bearing and rearing, as family members afforded many of those I interviewed the flexibility to work by helping care for their children. A number of the interviewees also expressed a preference for working with men, challenging the oft-cited development narrative that women ally themselves with other women and tend to view themselves in opposition to men. By providing context-specific information on some of the factors contributing to occupational segregation in Namibia, this study adds to the existing development and feminist literature related to the interplay between the productive and reproductive spheres of women's lives as well as their options and choices concerning each. / Master of Public and International Affairs

In the literature, much has been reported about skill shortages in the labor market and many solutions have been suggested but most of them do not appear to work well for developing countries. This study investigated the place of portable technical skills as an option for addressing skill shortages, particularly in developing countries. The objective of the study was to determine whether different occupations have portable technical skills, which graduates of workforce development programs can carry with them as they transfer from one occupation to another. Although in the literature the importance of portable skills has been recognized, research has tended to focus on the portability of soft skills such as communication and problem-solving. This study is unique in that in addition to soft skills, it explores the existence and usefulness of portable technical skills such as maintenance of equipment and use of hand tools. The study methodology comprised analysis of documents followed by focus group discussions with instructors and employers. The researcher examined competency lists drawn from three different occupational clusters, taking three occupations in each cluster. Analysis of correlation between pairs of occupations in each cluster revealed the existence of portable technical skills within occupational clusters. For example, within the Mechanical Engineering cluster, there were 504 technical skills that Fitting and Machining had in common. Furthermore, the study discovered 152 technical skills that were portable across all the occupations in the sample. According to an instructors' focus group, one of the pedagogical implications of the findings of this study was that training institutions could promote inter-disciplinary collaboration through joint preparation of syllabi and team-teaching. An employers' focus group confirmed that portable technical skills have long been used effectively and efficiently in the Informal Micro-Enterprise sector and training providers should, therefore, promote the teaching of portable technical skills with special emphases on entrepreneurship development to make students more flexible in their career development. In addition to policy recommendations for the promotion of portable technical skills, the study recommends that further studies should be done to determine the full extent of portable technical skills across a wider range of occupations. / Ph. D.

Socialinės partnerystės principas pabrėžia sąveiką tarp socialinių partnerių, valstybės, darbdavių ir darbuotojų, kuris pasireiškia apibrėžiant valstybės (švietimo institucijų ir įstaigų), darbdavių atstovaujamų susivienijim�� prekybos, pramonės ir amatų rūmų, (Žemės ūkio rūmų) ir darbuotojų (profsąjungų ir kitų sąjungų) pareigas ir atsakomybę planuojant, organizuojant, vykdant ir įverinant priemones ir profesinio rengimo programas. Kadangi Lietuvos profesinio rengimo modelyje valstybė atidavė atsakomybę už profesinio rengimo kokybę profesinio rengimo institucijoms, kurios palaiko artimus ryšius su darbdaviais, štai todėl socialinių partnerių sąvoka yra ribota, turint galvoje, darbdavius. Yra daugybė problemų, susijusių su praktiniu rengimu Lietuvoje, kadangi švietimo institucijų finansavimas yra nepakankamas, praktinio rengimo bazė profesinėje mokykloje atsilieka nuo tų įrengimų ir technologijos, kurias studentai randa, kai ateina į įmones baigę mokyklas. Neturtingą praktinio mokymo bazė galima pakeisti glaudžiu bendravimu su darbdaviais, kokybišku praktiniu rengimu įmonėse. Profesinio rengimo kokybės vertinimas yra vykdomas darbo metu. Nėra vieningos profesinio rengimo kokybės vertinimo sistemos, štai kodėl darbe kalbant apie galiojančius aktus ir dokumentus praktinio rengimo kokybės vertinimo rodikliai ir kriterijai yra atskiri. Kalbant apie šiuos parametrus, empyrinis tyrimas buvo atliktas tam, kad įvertinti darbdavių įtakos praktinio profesinio rengimo kokybei... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The principle of social partnership emphasizes interaction between social partners, the state employers and employees which “manifests itself in defining the state’s (educational institution’s and offices’), employer’s represented by unions (chambers) of Commerce, Industry and Crafts, Chambers of Agriculture) and employee’s (trade unions and other unions) limits of duties and responsibilities planning, organizing, executing and evaluating means and programs of vocational training. Since in the model of vocational training that exists in Lithuania the state delegated responsibility for the quality of vocational training to institutions of vocational training which maintain closest relations which employers, that’s why the nation of social partners is restricted, having in mind, employers. A lot of problems exists in Lithuania concerning practical training since funding of educational institutions is not sufficient, bases of practical training at vocational schools fail to keep pace with equipment and technologies that students find when they come to enterprises after finishing schools. Poor bases of practical education can be substituted by close interaction with employers, qualitative practical training at enterprises. The evaluation of quality of vocational training is executed during work. There’s no unified system of quality evaluation of vocational training, that’s why at work, referring to analysis of valid deeds and documents, indicators and criteria of evaluation of... [to full text]

