Transcript Document

Edge Research Conference
14th November 2014
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VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND
TRAINING FOR YOUNG PEOPLE:
Evidence of what works and for whom and
how new research can complement what is
already known
Lynn Gambin & Terence Hogarth
Presentation to Edge Research Conference
14 November 2014
Birmingham NEC
Outline
• Why consider the returns?
• What we know - current estimates
• What we don’t know – limitations
• How can we know more?
– Ongoing research in this area
– Potential longitudinal study
Why consider the returns?
Substantial policy emphasis on labour market information to enable
young people to make informed decisions about the courses and
programmes , and ultimately jobs/occupations, to pursue.
Also, estimates of returns to different forms of learning and
qualifications needed to:
• help inform learner choices
• indicate ‘value for money’ for public investment
• show value to employers and increase engagement
There is an enormous volume of research which has adopted differing
methodologies to understanding the returns to VET.
What we know –
Current estimates (1|3)
Substantial body of research estimating private returns to Higher
Education. Based on range of methodologies and types of data.
The research base on FE and Skills is less extensive than for HE but is
growing, particularly in the UK and Europe where there is increasing
policy emphasis on alternatives to HE, including Apprenticeships and
VET and given economic downturn and youth unemployment.
Common findings on returns to education/qualifications in general:
• Higher levels of skills/education/qualification associated with
higher wages, greater probability of employment, other benefits
• Differences by sector and occupation
• Differences too between academic and vocational qualifications
Current estimates (2|3)
Positive returns to qualifications in aggregate but has been found that
vocational qualifications do not accrue the same returns, even at the
same levels, as academic (not universal result)
Often cited result that Level 1 and Level 2 vocational qualifications
generate a negative return to individuals. Reasons underlying this are
not fully understood. McIntosh (2009) highlighted variations due to
age at time of study, route to qualification, ability, and sector and
occupation of employment.
Comparing results from LFS to results based on matched
administrative data, similar patterns across different qualification
except Level 2 NVQs: LFS estimates show negligible wage effects;
admin show significant labour returns.
Current estimates (3|3)
Many examples of relatively successful outcomes resulting from young
people taking the vocational pathway through FE.
Series of studies have revealed relatively high employment and wage
returns which accrue to young people who have completed, for
example, an Advanced Apprenticeship.
Other research has revealed the value employers place upon
programmes and their preference for young job applicants to be jobready and in possession of various practical skills.
Similar findings from Germany and the Netherlands, but there the
vocational stream is more highly regarded by employers, young people
and their parents than in the UK.
What we don’t know –
limitations of current evidence
Difficulty: successful outcomes are lost within a system with multitude
of programmes on offer - all of which do not obviously lead to positive
outcomes for learners nor for employers.
And different methodological approaches and data can make it more
difficult to interpret results that are available.
What we don’t know –
limitations of current evidence
But what isn’t known – or at least not fully – includes:
• Detailed differences
• Comparing like with like or irrelevant comparisons? Difficult to
know likely alternatives
• Lifetime / longer-term returns
• Changes in return due to changing rates and nature of participation
in full-time education
Other possible influences on different outcomes for different people:
• The quality or type of provision (provider effects) - do some
providers offer something better or more relevant for employers
which thus attracts higher returns?
• Does the completion of any qualification confer new/improved
skills or does it just signal something to prospective employers?
• Other skills and knowledge about work
How can we know more?
Ongoing research in the area (1|2)
Increasing use of administrative data to explore and estimate various
outcomes for individuals who go through FE system.
This data can potentially produce a nearly comprehensive picture of an
individual’s journey through school, FE and/or HE, and the labour
market, but it is likely to be a while before analysis of these databases
provides definitive results.
In the long-run, linked administrative databases will be able to produce
a definitive assessment of the returns (for outcomes: wages,
employment, and benefits) to studying a given course.
Employment and wage returns from this data are being published by
subject and various other dimensions and the use of this data in
research is increasing.
