Equity issues in inital vocational education & training

The survey I am referring to was done in the framework of the FARE project. In German VET schools the situation is different from what you say Andreas: the usual clientele was supplemented by graduates from the secondary II school. These students have "Abitur", they won't or cannot attend university so they decide on the following strategy: graduate from VET school, having the option for a job and not loosing the possibility to study, so pushing their carees.

This is causing a lot of problems for German VET schools creating very heterogenous classes and leading to a new phenomena: crowding -out of the other Vet students. Vet schools or education authorities haven't yet found a strategy to deal with it. This is an additional disadvantage for some of the VET students coming out of learning environments not facilitating learning.

Well, Andreas, certainly for the students coming with Abitur to the VET school this is an advantage. The other students, often students who do have learning difficulties or are coming out of underprivileged families this is a double inequality. Often those students didn't get the support they need beforehead and suddenly their problems in lessons are growing because the level of taught content is adjusted to the learning abilities of the students with Abitur. So the underpriviledged students get lower marks and have more difficulties in finding a jiob with theses marks as their more privileged classmates. (Who, by the way are bored in lessons because they are unchallenged)

The indicators for performance, the methods of ajdusting content to the appropriate learning level are not yet developed, or re-discovered -. This problem is well known from small schools, the so called: "One-Class school" and thus confronting us with a well known method: Internal differentiation, wiht all the strenghts and weaknesses that this methodes includes.

What do you think - is this helping in regard to equal treatment, equal opportunities?

Dear Andreas,

thank you for the interesting answer.

Well, there are not that very much differences to the situation here in Germany. Such a "three tier system" as you tell about the situation at the VET schools in Greece can be seen in Germany as well. The reasons for that kind of ecducational behaviour may differ, but the situation for the teachers is very much the same: how shall they involve everybody in the lessons, how can they motivate students who just don't see any reasons to strain themselves with matters which they don't see to be related to their own life.

At this point I have a feeling of déjà vue: this situation seems to be a continous factor of education, doesn't it? I just feel myself being dragged back to my own school days and can really hear my teachers in my class mourning and scolding....

What do you think .- has nothing really changed? Will something change?

You are right, how can technical highly developed countries like ours afford such kind of waste of possible potential? But on the other hand the question can be posed vice versa - how did they manager to get there - taken in account the waste that is happening all the way? Will demographic changes trigger a change? Or will there just be a shift?Oor do we have to change to another field and level of action and research?

Looking forward to hearing from you

In Spain vocational education still lacks prestige, many time because the academic part of the curriculum is neglected. One possible way to deal with the academic disadvantages that many students have when they enter VET programmes is for the school to reinforce by offering remedial courses in subjects that students may be deficient in, thus limiting their options of further studies and job possibilities, such as reading and writing and maths and computer literacy. These courses can be presented to students in such a way that they can see the value, even the necessity, of them for their future work success. It can be made clear that some vocational studies are particularly dependent on certain competencies which the student may lack. These courses can be taught in tandem with the VET courses and all students can be counselled to help them make a study plan that is realistic in the context of their life and interests. These courses should be focused on the basics to ensure that the students can handle the subject matter they are studying, but also more advanced courses should be available in order that they not be limited in achieving any goals they may have. If students come into VET programmes with low estimations of their own worth and capabilities academically, these remedial courses, presented in a positive and encouraging way, can serve to give them more confidence as they discover that they are, indeed, capable of achieving more than they have in the past and more than they may have thought they were capable of. Of course, this all means that the teachers must be very aware and sensitive to such students' possible insecurities and doubts concerning their abilities, and the course material must be presented in a non-threatening way with maximum support to ensure that the students do not give up too quickly. They should be helped to see themselves as students in a way that they may never have before, and this can change everything--their performance in the VET courses, their expectations, their teachers' attitudes toward them, and their goals. No one should think of VET students as somehow inferior to other types of students. VET schools and programmes should have very good reputations in their communities, respected by everyone, including those in the workplace who may be hiring them.