Vocational Education in the Nordic Countries: Learning from Diversity is the second of two books that disseminates new and systematic knowledge on the strengths and weaknesses of the different models of vocational education and training (VET) in four Nordic countries. Vocational education in Europe has resisted standardisation to a higher degree than other fields of education, and during the last decade, there has been a growth in international, comparative VET research. While the Nordic countries provide an ideal case for comparative education studies, the literature in English on the Nordic VET systems is at present very limited. This book provides thorough examinations of VET in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. Each section examines the current challenges for VET, compares how these challenges are managed, and explores recent reforms and institutional innovations. Contributors also analyse institutions and policies at the national level and include comparative studies of two occupations at the micro-level in the four countries. The book explores what can be learned from the diversity of the VET systems in the Nordic countries, which otherwise have many similarities and share a common heritage in education policy. This volume will help strengthen the knowledge base required for transnational policy learning, and for developing vocational education internationally for the future. As a result, the book will be of interest to researchers, academics and postgraduate students involved in the study of vocational education, educational studies and educational policy, as well as policy makers.

Vocational Education in the Nordic Countries: The Historical Evolution is the first of two books that disseminate new and systematic knowledge on the strengths and weaknesses of the different models of vocational education and training (VET) in four Nordic countries. Vocational education in Europe has resisted standardisation to a higher degree than other fields of education, and during the last decade, there has been a growth in international, comparative VET research. While the Nordic countries provide an ideal case for comparative education studies, the literature in English on the Nordic VET systems is at present very limited. This first book provides thorough examinations of VET in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland over 150 years. Each section examines the historical evolution of VET at upper secondary level in one of the four Nordic countries. Contributors also analyse how each country have tried to reform their respective VET systems, and compare the paths which each nation has taken. The book explores what can be learned from the diversity of the VET-systems in the Nordic countries, which otherwise have many similarities and share a common heritage in education policy. This volume will help strengthen the knowledge base required for transnational policy learning, and for developing vocational education internationally for the future. It will be of interest to researchers, academics and postgraduate students involved in the study of vocational education, educational studies and educational policy, education planners and teachers educators.

Available online: https://pub.norden.org/temanord2022-521/ Both the labour markets and the education systems in the Nordic countries are highly gender segregated. This gender segregation has consequences for study and working conditions, pay, and the distribution of power and resources. Combating gender bias is one of the strategic areas of intervention in official Nordic cooperation in the area of gender equality. The Nordic Council of Ministers co-operation body NIKK was commissioned to conduct a study focusing on gender segregation in VET in the Nordic countries. The study provides an introduction to what we know about VET and gender as an area of knowledge, describes how VET in the Nordic countries is organised, and gives examples of how these countries have worked to break patterns of gender segregation and to retain pupils who belong to the under-represented sex. The study also includes a concluding analysis section.

One of a series of studies on vocational education and training, this review focuses on the vocational education and training (VET) in Sweden and concludes with policy recommendations. Over recent years, Sweden has launched a series of reforms to enhance involvement of social partners in VET, to increase provision of work-based learning in VET programmes and to promote apprenticeship. Higher vocational education and training launched in 2002 has been expanding. At the same time, numerous sectors are grappling with labour shortages increasing pressure on VET to better match the provision to changing demand for skills; and fewer young people opt for VET programmes than in the past. This report suggests several ways in which the Swedish VET system may respond to these challenges. Sweden may encourage co-operation between schools, for example by linking it to school evaluation and funding criteria. The report also argues that Sweden may further enhance social partners' involvement in VET by creating a framework for systematic social partners' involvement at the local level and by providing social partners with more responsibility over some aspects of VET.

Vocational Education in the Nordic Countries: The Historical Evolution is the first of two books that disseminate new and systematic knowledge on the strengths and weaknesses of the different models of vocational education and training (VET) in four Nordic countries. Vocational education in Europe has resisted standardisation to a higher degree than other fields of education, and during the last decade, there has been a growth in international, comparative VET research. While the Nordic countries provide an ideal case for comparative education studies, the literature in English on the Nordic VET systems is at present very limited. This first book provides thorough examinations of VET in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland over 150 years. Each section examines the historical evolution of VET at upper secondary level in one of the four Nordic countries. Contributors also analyse how each country have tried to reform their respective VET systems, and compare the paths which each nation has taken. The book explores what can be learned from the diversity of the VET-systems in the Nordic countries, which otherwise have many similarities and share a common heritage in education policy. This volume will help strengthen the knowledge base required for transnational policy learning, and for developing vocational education internationally for the future. It will be of interest to researchers, academics and postgraduate students involved in the study of vocational education, educational studies and educational policy, education planners and teachers educators.