Ongoing research in the area (2|2)
One of the main limitations of administrative data is the lack of
information on individuals’ attitudes, decision making process
and more subjective outcome measures (e.g. work/life
satisfaction, self-assessed health/well-being, etc).
Hence the need for additional data collection which could
provide, amongst other things, information on the following:
• The individual’s decision making process and underlying
motivations for studying a particular course/programme in FE;
• The learner’s experience of FE (the best and worst aspects and how
this affected progress);
• What assistance learners received in entering the labour market;
• The individual’s labour market experience in the first five or so
years after leaving FE.
Potential longitudinal study (1|2)
In 2014, the Edge Foundation commissioned the University of
Warwick Institute for Employment Research (IER) to consider the
feasibility of conducting a longitudinal study of young people
embarking on the vocational pathway through the further education
and skills system and then into the labour market.
IER had carried out longitudinal study of HE learners (Futuretrack)
Study aim: to identify where substantial gaps remain in our collective
understanding of what works best in relation to the further education
VET system in England, and how this might be addressed through the
commissioning of a new longitudinal study.
Involved: literature review, data analysis and consultation with
stakeholders, academics, policymakers, educators, learners, etc.
Potential longitudinal study (2|2)
Specific considerations:
• identification of the courses/subjects/mode of study which could form
the focus of the study;
• nature of the comparisons which the study needs to make;
• the broad content of any questionnaire administered to respondents;
• identification of a sampling frame to survey young people;
• ease of access to any sampling frame;
• the mechanics of surveying young people (for example, how would
they be surveyed – by phone, email, other electronic media, etc.);
• structure of study over time (frequency and periodicity);
• complementarities with analysis of other datasets, such as the linked
administrative databases mentioned above;
• support for a tracking study.
Potential longitudinal study - design
A mixed methods, pragmatic approach
• navigate around the various barriers to tracking people through FE and
into the labour market;
• concentrate effort on a limited number of FE providers and use this as the
point of access to engage with learners.
• could intensively track students through their final year in FE, and then for
around three to five years once they are in the labour market.
• mix of group interviewing and surveying could be used to gather
information from them.
• select on the basis of colleges and the various demographic, regional and
course-related characteristics deemed most important to achieve
representativeness or appropriate targeting.
Disadvantage that it may not be entirely representative, but a study like
this would: be manageable and financially feasible; provide findings for a
breadth of courses; and present some robust estimates due to ability to
track.
Further Information
[email protected]
IER research on Apprenticeships, VET, skills and training:
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/ier/research/apprentic
eships-training
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Strategies to improve the quality of
Initial Teacher Education:
How can we equip practitioners to actively embed
technology in an evolving culture
of blended learning?
The research
Conducted from
January to July 2014
involving 575
practitioners and
learning technology
managers in the FE
and Skills sector
The sample and methodology
575 trainee and recently qualified practitioners from:
12 FE Colleges
3 Sixth Form colleges
3 County Councils
3 independent schools or colleges
As well as practitioners working in public and uniformed services, secure
estates, higher education and in Adult and Community Learning were invited to
take part an online survey and focus groups.
200 Learning Technology managers working in FE and Sixth Form colleges and
Adult and Community Learning were invited to take part in an online survey
and 1-1 interviews.
The prompting question
If the FELTAG recommendations
of 50% online delivery for funded
courses by 2017-18 are to become
a reality, what does this mean for
the sector in terms of leadership
and staff development now?
The good news
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Practitioners told us – and managers concur – that they are
‘tech-curious’; only 25% did not see technological fluency as
being a vital part of their expertise as a practitioner
Lecturers, trainers and tutors already use a wide range of
technologies away from work and are keen to extend this use in
learning delivery
They see digital literacy and the ability to leverage technology
as vital skills in today’s workplace and are keen to help their
learners develop in these areas.
What stops practitioners from using
technology more widely?
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•
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Concerns that some of their learners will be excluded by blended delivery
Worries that they will not be able to motivate, challenge and support
learners
Insufficient access to experiment with technology in order to become fluent
Lack of time to produce tailored online materials and resources
Teacher education takes an unwelcome ‘tools-focussed’ approach;
trainees want input on developing and adapting their pedagogy –
what will their sessions ‘look’ like when translated to a blended model?
