英国普通国家职业资格简析

当英国NVQ取得了相当的成功之后，人们开始考虑将这一经验从专业技术领域拓展出去，取得与普通教育的结合，于是GNVQ便应运而生了。相比之下，GNVQ在NVQ的基础上，无论是在适用范围、设置目的、授予机构，还是在操作过程、模块形式等方面都作了一定的改进，特别是增加了关键技能的培训与考核。它的实施也取得了广泛的关注和好评。因此，笔力图通过系统地介绍英国的GNVQ，分析总结出其特色之处。     

Anxiety in Science Classrooms: its measurement and relationship to classroom environment

This paper considers the role of a new vocational science qualification in the UK (Intermediate General National Vocational Qualification (GNVQ) science) and how it relates to science-based employment. Studies into employers' requirements are reviewed and found to indicate that an ability to understand and evaluate scientific evidence is valued highly. This part of science is not currently taught explicitly either in GNVQ or elsewhere in the science curriculum. The authors report the results of a small intervention study in which ideas about evidence were explicitly taught within Intermediate GNVQ science. The findings suggest that it is feasible to incorporate such teaching into the qualification but that, if it is not part of the formal assessment process, the teaching tends to be undervalued by the students. By contrast, the teaching staff involved in the project recognised that these ideas fill a gap in the qualification and valued the teaching materials developed for this purpose. A means of incorporating the assessment of such understanding into the current assessment procedures is put forward. Such a modification to the assessment process would add rigour to the qualification and provide a better preparation for employment in science-based industry.     

Independence and Prescription in Learning: Researching the Paradox of Advanced GNVQs

This article outlines the context in which General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs) have been developed with particular reference to the independent learning dimension of their principles and practice. It provides an overview of the problems associated with the GNVQ approach from the literature and from a study by the authors of twelve post-16 institutions in the process of implementing Advanced GNVQ programmes. It analyses the dimensions of independent learning and argues that GNVQs provide a hybrid learner experience in which autonomy in the organisation of the individual learning process is mediated by a heavily prescribed GNVQ framework. The article concludes by locating this paradox in four central dilemmas characterising post-16 curricular policy in the UK.     

What's Happening to Photography?

This is the first public output of the joint Arts Council/University of Portsmouth research project into photography teaching in GNVQ Art and Design and Media Communications and Production. It reports principally from various contacts and interviews in the first six months of the project and from the results of a questionnaire survey of art and design lecturers involved in GNVQ. The paper suggests that the increasing significance of photography in artistic cultural and social practices is not adequately reflected in formal education. It describes a variety of aims and practices in those institutions involved in GNYQ, although we have found little collaboration between art and design and media courses. In some art and design courses, photography functions mainly as an aid to research and preparatory work, elsewhere we found lecturers willing to describe it as ‘an art form in its own right’ or as a ‘fundamental part’ of the art and design curriculum. We report on the resource implications of offering substantial photography courses. some preliminary findings about the kinds of students studying art and design GNVQ, and the perceived value of official publications. The question of choosing ‘A’ level or GNVQ is raised, as is the issue of progression. We have found expectations that GNVQs will become a regular route into HE although their currency is not yet clear. Although we report difficulties with GNVQs in art and design, and more specifically with photography, we also record comments which indicate some reasons for optimism.     

Investigating the Induction of GNVQ Students

ABSTRACT

The range of options presented to young people by the new General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs) is complex and GNVQ students need to become familiar and confident with key GNVQ terms and procedures. This article reports the findings of a research project which aimed to identify correct practice and potential good practice in the guidance provided to GNVQ students during their induction. The research showed that, although there were examples of good practice, an educational innovation of this nature and scope was inevitably somewhat flawed in some respects. The article ends with a brief look at the conceptualisation of GNVQ Induction Programmes and at how their content might be enriched     

