Vocational Education and Training: Researching the Relationship between School and Work

Researchers and policy makers agree that the relation between school and work is an important characteristic of vocational education and training (VET) and needs attention. The relation itself poses several challenges for research to be successful and useful for policy makers. In this article, we outline these challenges and answer the following question: What needs to be considered when researching the relation between school and work? Our central claim is that research on the relation between school and work needs to (1) take into account contextual conditions of the VET system, including identifying the central actors and their responsibilities within a VET system, (2) take into account the characteristics of VET itself, (3) define the quality of the relation between school and work (depending on the context, characteristics of the VET system and VET itself), and (4) be consistent with respect to chosen research aims and paradigms. To illustrate how these aspects can be taken into account an example of empirical research conducted in the German dual apprenticeship system is described. The readers are provided with guidelines for researchers and policy makers to carry out high quality research on the relation between school and work in VET systems that enables policy makers to make use of the results to improve the relation between school and work in VET systems.     

Gender difference in cycling speed and age of winning performers in ultra-cycling – the 508-mile “Furnace Creek” from 1983 to 2012

We analysed (i) the gender difference in cycling speed and (ii) the age of winning performers in the 508-mile “Furnace Creek 508”. Changes in cycling speeds and gender differences from 1983 to 2012 were analysed using linear, non-linear and hierarchical multi-level regression analyses for the annual three fastest women and men. Cycling speed increased non-linearly in men from 14.6 (s = 0.3) km · h^?1 (1983) to 27.1 (s = 0.7) km · h^?1 (2012) and non-linearly in women from 11.0 (s = 0.3) km · h^?1 (1984) to 24.2 (s = 0.2) km · h^?1 (2012). The gender difference in cycling speed decreased linearly from 26.2 (s = 0.5)% (1984) to 10.7 (s = 1.9)% (2012). The age of winning performers increased from 26 (s = 2) years (1984) to 43 (s = 11) years (2012) in women and from 33 (s = 6) years (1983) to 50 (s = 5) years (2012) in men. To summarise, these results suggest that (i) women will be able to narrow the gender gap in cycling speed in the near future in an ultra-endurance cycling race such as the “Furnace Creek 508” due to the linear decrease in gender difference and (ii) the maturity of these athletes has changed during the last three decades where winning performers become older and faster across years.     

Learning Achievement and Motivation in an Out-of-School Setting—Visiting Amphibians and Reptiles in a Zoo Is More Effective than a Lesson at School

Interventions in out-of-school settings have been shown in previous studies to be effectively increase students’ science knowledge and motivation, with mixed results on whether they are more effective than teaching at school. In this study, we compared an out-of-school setting in a reptile and amphibian zoo (Landau, Germany) with a sequence of classroom teaching and a control group without teaching on the topic. We compared learning at school (School) and out-of-school learning (Reptilium), which were tested in a randomized field setting with a focus on knowledge and motivation. Sixty-five elementary students participated in either the School group, Reptilium group or control group. We measured knowledge on the topics reptiles and amphibians with a newly developed two-factorial test, calibrated with item response theory, before the intervention, immediately afterwards (posttest) and 2 weeks later (follow-up). Motivation was measured immediately after the intervention. Data analyses were performed using SPSS and Mplus. We conclude that the two interventions appeared highly superior to the control group and that the out-of-school setting in the Reptilium was more effective than the school-only program. Concerning motivation, perception of choice was higher in the Reptilium than in the School group. There were gender-by-treatment interaction effects for knowledge in the posttest and follow-up, for perceived competence and for pressure/tension. Concerning knowledge, boys performed better in the School group than girls but this gender gap was not significant in the Reptilium group. Boys perceived themselves as more competent in the School group while girls reported less pressure/tension in the Reptilium group. In conclusion, encountering living animals in a formal zoo learning arrangement is encouraged in primary school since it supports self-determination (free choice), leads to higher achievement and closes gender disparities in achievement.     

