The themes of the different papers in this book are related to five major areas of research. First, the book presents the work on a large-scale assessment in vocational and occupational education and training. Reason was the work of Frank Achtenhagen and his colleagues on the preparation of a VET-PISA which started in 2004 which has now become more and more a concrete program. The contributions to this part of the book contain a project description and profound presentations and discussions of measurement and evaluation problems. It reflects also the work of Achtenhagen with respect to item response theory, measurement and testing. The second part of this book presents a unique endeavour of promoting VET research: The Swiss Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology (OPET) initiated a program of Leading Houses of VET which are dedicated to different important research topics. This program might serve as example for comparable approaches in other countries. The third part highlights central issues of research on learning processes, curriculum theory and the use of technology. Here the work of Achtenhagen on competence-profile modelling, competence measurement and instructional and curriculum designing is touched. The fourth part stresses social and emotional learning as important aspects of VET learning. The fifth part considers the political and institutional dimensions of VET research which have to be taken into account when an international large-scale assessment of VET shall be getting started. Achtenhagen’s work on learning at work, leaning in economics and learning under the conditions of institutional modelling are discussed. The whole book is a collection of central issues around a field that is not yet taken enough into consideration in educational research, but pushed and supported by Frank Achtenhagen: VET research. He belongs to the founding fathers of it, and this is why precisely the book reflects new trends and new concepts with respect to the question “What can we, educational psychologists and educational researchers, learn from a rich and central research field.”

The International Handbook of Research in Professional and Practice-based Learning discusses what constitutes professionalism, examines the concepts and practices of professional and practice-based learning, including associated research traditions and educational provisions. It also explores professional learning in institutions of higher and vocational education as well the practice settings where professionals work and learn, focusing on both initial and ongoing development and how that learning is assessed. The Handbook features research from expert contributors in education, studies of the professions, and accounts of research methodologies from a range of informing disciplines. It is organized in two parts. The first part sets out conceptions of professionalism at work, how professions, work and learning can be understood, and examines the kinds of institutional practices organized for developing occupational capacities. The second part focuses on procedural issues associated with learning for and through professional practice, and how assessment of professional capacities might progress. The key premise of this Handbook is that during both initial and ongoing professional development, individual learning processes are influenced and shaped through their professional environment and practices. Moreover, in turn, the practice and processes of learning through practice are shaped by their development, all of which are required to be understood through a range of research orientations, methods and findings. This Handbook will appeal to academics working in fields of professional practice, including those who are concerned about developing these capacities in their students. In addition, students and research students will also find this Handbook a key reference resource to the field.

Inclusive Guide Provides Practical Applications for Workplace Education Theory from Diverse Perspectives The Wiley Handbook of Global Workplace Learning explores the field of workplace education using contributions from both experts and emerging scholars in industry and academia. Unlike many previously published titles on the subject, the Handbook focuses on offering readers a truly global overview of workplace learning at a price point that makes it accessible for independent researchers and Human Resources professionals. Designed to strike a balance between theory and practice, the Handbook provides a wealth of information on foundational topics, theoretical frameworks, current and emerging trends, technological updates, implementation strategies, and research methodologies. Chapters covering recent research illustrate the importance of workplace learning topics ranging from meditation to change management, while others give pragmatic and replicable applications for the design, promotion, and implementation of impactful learning opportunities for employees at any company, regardless of industry. A sampling of topics addressed includes: “Using an Experiential Learning Model to Design an Assessment Framework for Workplace Learning” “Measuring Innovative Thinking and Acting Skills as Workplace-Related Professional Competence” Multiple chapters specifically addressing international business, such as “Competency in Globalization and Intercultural Communication”, “Global Strategic Planning” and “Global Talent Management” Research and recommendations on bridging generational and cultural divides as well as addressing employee learning disabilities With its impressive breadth of coverage and focus on real-world problem solving, this volume serves as a comprehensive tool for examining and improving practices in global workplace learning. It will prove to be a valuable resource for students and recent graduates entering the workforce and for those working in Human Resources and related fields.

