In Germany, three groups can be identified who work in all-day schools and take on pedagogical tasks in extended education: Teachers, pedagogical staff, and staff without a pedagogical qualification (lay pedagogues). While the professionalisation debate on teachers and pedagogical staff already exists, there is a lack of knowledge on lay staff. In…

Literature on returns to education and labour market outcomes has been increasingly focusing on skill missmatch with regard to migrants' integration and adaptation processes. Researchers have studied the efficacy of official validation of prior skills as well as participation in training and vocational programmes as valid resources to expand…

Research has shown that students' science capital has a large impact on their science aspirations and their development of science identities. In this study, we apply the notion of science capital to chemistry education in order to investigate how students make use of science capital in the field of chemistry. We define chemistry capital as a…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse employees' perception of a change at their workplaces and the requirements for learning, and factors supporting or inhibiting learning in the context of this change. Design/methodology/approach: Data collection included personal face-to-face semi-structured interviews with ten client advisors in the…

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to analyse the conceptual approaches to competence and practice in competence management in France. Design/methodology/approach: Extensive literature review, discussion with academic experts in the French competence network of AGRH and interviews concerning developments following the 2003 national agreement…

Purpose: Though the notion of competence is common terminology in European VET policy at national and supra-national level, understandings vary widely, both across countries and within. The particular conceptions of competence adopted in the EQF are themselves problematic and the framework allows for a variety of interpretations. The purpose of…

Policy debates on employability, lifelong learning and competence-based approaches suggest a convergence of VET approaches across European countries. Against the background of the creation of a European Qualifications Framework, this paper compares the VET systems of England, Germany and The Netherlands. The analysis reveals the distinct…

In the debate on the draft European Qualifications Framework and the possible development of a German Qualifications Framework (GQF) great interest is being shown in Germany in a qualifications framework that promises transparency and permeability and is based on competences. There has also been opposition on the basis of the fundamental…

With the proposed introduction of a common framework for comparing qualifications within the European Union as a result of the Lisbon Agreement of 2000, the question of commonly agreed transnational concepts of skills and qualifications has become a pressing political and practical issue. The paper argues that there are grounds for doubting that…

Reports on a survey of teacher education in the United States, Canada, Denmark, England, Japan, and Germany. Reveals major differences between the United States and the other five countries regarding teacher salaries, requirements for elementary teachers, secondary school preparation, and entry into higher education. Offers recommendations for…