英国职业教育体系的特点及其启示

1988年英国国家职业资格委员会推出了国家职业资格证书制度(NVQ),1992年又推出了普通国家职业资格证书制度(GNVQ)。英国职业教育围绕国家职业资格,根据产业需求,开设NVQ和GNVQ课程,形成了严密完善的职业教育体系,在横向上可与普通教育相通,在纵向上形成了一个从低到高的体系,从培养半熟练工到培养高级工程师和中高级管理人员。英国职业教育体系完善严密、围绕产业需求、贯彻终身教育及注重核心能力培养,这些均给予我国职业教育发展深刻的启示。     

New Qualifications in IT: A Pilot Study at Hull College

Abstract

The General National Vocational Qualification (GNVQ) is enjoying growing popularity in the further education (EFE) sector in England and Wales. GNVQs have been recently introduced in the Information Technology (IT) vocational area, to augment or replace existing qualifications. These new courses have been piloted (academic year 1994‐199S) at several centres, including Hull College. This paper focuses on the Advanced level GNVQ in IT, contrasting it with existing qualifications (A level and National Diploma); reflections on the Hull College experience are also provided

The GNVQ (Advanced) is seen not only as leading directly to employment (like the traditional National Diploma), but also as a route into higher education (HE). Growing numbers of universities now accept the GNVQ as an entry qualification. For the first time, a vocational course is now perceived increasingly as a genuine alternative to the A level. The implications for universities are examined, with predictions as to the likely strengths and weaknesses of different categories of university entrant. The importance of choosing the right HE course, now that university provision has become increasingly diverse in the computing area is also highlighted. This paper extends and provides full discussion of the preliminary findings introduced at the 3rd Annual Conference on the Teaching of Computing held at Dublin City University in August 1995.     

Speech and the will to work

The main purpose of the educational program at the two‐year college is to facilitate the upward social, economic and educational mobility of its students. Therefore, the speech program should be consonant with that purpose. To achieve that purpose under Open Admissions in the City University of New York seems increasingly to require remediation of the students’ communication skills in English. Oral language skills make a preferred vehicle for introducing remediation in all the communication skills. Beyond that, the student should learn those skills important to his everyday situations: interpersonal and small group.     

Communication skills programs that last: Face to Face and relapse prevention

Communication skills are basic to effective management. However, communication training programs must not only show evidence that the skills have been learned, but also demonstrate that this learning can be converted into effective on the job behavior. A communication skills program, Face to Face, based on the microtraining model, is described. This model has substantial empirical evidence of successful skill acquisition. A novel approach to skill transfer and retention, the relapse prevention model is proposed as a methodology for maintaining communication skills in the work setting.     

Teaching Scientists to Communicate: Evidence-based assessment for undergraduate science education

Communication skills are one of five nationally recognised learning outcomes for an Australian Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree. Previous evidence indicates that communication skills taught in Australian undergraduate science degrees are not developed sufficiently to meet the requirements of the modern-day workplace—a problem faced in the UK and USA also. Curriculum development in this area, however, hinges on first evaluating how communication skills are taught currently as a base from which to make effective changes. This study aimed to quantify the current standard of communication education within BSc degrees at Australian research-intensive universities. A detailed evidential baseline for not only what but also how communication skills are being taught was established. We quantified which communication skills were taught and assessed explicitly, implicitly, or were absent in a range of undergraduate science assessment tasks (n?=?35) from four research-intensive Australian universities. Results indicate that 10 of the 12 core science communication skills used for evaluation were absent from more than 50% of assessment tasks and 77.14% of all assessment tasks taught less than 5 core communication skills explicitly. The design of assessment tasks significantly affected whether communication skills were taught explicitly. Prominent trends were that communication skills in tasks aimed at non-scientific audiences were taught more explicitly than in tasks aimed at scientific audiences, and the majority of group and multimedia tasks taught communication elements more explicitly than individual, or written and oral tasks. Implications for science communication in the BSc and further research are discussed.     

