Vocational Education in the Nordic Countries: Learning from Diversity is the second of two books that disseminates new and systematic knowledge on the strengths and weaknesses of the different models of vocational education and training (VET) in four Nordic countries. Vocational education in Europe has resisted standardisation to a higher degree than other fields of education, and during the last decade, there has been a growth in international, comparative VET research. While the Nordic countries provide an ideal case for comparative education studies, the literature in English on the Nordic VET systems is at present very limited. This book provides thorough examinations of VET in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. Each section examines the current challenges for VET, compares how these challenges are managed, and explores recent reforms and institutional innovations. Contributors also analyse institutions and policies at the national level and include comparative studies of two occupations at the micro-level in the four countries. The book explores what can be learned from the diversity of the VET systems in the Nordic countries, which otherwise have many similarities and share a common heritage in education policy. This volume will help strengthen the knowledge base required for transnational policy learning, and for developing vocational education internationally for the future. As a result, the book will be of interest to researchers, academics and postgraduate students involved in the study of vocational education, educational studies and educational policy, as well as policy makers.

The Nordic countries have the world's best working life. Unlike in many other countries, global competition has not created inequality, uncertainty, long working hours, standardization and restrictive managerial control. The main reason for this lies in the way interests are expressed and conflicts are resolved. Both employees and employers are well organized and both recognize the interests of the other. Working life develops in a constant interaction between conflict and compromise. This book examines working conditions in Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. It explores how these good working conditions are created and maintained. The chapters explain: How work organization is formed How education, training and work place learning give access to the labour market How work is managed in the public sector How precarious work unfolds in the Nordic countries. Work and Wellbeing in the Nordic Countries is addressed to all those who have interest in the quality of working life. It will be of particular use to all students, academics and policy makers working in the fields of social policy, wellbeing, management studies, employment relations, work sociology and work psychology.

This work discusses how the complex relationship between welfare policies of equity and market efficiencies/deficiencies of education policies is handled in local practices. It offers contributions from the five Nordic countries - Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland - and pays special attention to questions about access and diversity in upper secondary education. The book draws on a wide range of theoretical frameworks and research projects and provides multiple perspectives of how upper secondary staff and students have experienced reforms of education governance during the last two or three decades. The research projects range from in-depth case studies to the analysis of large-scale data sets and inform practitioners, policy makers and researchers about practices of education policy that are highly influenced by market forces.

The Nordic agreement on admission to higher education aims to ensure that in all the Nordic countries applicants to higher education from another Nordic country should be considered for admission on the same or equivalent basis as local applicants. In 2014 the Nordic Institute of Studies in Innovation, Research and Education (NIFU) evaluated the agreement. In the report the evaluators give a description and a mapping of Nordic student mobility in a European context, as well an evaluation how appropriate and effective the agreement is. It is concluded that the agreement and Nordic cooperation is largely taken for granted and that the agreement has both a practical and symbolic value for Nordic cooperation. For the future development four possible scenarios and a set of general recommendations are given.

Compilation of country reports comprising a comparison of the adult education systems in Scandinavian countries as of 1974 - includes recommendations. Maps and statistical tables.

This book explains how education policies offering improved transitions to work and higher-level study can widen the gaps between successful and disadvantaged groups of young people. Centred on an original study of ongoing further education and apprenticeship reforms in England, the book traces the emergence of distinctive patterns of transition that magnify existing societal inequalities. It illustrates the distinction between mainly male ‘technical elites’ on STEM-based courses and the preparation for low-level service roles described as ‘welfare vocationalism’, whilst digital and creative fields ill-suited to industry learning head for a ‘new economy precariat’. Yet the authors argue that social justice can nevertheless be advanced in the spaces between learning and work. The book provides essential insights for academics and postgraduate students researching technical, vocational and higher education. It will also appeal to professionals with interests in contemporary educational policy and emerging practice.

This text is an introduction to learning and teaching in the post compulsory sector, going further than other texts in its exploration of the sector.