The COVID Social Mobility & Opportunities (COSMO) study is a new national cohort study generating high-quality evidence about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected socio-economic inequalities in life chances, both in terms of short- and long-term effects on education, wellbeing, and career outcomes. A representative sample of young people in…

We report a comparative qualitative study conducted in Lebanon and China on mentoring approaches, their compatibility with expectations, and their facilitation of learning opportunities. Data sources included interviews, journals, and essays from 20 student teachers (STs), and interviews from 10 cooperating teachers (CTs). Findings indicate a…

The research apprenticeship is a situated form of learning that can be effective in connecting learners to science. It is commonly assumed that this pathway is characterised by power transitions from those positioned as experts to those positioned as novices, yet power and positionality during a research apprenticeship have rarely been explicitly…

Apprenticeships are paid jobs which incorporate on- and off-the-job training. There is a strong economic case for investing in these as a key training route to help young people, in particular, enter the labour market, and to support the wider economic recovery from the pandemic. Despite the significant benefits which apprenticeships offer young…

This report shares data on college resources in Ontario as they relate to: (1) College system revenues and expenses; (2) Trends in college funding; (3) Human resources trends; and (4) Student financial aid. Among the highlights are: (1) In 2019-20, college system revenues totaled $5.5 billion. Grant revenue from all sources accounted for only 34…

Little was known about how online Child Development Associate (CDA) credential recipients developed practical expertise in early childhood education (ECE) without the benefit of an apprenticeship. Learning the practice of teaching from a qualified "more knowledgeable other" (MKO) through an apprenticeship is a feature of teacher…

Despite the ongoing debate about how much academic versus vocational upper-secondary education is favorable for a country and large differences across countries of those two types of education exist, the interplay of vocational and academic education on upper-secondary level and its consequences for the entire education system remain…

This article shares our experience using a job-embedded active learning approach to support candidates' growth as systems-focused equity leaders in the University of Washington's Leadership for Learning program. We describe how socio-cultural learning theory helped us shift from field-based application projects to job-embedded learning. Our…

The aim of this paper is to clarify the relationship between the pedagogical ethos of vocational in-company trainers as perceived by apprentices and the apprentices' identification with their vocation and their company from both a theoretical and an empirical point of view. It is argued that the trainers' pedagogical ethos is a relational…

The aim of this paper is to ascertain the factors by which Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) affect the employability of graduates in Mumbai, India. The ITIs are major providers of VET in India. Presently, India is part of a skilling revolution with the goal of providing superior quality formal skill training to 400 million people by the year…

Despite the growing evidence on promising approaches to postsecondary instruction--and particularly on the benefits of student-centered, conceptually oriented instruction for underprepared students--there has been limited investment in supporting these approaches' widespread implementation. Most postsecondary instructors have limited training in…

This report looks at the picture of apprenticeships at levels 6 and 7, equivalent to a bachelors or postgraduate degree. Degree apprenticeships in England were launched in Autumn 2015, and offer a potentially powerful combination of on the job training and academic learning. With the prospect of gaining industry-specific skills, a…

"Workforce-Ready: Challenges and Opportunities for VET" is the theme for the 29th National Vocational Education and Training Research Conference 'No Frills' from July 7-10, 2020. The phrase 'workforce-ready' might bring several different scenarios to mind. It may conjure an image of graduates making their first foray into the world of…

During the 25 years since Incorporation, when further education (FE) colleges were taken out of local government control, FE in England has been shaped by processes of marketisation to become a competitive national sector that has increasingly diverged from the more 'collaborative system logic' of the other three countries of the UK. However,…

Technological acceleration, increased global engagement, and national aspirations to restructure its economy and promote innovation have persuaded China to intensify an emphasis on skills acquisition through technical-vocational education and training (TVET). After a background of China's experience, this paper examines the case of Gansu, the…