Subjektiver Kompetenzgewinn und Wissenszuwachs bei frühpädagogischen Fachkräften unterschiedlicher Ausbildungsprofile

In the light of the diversity of early child teacher education profiles this study deals with two questions: Can typical content profiles regarding early childhood study courses be identified? Do gains in self perceived competences and professional knowledge differ between students of different content profiles? First, the curricula of 16 vocational schools and 15 bachelor study courses in early childhood education are coded regarding creditpoints (ETCS) in various domains of early childhood education. Latent class analyses led to one “practical” content profile of the 16 vocational schools and to three profiles of Bachelor courses: a social pedagogy and scientifically oriented profile, a pedagogical content profile, and a mixed profile. Multi-level regression analyses as well as analyses of complex covariance patterns of repeated measures (self-concept of competences and knowledge regarding language, language development and fostering language) yielded relationships between content profile of study courses and utilization of the courses’ offerings on the one hand and the development of competences and knowledge of prospective early childhood teachers on the other hand. These results hold true even when individual background variables were statistically controlled and show that it is less the academization per se but the content profile of study courses which makes the difference.     

试析欧洲足球冠军联赛中的"竞争平衡"

在持续和加强团队性体育比赛对观众吸引力的过程中,"竞争平衡"扮演着重要的角色,各大联赛组织都采取了不同的措施来保持团队在联赛中实力的均衡.通过文献综述、调查访问以及数据统计分析等方法,对各种不同措施和测量方法进行阐述,特别就欧洲足球冠军联赛中的"竞争平衡"通过趋势性分析进行了具体的论证.结果表明,足球强国越来越强大,其中,英格兰队的成绩表现尤为突出,而德国队的成绩表现出现下滑.强大的实力使得英格兰队的成绩在过去的几年中已经超过了西班牙队以及意大利队.同样,法国队在度过了欧洲足球冠军联赛中成绩的低迷期之后,其成绩表现也在不断地提高.与之相反,德国队的成绩表现在过去的几年中却在不断地下降,目前与荷兰队处于同一水平,且已被葡萄牙队超过.佳绩不单单只集中在少数国家,而且集中在少数俱乐部.欧洲足球联盟的顶级5国中只有11支球队能不断地提高或延续着其在欧洲足球冠军联赛中的成绩.欧洲足球冠军联赛的结果越来越可预见.成绩处于联赛前10位的国家愈加恒定,2000午后,就几乎很少发生过改变.     

Editorial

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Editorial

     

Hands‐on versus teacher‐centred experiments in soil ecology

This study focused on differences between teacher‐centred and learner‐centred experiments in soil ecology. After a pilot study, we selected three experiments simple enough to be carried out by pupils even with little experience in self‐determined learning and hands‐on practice. The sample comprised 123 fifth and sixth graders from a middle school (four classes). We found a significant influence of treatment on achievement and pupils enrolled in a learner‐centred environment scored higher. Girls scored higher than boys in both treatments. We found no differences in well‐being, boredom or difficulty of the tasks, but pupils of the learner‐centred group expressed a higher interest.     

Effects of Expressive Writing Effects on Disgust and Anxiety in a Subsequent Dissection

Emotions influence motivation and achievement, but negative emotions have rarely been assessed in science education. In this study, we assessed the influence of two different expressive writing assignments on disgust and anxiety in university students prior to the dissection of a trout. We randomly assigned students to one of two expressive writing tasks and measured specific state disgust and state anxiety after writing and after the dissection. Specific state disgust was measured a third time after 3 weeks. One writing task was concerned with the dissection, and the other was related to behavioral experiments with mice. We used two general linear models with repeated measures. In the first model, specific state disgust (pre, post, and follow-up) was used as the dependent repeated measure and experimental group as the independent variable. In the second model, state anxiety was used as the dependent repeated measure (pre, post) with experimental group as the independent variable. The repeated testing showed a highly significant effect of experimental group on the repeated measures of disgust. Writing about worries and emotions concerning the dissection leads to higher disgust scores compared to writing about mice. These higher scores persisted even 3 weeks later in the follow-up test. Concerning anxiety, there was a clear influence of the repeated measure of state anxiety, but anxiety was not influenced by the experimental group. We suggest that positive writing should be used in educational contexts to reduce disgust.     

Replacing stirrups of self-compacting concrete beams with steel fibers

Based on the investigation of fiber influence on workability of self-compacting concrete (SCC), tests were carried out on two series of SCC rectangular simply supported beams, which were made of hooked steel fibers reinforced concrete with or without stirrups, subjected to four-point symmetrically placed vertical loads. The major test variables are steel fiber contents and stirrup ratios. The results indicate that the ultimate load significantly increases with the increase of fiber content; the addition of ...