Purpose: The years 1960-1970 were decisive years in the development of Swiss vocational education and training (VET). The post-World War II economic boom, technological innovations and the debate concerning equal opportunities and the democratisation of education put the VET system under pressure. Reforms were thus undertaken to increase the…

In many countries, the contours of skills formation systems are traced back to early struggles over control of apprenticeship. This paper uses a curriculum lens to examine two distinctive policy moments in the history of formal apprenticeships in South Africa and to trace the legacy imprint of direct and indirect race-based exclusion as well as…

This article was drawn from a part of a research project relating to the History of the Vietnamese Vocational Education and Traning (VET) since 1954. The research was conducted at 13 vocational schools in 13 provinces and cities in Vietnam. Data was collected from documentary and interview data. Participants were selected based on the snowball…

This article analyses the governance of VET for adults and its development from a historical-institutionalist perspective. It takes a look at the collective skill formation system of Switzerland, in which the federal government and private companies (or the associations representing them) play integral roles. The article argues that the…

In this paper, drawing on an extensive research project across three countries (VET Africa 4.0 Collective 2023), we produce an emerging argument that it is necessary to rethink and reframe VET logics and approaches in a warming future dominated by informality and mass unemployment. Currently, neither the formal VET college or workplace are…

This article advances an explanation for the dynamics of agencies and institutions responsible for the formation of skills in nineteenth-century western India. It shows that multiple agencies - artisanal apprenticeship, indigenous schools, new "bazar" schools, modern vernacular and English schools, and institutes for technical,…

This paper revisits the Macfarlane Report of 1980, the first draft of which recommended the dissolution of school sixth forms, sixth form colleges and other providers of post-compulsory education and training, and the establishment of a national system of tertiary colleges across England -- a programme of reform which would effectively have…

Referring to historical debates and theories on vocational education and training (VET) since the 19th century and developments up to the present day, this paper considers the cultural conditions that were relevant for the emergence and legitimisation of vocational education and training and, in particular, the dual principle of apprenticeships in…

This article aims to portray industrial workers' vocational training during Primo de Rivera's dictatorship in Spain (1923-1930), based on the Industrial Training Act of 1924 and the Vocational Training Act of 1928. The programme was devised to meet the modernising expectations of a conventional society. The grounds for government interventionism…

This classic essay--Die Schulwerkstatt als Grundlage der Organisation der Fortbildungsschule--by George Kerschensteiner (1854-1932) is here published for the first time in English, in a translation by Stephanie Wilde and Christopher Winch. The essay was highly influential in the formation of the successful economy in modern Germany. It has had a…

There is little evidence about the origin of the phrase una faccia, una razza (one face, one race). However, its use signifies numerous shared elements in the cultures of Italy and Greece. In both countries, adult education emerged within the critical paradigm whereas vocationalism is currently the leading force of adult education policy…

This paper presents an analysis of the examination of Portugal's education policy conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1987 as well as of its role in the legitimation of a new vocationalism. In particular, the focus is on the key recommendation put forward in the examiners' report regarding the…

This classic essay--'Berufsberatung und Berufsberater' by Aloys Fischer (1880-1937) is here published for the first time in English, in a translation by Christopher Winch. Fischer discusses the vocational situation after the end of the First World War and considers the needs of young people seeking to choose an occupation in difficult…

This paper focuses on the historical experiences of a set of former vocational students, all of whom undertook a course of liberal studies whilst attending an English college of further education at some point between the mid-1960s and the late-1980s. It is set against the backdrop of Tom Sharpe's novel, "Wilt," which both lampooned the…

This article analyses the attractiveness of Polytechnics (PTs) in India, which are part of the country's Vocational Education and Training (VET) system, from the perspectives of individuals. PTs as institutions of Higher VET are an essential part of the Indian VET system. As no findings on their attractiveness are available, interviews based on an…