ABSTRACT

This paper addresses two issues concerning Vocational Education and Training -Teacher Training (VET-TT). The first part relates to VET-TT in a European dimension. In the Copenhagen declaration it is stated that there is a desire to harmonize and later recognize VET within the union. We argue that if this should be accomplished there is at the same time a need to harmonize the applied systems of VET-TT in the different member states. A crucial criteria to consider when VET-TT- is harmonized are the entrance requirements to vocational teacher education. As a case study of entrance requirement the second part of this paper discusses dilemmas arising when recruiting students to vocational teacher education in Sweden. In this procedure, including governmental rules and regulations, exists a hidden contradiction between demands of competence comprising formal merits and experience from working life.

All societies have vocational systems where specific competences and skills for their work force are transferred to its youth. Those systems can take many different forms. It can be more or less regulated and it can be conducted in many different ways. We can find examples of VET carried out only on the job in the form of apprenticeship. There are other examples where the entire part is carried out in schools with school workshops. Furthermore there are huge variations of the content of the curriculum as well as the influences of the adjacent branches. In respect to this there is an ongoing process to harmonize the different models of VET in EU. Close to such issues related to VET is offcourse the teacher training in this field. What common criterias are to be considered for a transparent system for VET-TT within the European union? This question comprises many dimensions because the criteria's relate to cultural differences depending on tradition and history which in turn has affected the organizations and frames for VET-TT.

In Sweden VET-TT have large problem to recruit students to the one and a half year education. The Upper Secondary School where the major part of vocational education is carried out need about one thousand examined teachers per year. Today, only three hundred are examined per year in the entire country. As a result Sweden have a growing number of vocational teachers working at the schools with no formal teacher education. Studies indicate that development work and status at the schools decreases with the number of non-qualified teachers. In order to facilitate recruitment a large project has been carried out where validation was used to compare competences acquired at work with the governmental demand of formal academic credits. The result shows that the applied validation procedure increased the number of students but was time consuming, demanded skilled staff and thereby expensive. Another finding was that socio-economical problems were of crucial importance and must be solved before consideration to enter the teacher education.

Finally we conclude that if there is an ambition to harmonize and later recognize VET-TT in EU - the entrance requirement to VET-TT also must be harmonized.

Harmonization of VET-TT in EU?

Preview Info - Harmonization of VET TT in EU.pdf - 55.33 Kb