英国职业教育的评估体系与借鉴

文章通过分析英国国家职业资格证书系统(NVQ)和国家职业资格证书系统(GNVQ)的评估标准、评估证据、评估方式和成绩评定对英国职业教育评估体系进行了阐述，并就其对我国职业技术教育的借鉴意义进行了论述。     

英国职业教育课程设置特点研究及其启示——以利兹城市学院课程设置为例

英国普通国家职业资格证书制度是英国职业教育体系有序运转的平台,受益于这个制度,英国职业教育的课程开发目标匹配就业市场需求,重视培养学生的核心能力,课程实施具有开放性和灵活性,上述特点对同样追求以就业为导向的安徽职业技术学院在推进课程设置的科学性上很有启发意义。     

Interpersonal communication skills of deaf adolescents and their relationship to communication history

As part of a longitudinal study, the conversational skills of 67 deaf adolescents were assessed in spoken English, simultaneous communication (SimCom) and American Sign Language (ASL). Two groups of students were identified on the basis of the communication used in their current educational program: a small group of 16 students in programs using spoken English (oral) and a larger group of 51 students in programs using sign communication (bimodal). Students in spoken English programs had good spoken English skills and limited ASL skills, whereas the reverse was true for students in bimodal programs. Most students demonstrated sufficient skill in one or more systems to meet basic interpersonal communications needs, but not those required for advanced academic discourse. In neither group was spoken English related to ASL skill. SimCom skills were strongly related to spoken English in the oral program group and to ASL in the bimodal program group. Spoken English in adolescence was highly predictable from spoken English in early childhood. Within the bimodal program group, students with deaf parents had better SimCom and ASL skills than those with hearing parents. Among bimodal program students with hearing parents, better SimCom skills (but not ASL skills) were associated with earlier introduction to sign communication in school and to mothers' use of sign communication.     

An inquiry approach to science and language teaching

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of an inquiry approach to science and language teaching to further develop classification and oral communication skills of bilingual Mexican American third graders. A random sample consisting of 64 subjects was selected for experimental and control groups from a population of 120 bilingual Mexican American third graders. The Solomon Four-Group experimental design was employed. Pre- and posttesting was performed by use of the Goldstein-Sheerer Object Sorting Test, (GSOST) and the Test of Oral Communication Skills, (TOCS). The experimental group participated in a sequential series of science lessons which required manipulation of objects, exploration, peer interaction, and teacher-pupil interaction. The children made observations and comparisons of familiar objects and then grouped them on the basis of perceived and inferred attributes. Children worked individually and in small groups. Analysis of variance procedures was used on the posttest scores to determine if there was a significant improvement in classification and oral communication skills in the experimental group. The results on the posttest scores indicated a significant improvement at the 0.01 level for the experimental group in both classification and oral communication skills. It was concluded that participation in the science inquiry lessons facilitated the development of classification and oral communication skills of bilingual children.     

Learning in a comfort zone: cultural and social capital inside an outcome‐based assessment regime

Despite numerous problems with outcome‐based assessment systems, claims that they enhance learners' motivation and autonomy resonate with research interest in how young people develop cultural and social capital. However, research has not yet explored the ways in which assessment systems affect the forms of capital embedded within them. This paper applies concepts from a growing body of work on social and cultural capital in education to data from a study of assessment policy and practice in the Advanced General National Vocational Qualification (GNVQ) in two further education colleges. It evaluates how norms, practices and dynamics created by the GNVQ assessment regime interacted with other factors in students' lives and the learning programme itself. These interactions shaped cultural and social capital inside a learning ‘comfort zone’ and affected students' motivation and attitudes to learning. The article evaluates the implications of these factors for the types of cultural and social capital that may be on offer in different assessment regimes. In particular, it raises questions about the extent to which social and cultural capital are empowering or constraining, and offers ideas for further research in this area.     