This study takes its starting point in the problematic relationship between skills and welfare policies. It poses Sweden’s vocational education and training (VET) as a case which has seen the kind of tripartite efforts that might help us better understand the dynamics underlying a highly developed mixture of social citizenship and efficiency. To better approach this case the study also seeks to combine the theoretical insights provided by the Varieties of Capitalism (VoC) and Power Resources Theory (PRT) schools of thought, capitalizing on an ability to see “both sides of the coin” that such a combination may entail. But to avoid the presumptions that have formed around notions of stable “models” or “worlds”, the study also takes an inductive stance, forming a dialectic strategy that leans heavily on the work of historical institutionalism. Thus a general research question is posed: how can we explain the developments of Sweden's VET as an arena for welfare policies - during the period 1946-1991 - by combining an inductive approach with the insights gained from the theoretical frameworks represented by PRT and VoC? The study proceeds by tracing developments in Sweden’s VET during two sub-periods, taking into account both ideological and business-interest concerns. The aim is first to establish an account of “how” the institutions changed over time. The subsequent analysis brings back the theoretical framework to provide explanations. The study arrives at a number of conclusions: it first of all finds that Sweden’s school-based VET of 1971 itself rested on a firm “cross-class settlement”, which persisted through the reforms of 1991. But when seen as an arena for welfare policies, the foundation appears much weaker: while the reforms of 1971 were influenced by an ambitious welfare policy agenda, the ensuing changes arguably rolled back some of the comprehensiveness and universality previously associated with the labor movement’s education policy. Two underlying hypotheses are presented that focus on the strategic role played by “general skills”: the first hypothesis is that organized capital’s reliance on large firms played an important role in weakening its position vis-a-vis labor, thanks to its dependence on the kind of widely diffused general skills that the labor movement had strategic access to. The second hypothesis is that the same reliance on general skills created difficulties for the Social Democratic Party to create a new cross-class settlement, as circumstances changed. The conclusion suggests further studying the area of general skills as a power resource itself in a comparative perspective.

The goal of the research is to help government agencies and non-profit-organizations (NPOs) better prepare for events that require a point-of-dispensing (POD) unit. The research team developed a training exercise that simulated a real world anthrax outbreak, by using groups of untrained nursing and pharmacy students. These students were then separated and trained in two different groups: asynchronously and synchronously. By outlining how to successfully reuse a point-of-dispensing (POD) unit during emergencies, the researcher compared Qualtrics surveys that were distributed at the beginning and end of the exercise. These surveys were meant to show students’ understanding of POD exercises and then evaluate their understanding of pivotal concepts (retention, cost, new algorithms, and teaching methods). It was found that the retention of new material dropped drastically after two months regardless of the type training. The first month retention dropped to 77% and the second to 46%. On top of the retention needed, eight trained volunteers would need to be stationed for every 100 people attending the POD. No city would be able to supply the amount of trained professionals required to satisfy these requirements, so untrained civilians would need to be used. The cost associated with consistently training this amount of untrained citizens would surpass any budget. The only feasible chance to train the amount of volunteers needed, would be to have the material readily available ahead of time. Asynchronous training is the only viable means to producing a training program with the scale and retention levels that a real world event would require.

Brokering Changes refers to the ways in which teachers broker their compliance with a new literacy knowledge base for adults. This thesis reports a study of twenty-three members of a cohort of adult literacy teachers working in regional, rural and remote communities throughout Central Queensland from 1996 to 2001. It details the performance and recognition work that these teachers did as they negotiated their way through a large curriculum reform as literacy was redefined from something that was negotiated as useful for the learner to something that is named and mandated by the state. The theoretical framework engages with interrelated notions of power, discourse and identity with supporting conceptualisations of ideology, work and pedagogy in the production and exercise of disciplinary power as understood through the thinking of Michel Foucault (1984). The methodological approach deploys James Gee’s (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996a, 1996b, 1997, 1999) particular socio-cultural theory of D/discourse. Spoken, written and observed data are analysed using Gee’s (1993, 1999) interrelated linguistic system’s analysis method. The major finding is that these teachers actively broker the effects of these changes through their professional practices. This study is an important contribution to the literature concerning the professional lives of teachers of adults in an era of fast capital and performance-based government. Significantly, the research provides important insights into the problems faced by teachers who are confronted with the implementation of major curriculum reforms while living far removed from the networks and activities of the system in which they worked.