This book presents a comprehensive overview of extant literature on competence-based vocational and professional education since the introduction of the competence concept in the 1950s. To structure the fi eld, the book distinguishes between three approaches to defi ning competence, based on 1.functional behaviourism, 2. integrated occupationalism, and 3. situated professionalism. It also distinguishes between two ways of operationalizing competence: 1. behaviour-oriented generic, and 2. task-oriented specifi c competence. Lastly, it identifi es three kinds of competencies, related to: 1. specific activities, 2. known jobs, and 3. the unknown future. Competence for the unknown future must receive more attention, as our world is rapidly evolving and there are many ‘glocal’ challenges which call for innovation and a profound transformation of policies and practices. Th e book presents a range of diff erent approaches to competence-based education, and demonstrates that competencebased education is a worldwide innovation, which is institutionalized in various ways. It presents the major theories and policies, specifi c components of educational systems, such as recognition, accreditation, modelling and assessment, and developments in discipline-oriented and transversal competence domains. Th e book concludes by synthesizing the diff erent perspectives with the intention to contribute to further improving vocational and professional education policy and practice. Joao Santos, Deputy Head of Unit C5, Vocational Training and Adult Education, Directorate General for Employment, Social Aff airs and Inclusion, European Commission: “This comprehensive work on competence-based education led by Martin Mulder, provides an excellent and timely contribution to the current debate on a New Skills Agenda for Europe, and the challenge of bridging the employment and education and training worlds closer together. Th is book will infl uence our work aimed at improving the relevance of vocational education to support initial and continuing vocational education and training policy and practice aimed at strengthening the key competencies for the 21st century.” Prof. Dr. Reinhold Weiss, Deputy President and Head of the Research, Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB), Bonn, Germany: “This book illustrates that the idea and concept of competence is not only a buzzword in educational debates but key to innovative pedagogical thinking as well as educational practice.” Prof. Dr. Johanna Lasonen, College of Education, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA: "Competence-based Vocational and Professional Education is one of the most important multi-disciplinary book in education and training. Th is path-breaking book off ers a timely, rich and global perspective on the fi eld. Th e book is a good resource for practitioners, policymakers and researchers."

The authors take a detailed look at the economic competence and financial literacy of young adults, especially of those who start an apprenticeship or who take up their studies at a university. Economic competence and financial literacy are of special interest within this group, because these young people are – mostly for the fi rst time in their lives – responsible for autonomously managing their own fi nancial affairs and deal with economic challenges.

Particularly in the humanities and social sciences, festschrifts are a popular forum for discussion. The IJBF provides quick and easy general access to these important resources for scholars and students. The festschrifts are located in state and regional libraries and their bibliographic details are recorded. Since 1983, more than 639,000 articles from more than 29,500 festschrifts, published between 1977 and 2010, have been catalogued.

What models of governance are effective in complex education systems? In all systems an increasing number of stakeholders are involved in designing, delivering and monitoring education.

Benefiting from the support and involvement of two major international research networks, this collection features the latest research findings in TVET. Members of INAP, the International Network on Innovative Apprenticeship, and VETNET, the Vocational Education and Training Network, have contributed key research findings to this detailed survey of the field. Featuring the inclusion of the internationally recognized memorandum released in April 2012 by the INAP Architecture Apprenticeship Commission, the volume covers a wealth of issues relating to technical and vocational education and training, including exemplar architectures such as successful school-to-work transitions, competence assessment and development models, and governance, including the role of stakeholders. The book provides many opportunities to explore in depth the scholarly debate on TVET, as well as to learn from positive international experiences. It aims to inform the practice of TVET professionals as much as the decision making of administrators.

This book examines how critical thinking is regulated in Singapore through the process of what the influential sociologist of education Basil Bernstein termed "pedagogic recontextualization". The ability of critical thinking to speak to alternative possibilities and individual autonomy as well as its assumptions of a liberal arrangement of society is problematized in Singapore’s socio-political climate. By examining how such curricular discourses are taken up and enacted in the classrooms of two schools that cater to very different groups in society, the book foregrounds the role of traditional high-status knowledge in the elaboration of class formation and develops a critical understanding of post-developmental state initiatives linked to the parable of modernization in Singapore. Knowledge, Control and Critical Thinking in Singapore offers chapters on: • Critical Thinking and the Singapore State: Meritocracy, Illiberalism and Neoliberalism • Sacred Knowledge and Elite Dispositions: Recontextualizing Critical Thinking in an Elite School • Power, Knowledge and Symbolic Control: Official Pedagogic Identities and the Politics of Recontextualization This book will appeal to scholars in comparative education studies, curriculum studies and education reform. It will also interest scholars engaged in Asian studies who are struggling to understand issues of education policy formation and implementation, particularly in the areas of critical thinking and other knowledge skills.

It is nearly impossible to overestimate the significance of a professional ethos in pedagogical situations. Most theories of education understand ethos and ethical acting as belonging to the core of the pedagogical profession. Despite this evidence, remarkably few empirical studies exist on ethos. This book has three main aims: 1) to conceptualize the pedagogical ethos at the theoretical level, 2) to operationalize it systematically, and 3) to study it empirically from the trainers’ perspective but also from that of apprentices. Part 1 offers a critical discussion on different theoretical approaches of professional morality. These include theories on moral values or professional codes, virtue ethics, professional sensitivity, moral commitment, and caring. Identified communalities are combined to form a new model of professional ethos. More intensively than other existing theories, the ethos approach presented in this book stresses the content’s situational impact on decision-making and motivation. The main question guiding the instrument development, dealt with in Part 2, asks how we can distinguish professional morality from the general notion that people should be good. In order to answer this question, vocational education but also a trainer’s pedagogical duties and responsibilities are discussed. Part 3 then presents the result of two empirical studies with vocational trainers and apprentices. It offers some interesting findings for further reflection – input not only relevant for researchers but also educational institutes, professional associations, and practitioners themselves. In short: this book contributes significantly to research on professional morality as well as vocational education.