Conclusions and recommendations
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Initial Teacher Education faces significant technology skills development
challenges due to the diversity of digital literacy of its students on entry
There are widely diverse levels of risk aversion, self-confidence, subjectspecialist knowledge and conventional teaching experience within each group
Assumptions are made that new entrants to the sector from industry will have
higher levels of digital literacy than many of them actually possess.
A robust system to diagnose digital literacy and learning technology skills levels
on entry to ITE is urgently required to provide differentiated support and allow
skills development planning.
Conclusions and recommendations
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The current ITE curriculum is no longer fit for purpose with respect to learning
technology;
We must shift the focus from technology to learning to take a holistic
approach prizing pedagogical development with frequent examples of
contextualised implementation.
Students wish to experience embedded, blended learning from a learner’s
perspective before being asked to implement this in their own practice.
A learning technology module, delivered using a blended approach should be
introduced to ITE, allowing delivery teams to model tools and strategies while
delivering an underpinning knowledge of pedagogy. This should be backed by
each ITE student being allocated a ‘technology mentor’ for the duration of their
course.
Conclusions and recommendations
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Practitioners need to have digitally literate role models and see technology
use as an embedded, everyday part of their practice
They need to be actively encouraged to experiment to develop their skills by
‘playing’ and taking risks, knowing they will be supported in doing so
Senior leaders are important role models and need to advocate and model
fluent technology use to their staff
At present, fluent learning technology use at governor, principal and senior
leadership level can be the exception rather than the rule in some organisations.
Senior managers and inspectors need to be informed users of learning
technology so they will be aware of the challenges facing practitioners and
learners in the sector. They should model and advocate technology use.
Conclusions and recommendations
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Organisations need to encourage more planned and extensive
collaboration between learning technology support staff and senior
management, practitioners and teacher educators.
The significant experience in ILT support teams is not always put to
best use. There should be more coherent collaboration between these
teams, senior managers and faculty in planned programmes to
develop skills at all levels of each organisation
An ‘ILT governor’ presence in each organisation may facilitate this.
Read the research
etfresearch.pbworks.com
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Building and sustaining
partnership cultures in
vocational pedagogy: practice,
theory, leadership and
community
Julie Hughes, Dr Matt O’Leary & Dr Rob Smith
Centre for Research and Development in Lifelong
Education (CRADLE)
University of Wolverhampton
The
The Policy Context
It’s about work… – the Commission on Adult
Vocational Teaching and Learning (2013)
• 4 characteristics – inc. a clear line of sight to work &
dual professionalism (we would replace this with a
model of professionalism that acknowledges wider
aspects of identity – including experience, gender,
race, social class etc.)
• 8 distinctive features – inc. combo of theory and
practice & critical reflection, & contextualisation
within a CoP.
and
• 4 enabling factors: genuine collaboration
employers / colleges
• 10 recommendations: develop the role of
technology in VET, specialist English and
Maths input.
• So 26 things in total to look at…..
Other reports
Insert ipad photo of the reading matter
The four strands of the project
One: the devt of teaching and learning in vocational
subject specialisms through
Two: the development of our existing curriculum
for teacher education – with input from subj
specialists.
Three: Research – our gathering of data:
the issues, the stories and the experiences around
what it is like to be a vocational teacher in FE.
Mixed live methods approach.
Four: continuing prof devt – leading towards an
input into teacher education programmes as subject
specialists
Some of the initial findings
• Employer links: many vocational tutors (some p-t)
keep one foot in business outside college.
• FE work retreated to during difficult economic times
• Care: not therapeutic but contextual to FE student
body
• Inspiration: the first ten minutes
• Role-modelling – bringing self into teaching
• Authentic activity: real building, real journalism, real
retail. Ownership.
• Freedom to innovate
• Problems: 16-19 study programme Eng & Maths
entitlement – guess who’s teaching it!
The Power of CoPs:
Sharing subject
specialist
knowledge and
practice across
colleges
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