October 18, 2013

OECD’s Skills Beyond School Project: Reflections on the Position in England

October 18, 2013

This seminar focused on the success of the Skills Beyond School project in England. Abstract: Across the world’s most developed economies, countries are looking beyond secondary school to more advanced qualifications to provide the skills needed in many of the fastest-growing technical and professional jobs. The OECD project, Skills Beyond School, reviews policy and practice […]

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April 24, 2013

Comparative Research into the Experiences of Vocational Learners Across Seven European Countries

April 24, 2013

This seminar presented the findings of the 7EU project to inform the policy discussion on vocational education in the UK. Abstract: The 7EU project is a pioneering attempt to investigate and compare the learning experiences of vocational learners across Europe. The research is intended to provide a European and comparative perspective to discussions about practice […]

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October 16, 2012

The Impact of a Skills-Led Qualification on GCSE Attainment: the Case of ASDAN’s Certificate of Personal Effectiveness

October 16, 2012

This seminar focused on research findings of the ASDAN Certificate of Personal Effectiveness on academic attainment. Abstract: ASDAN’s Certificate of Personal Effectiveness (CoPE) is a skills-focused qualification, usually undertaken at Key Stage 4 alongside GCSEs and/or vocational qualifications; it often includes a component of work experience or career planning. This seminar reported the findings of a […]

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September 7, 2011

Work-Related Courses in a Canadian Province – How Teachers and Students create a Culture of Vocationalism

September 7, 2011

This seminar focused on the lessons to be learnt from vocational education programmes in Canada. Abstract: What makes a course vocational? This seminar discussed the vocational aspects of the curriculum of five work-related programmes in a school board in Canada. Central to the seminar was a consideration of the concept of vocationalism and the work-related […]

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July 22, 2011

How and Why Employers are Engaged to Support Student Learning and Progression in High-Performing Independent Schools

July 22, 2011

This seminar focused on the role of employer engagement in independent schools. Abstract: The seminar addressed three questions: 1) to what extent do high-performing independent schools engage with employers to support pupil learning?, 2) why do they do it? and 3) how do they go about it? It drew upon data generated from a range of sources: […]

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May 24, 2011

The Wolf Report – Perspectives from Europe

May 24, 2011

This seminar examined the policy proposals of the Wolf Report. Abstract: The Wolf Report puts forward both strong criticism of and radical proposals for VET in England. Alison Wolf’s analysis of staying-on becoming the norm and the proposal that there should be a heavier emphasis on WRL and WBL at 16-18 rather than 14-16 prompts us […]

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November 21, 2010

Evaluation of the Young Apprenticeships Programme: Outcomes for Cohort Three

November 21, 2010

A report by Golden, S., O’Donnell, L. and Benton, T, commissioned by the Young People’s Learning Agency This report assesses the outcomes of the Young Apprenticeships (YA) programme for pupils in the third cohort who participated in the programme between September 2006 and July 2008. The programme aimed to provide Key Stage 4 pupils with […]

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October 22, 2010

Diplomas: The Second Year – An Evaluation of the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Diplomas for 14 to 19 year olds

October 22, 2010

A report by the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) This report is based on a series of Ofsted evaluation visits to 21 Diploma consortia between September 2009 and March 2010, amounting to 42 schools, 21 colleges of further education and sixth form colleges, three work-based learning providers and four local […]

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October 21, 2010

What Is To Be Gained Through Partnership?

October 21, 2010

This Taskforce report published on 15 October 2010 pulls together robust UK and international evidence on employer engagement. What is to be gained through partnership? provides high quality evidence about the benefits of education and employer engagement to young people, schools and employers, including recent research: from the US demonstrating 11% higher wages eight years after […]

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June 22, 2010

Teachers’ Thoughts on Entrepreneurship Education

June 22, 2010

A report by Bettina Backström-Widjeskog, taken from Creativity and Innovation – Preconditions for entrepreneurial education Chapter 8 (pp. 107-120) Eds. Kjell Skogen and Jarle Sjøvoll This research explores (and seeks to change) teachers’ attitudes to and interpretations of the ‘entrepreneurship education’ cross-curricula offering in Finland. Interviews were carried out with thirty teachers in Swedish-language schools, […]

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