Purpose: This paper examines architecture as an example of the evolving context of qualifying routes in UK professions. Design/methodology/approach: The background and current state of architectural education, qualifying routes and regulatory frameworks in the UK is presented as a case-study, and compared with practices in professional education…

In this article we describe a long-term departmental change effort in one mathematics department. The change began with one instructor adopting the Extreme Apprenticeship instructional model. This modest shift served as the catalyst for a series of subsequent, systemic improvements. We believe that this innovation and the resultant change…

This paper argues that country size can play a crucial role in shaping the type of gradual change observed in collective skill formation systems. Collectively governed dual-apprenticeship training has its base in the industrial and crafts sectors of the economy and builds on the decentralised cooperation of multiple public and private…

Recent policies for English technical and vocational education and training (TVET), centred on apprenticeship reforms and the Sainsbury Review, have prioritised employer-led curricula and learning in employment settings. These policies are represented in policy discourse as radical changes that imitate successful European systems, raising new…

"Rethinking Education" (EC, 2012) suggests a new phase in European education policy. The constitution of education as a marketable service and the European (Higher) Education area as a market was pinpointed as an "implicit" agenda in the "silent revolution in education landscape" fostered by the open method of…

Contribution: This paper furthers understanding of how to use studio culture to develop instruction that supports learners' epistemic development in the context of an engineering senior design course, with a focus on student development of epistemic frames. Background: Current capstone engineering design courses do not integrate the educational…

This paper examines recent changes in the Scottish apprenticeship system of skill formation for joiners through an occupational skill ecosystem lens. Building trade apprenticeships in Scotland are based around a social partnership model more akin to "dual systems" than typical arrangements elsewhere in the UK. Drawing on in-depth…

Austria, Germany and Switzerland are renowned for their extensive systems of collective vocational skill formation, which, however, have developed largely in separation from higher education. This divide has become increasingly contested as a result of a variety of socioeconomic factors that have led to an increasing demand for higher level…

This article is based on a keynote address given on the last day of the 2011 International Society for Culture & Activity Research (ISCAR) Congress in Rome. The first part reflects on the kind of work being presented at the conference. It was exciting and stimulating to learn about a rich range of new research in many different venues during the…

The authors present a case analysis of how a business school brought about curriculum innovation. The school used something borrowed, specifically experiential learning laboratories, and something new to attain measureable curriculum change, with only modest investments. The authors urge that the nimbleness of a medium-size school committed to…

Change is often expected as the logical outcome of large scale investments in professional development, yet research studies (e.g., Tyack & Cuban, 1995; Lipson, Mosenthal & Woodside-Jiron, 2000; Schraw & Olafson, 2002) note wide variations in instructional practice despite such efforts. This qualitative inquiry was designed to…

A strong VET system is increasingly seen as essential to overcoming the current economic crisis in Europe. VET is seen as a powerful tool to assist in balancing labour market inefficiencies, increasing youth employment possibilities, and reducing skills mismatch. Its inherent flexibility and closeness to the labour market place VET in a good…

By definition and purpose, education is the development of human capital towards meeting the individual and social needs of learners and their societies. This transdisciplinary collaboration parallels the underpinning principle of Lave and Wenger's Legitimate Peripheral Participation (Lave & Wenger, 1990) to South Africa's post-colonial…

Presents results of a case study that examined the different perspectives of university faculty ("applied scientist" instructors) and reflective practitioners (experienced teachers employed as college clinical faculty). Applied scientist instructors demonstrated a view of prospective teachers' microteaching as autonomous school learning whereas…

Initiatives to improve vocational education--such as tech prep, the School-to-Work Opportunities Act (STWOA), and Goals 2000: Educate America Act--are full of promise. Case studies prepared by the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America illustrate the potential of these initiatives. Massachusetts and Wisconsin are two recipients of federal STWOA…