A learner–centred approach to developing team skills through web–based learning and assessment

In traditional face–to–face classrooms, collaborative learning has been endorsed as an effective pedagogy that fosters skills of analysis, communication and higher order thinking. Increasingly, as online learning environments for tertiary learners make use of course support systems, there is greater recognition of the potential of communications technologies to foster dialogue, networking and team skills among learners. Such skills are now among the recognised core attributes that graduates are expected to develop. In face–to–face classroom students learn the skills of collaboration and teamwork by engaging in tasks defined and supervised by a teacher. In online environments teacher presence is often limited to task definition, management and feedback functions. Team skills and collaboration therefore need to be supported though different pedagogies and processes such as establishing a climate of trust and openness, communication protocols, resolution of conflict and group processes that provide sanctions and support. In this paper we describe an innovative approach to building the skills of decision–making and conflict resolution, leadership and clarity in goal setting and communication. A case study of tertiary learners illustrates how the essential aspects of task definition, resources to support group learning and integrated online assessment foster team skills.     

A Comprehensive Approach to Human Relations Training for Teachers

This article develops a comprehensive approach to human relations training (HRT) for teachers based on knowledge of student diversity and application of communication skills. The author treats HRT as more than just training in communication skills and develops a model that integrates the two major components of HRT. He also develops specific goals, skills, and attitudes capable of being fitted into a teaching paradigm.     

Student Self‐evaluation Processes in Student‐centred Teaching and Learning Contexts of Australia and England

Student self‐evaluation processes and their impact on pedagogy, in the promotion of sound reflective student [1] practices, are the focus of this article. The ways in which students self‐evaluate and teachers integrate these self‐evaluative processes into their teaching practice in Australian and English contexts are analysed. The educational sites chosen for focus are engaged in implementing student‐centred teaching and learning practices. This article is based on research that draws on data analysed using case‐study methodology. For a period of 6 months student self‐evaluation processes were examined in both an Australian secondary high school and an English Further Education (EE) college which was piloting the advanced General National Vocational Qualification (GNVQ) science programme. The introduction of the skills of self‐evaluation to students offers an added dimension to the current learning environment. It provides students with opportunities to take increased responsibility for, and a more active role in, their own learning. An underlying assumption of this research is that there exists a need to examine how learning in the classroom is structured, and that it is this dimension to teaching and learning that makes a difference. A fundamental premise is that student self‐evaluation is an educative activity.     

Preparing Students to Take Online Interactive Courses

Electronic communication and World Wide Web skill levels for graduate students entering a Master of Science in Education degree program with online components were examined before and after completion of an introductory technology skills course. Results indicated that students can identify their weaknesses and can subsequently develop skills for using electronic communication, the World Wide Web, and related activities through an online course designed to prepare them for success in taking subsequent online courses. The findings support views that Web-based courses require some skills that may be new for the student, and that students will require varying degrees of instruction in how to deal with technology-based learning.     

Assessing how students value learning communication skills in an undergraduate anatomy and physiology course

Students, particularly those in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and healthcare-related programs, should develop proficient interpersonal skills, including communication. To help students develop effective communication skills, instructors need to consider the value students give to learning these skills. The Student Attitudes Toward Communication Skills Survey (SATCSS) was developed to measure how undergraduate students value learning communication skills based on Expectancy-Value Theory across three modes of communication (verbal, written, non-verbal). The survey was given to students interested in healthcare professions and enrolled in an undergraduate anatomy and physiology (A&P) course (n = 233) at a Midwest research active university. The survey showed evidence of validity, measuring two components: (1) “Value to Profession” (attainment and utility value) and (2) “Value to Self” (intrinsic value and cost). There was a significant difference in sub-scores among the four task values such that students thought that learning communication skills was important and relevant (high attainment and utility value) but not interesting (low intrinsic value) and costly. Students with high total scores valued communication skills across all four task values. As total value scores decreased, it was first due to students finding learning communication skills to be time prohibitive and then a lack of interest in learning communication skills. Based on these results, it is recommended that instructors incorporate communication skills training into content that is already part of their A&P course to reduce time concerns. Additional recommendations include using reflective activities and humor to increase student interest.