This qualitative study examined how a selected sample of 15 to 16 year-old Norwegian pupils experience Bildung (all-around development) and education in their schooling, and how those experiences are in coherence with the intended curriculum policy goals as stated in the latest Norwegian curriculum reform. Wolfgang Klafki's operationalisation of…

Recent vocational education and training (VET) reforms in many countries have focused on reducing the number of VET qualifications available and restructuring qualifications so that they better meet the needs of working life. This literature review provides examples of how VET qualifications have been rationalised in various countries and briefly…

Teacher quality, or 'the good teacher' is not clearly defined in Norway, nor are there specific standards for measuring teacher quality. Everybody has an opinion about the good teacher, and teacher quality is frequently debated. Moreover, in Norway there is no systematic evaluation of teachers. Nevertheless, numerous reforms and popular discourses…

Embedding academic literacy into the curriculum and regular subject teaching has received little attention in Norwegian higher education (HE). The present article, drawing on the findings of two studies carried out in 2013/14, seeks to amend this. The first study, an action research study, exposes how lecturers in one of the faculties at Oslo and…

The development of comprehensive national qualifications frameworks (NQFs) across Europe has been sparked by the introduction of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) in 2008. Taking an institutional perspective, this article examines the development of NQFs in three countries, in light of developments that have taken place at the European…

Work in 2015-17 signals continuity with earlier national strategies and initiatives. It confirms the recent focus on apprenticeships and other forms of work-based learning, and increasing attention to widening access to VET and qualifications, two areas that have been reinforced by EU-level policy packages. The report also presents measures taken…

This research paper is one in a series produced as part of the Cedefop project The changing nature and role of VET (2016-18). The aim of the paper is to provide an overview of how CVET is conceptualised in various international level policy documents and how it is referred to across countries. It discusses national conceptions of CVET, the…

This report aims to provide insight into the realities faced by higher education academic staff at a time of fast-moving change and increasing societal demand. Fluctuating student numbers, new funding and steering mechanisms are among the features of today's European higher education landscape, but not enough is known about how academic staff are…

One of the aims of the implementation of a two-tier degree system was that the new Bachelor's degree should serve two functions: as a basis for further studies (Master's level), and at the same time to qualify for the labour market. This twofold function may be present to a different degree in various countries, but was an explicit policy…