« Understanding todays' Vocational Education and Training (VET) systems requires a comprehension of the rise and development, i.e. of the foundations of topical VET. This book is one of the first publications providing a comparative view of this development in Europe. Apart from older roots, the evolution of VET systems are one trigger of the modernization of economy, society and education itself. The 28 contributions, including countries like Austria, Britain, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland of renowned authors and experts in this field are organized in three sections: Concepts which are discussing theoretical approaches towards this phenomenon. Cases which stress specific developments of VET in a certain country or region and Challenges which are contextualizing the historical perspective in a topical policy context. »--

Over the last decade, Finland’s educational system has become internationally recognised. Different countries have shown an interest in learning about the Finnish education system to gain a better understanding of how education is developed, planned and executed in that country. The Introduction to the Finnish Educational System aims to describe how the education system in Finland was built and what kind of aspects influence learning and teaching today. The authors of the chapters are academics and experts in the fields of teacher education or vocational education. The book presents a review of the historical and current aspects of the educational system of Finland. As such, it describes the learning path from compulsory education to vocational education and primary school teacher education, which is one of the main focuses of the Faculty of Education at the University of Lapland. Each chapter is based on its authors’ research results, which are adapted for inclusion in this book. It answers an international call to provide an in-depth description of the National Finnish Education System from its beginning to today and to discuss the practical implications of these measures. Contributors are: Heikki Ervast, Marjaana Kangas, Pigga Keskitalo, Otso Kortekangas, Minna Körkkö, Outi Kyrö-Ämmälä, Pertti Lakkala, Suvi Lakkala, Merja Paksuniemi, Rauna Rahko-Ravantti, Päivi Rasi, and Heli Ruokamo.

"Career brings together individuals' paths through life, learning and work. It describes how people interface with social institutions including the education system, employers, civil society and the state. Because our careers are socially and culturally embedded it matters where they are enacted. Career and Career Guidance in the Nordic Countries explores what kind of context the Nordic region offers for the pursuit of career, how the development of careers are supported in welfare societies, and how career guidance is enacted in this context. The Nordic region encompasses an area in Northern Europe and the Northern Atlantic comprising Denmark, Sweden, Norway as well as Finland to the east and Iceland in the Atlantic. It includes also the self-governing areas of Åland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. This region has long been seen as a source of progressive policy innovation in education and employment and this book focuses and explores the place, the enactment and the theories of career guidance in these Nordic countries"--

A collection of the theories, practices, and policies of vocational education and training written by international experts The Wiley Handbook of Vocational Education and Training offers an in-depth guide to the theories, practices, and policies of vocational education and training (VET). With contributions from a panel of leading international scholars, the Handbook contains 27 authoritative essays from a wide range of disciplines. The contributors present an integrated analysis of the complex and dynamic field of VET. Drawing on the most recent research, thinking, and practice in the field, the book explores the key debates about the role of VET in the education and training systems of various nations. The Handbook reveals how expertise is developed in an age of considerable transformation in work processes, work organization, and occupational identities. The authors also examine many of the challenges of vocational education and training such as the impact of digital technologies on employment, the demand for (re)training in the context of extended working lives, the emergence of learning regions and skill ecosystems, and the professional development of vocational teachers and trainers. This important text: Offers an original view of VET’s role in both the initial and continuing development of expertise Examines the theories and concepts that underpin international perspectives and explores the differences about the purposes of VET Presents various models of learning used in VET, including apprenticeship, and their relationship with general education Explores how VET is shaped in different ways by the political economy of different countries Reviews how developments in digital technologies are changing VET practice Discusses the challenges for universities offering higher vocational education programs Draws on both recent research as well as historical accounts Written for students, researchers, and scholars in the fields of educational studies, human resource development, social policy, political economy, labor market economics, industrial relations, sociology, The Wiley Handbook of Vocational Education and Training offers an international perspective on the topic of VET.

Available online: https://pub.norden.org/temanord2023-516/ Nordic qualifications of vocational education and training are in many ways quite similar but at the same time there are certain differences. This report gives a description and comparison of the Nordic qualifications of vocational education and training at secondary and post-secondary school level (EQF level 3-5). The report also describes and compares the Nordic recognition schemes regarding qualifications of vocational education and training and gives recommendations on future Nordic collaboration.