International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training

Attracting women into male-dominated trades: Views of young women in Australia

Karen Struthers, Glenda Strachan — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Context: The persistent low female participation in male-dominated trades is not attracting a high level of public attention and policy action. There are determined, yet adhoc actions by advocates in response to evidence that economic benefits will be derived for industry and women through increased female participation in the male-dominated trades. Occupational segregation of the trades remains resistant to change.

Methods: To better understand the barriers limiting female participation in the male-dominated trades from the perspective of young women, this PhD study features interviews with female secondary students, complemented by interviews with industry stakeholders and a quantitative analysis of VET and trade participation data. The three primary research questions are: 1) What is the extent of gender segregation in vocational education and training (VET) and typically male-dominated trades in Australia, and how does this compare internationally? 2) Why do very few female students choose male-dominated trades as their job pathway? 3) What can be done, particularly in the education and training sectors, to increase female interest in, and take-up of, the male-dominated trades?

Findings: The results of this research showed that the composition of trade-qualified females in male-dominated trades is persistently low at 2-3%. The views of young women affirmed the evidence showing system-wide barriers limit female interest in these trades. Most influential is that gender stereotypes of work are set by Year 10 and that female enrolment in Maths (a pre-requisite for male-dominated careers) is low; these trades are seen as “jobs for the boys who don’t do academic,” and the fear of intimidation and harassment deters young women. Low enrolment of female students in male-dominated trade courses indicates that this entrenched occupational segregation of the trades will remain resistant to change for some time to come.

Conclusion: The findings indicate that ad hoc responses to overcome gender segregation of the trades is not effective. Influenced by systems theory and a social ecological model (SEM) of change, the researchers promote the need for sustained, nation-wide awareness and action involving VET and school sectors, industry, government and trade unions to attract more women into male-dominated trades.

Transition to company-based vocational training in Germany by young people from a migrant background – the influence of region of origin and generation status

Ursula Beicht, Günter Walden — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Purpose: For young people with a migrant background in Germany transition from school to company-based vocational training is much more difficult than for non-migrants. This remains true, when data is controlled for the lower performance of young migrants in general education. In this paper we investigate if and how far the chances of transition to company-based vocational training and the acquisition of different school leaving certificates depend from the migration generation and the region of origin of young migrants. The question is, if disadvantages of young migrants diminish with a longer stay of their family in Germany and if this is also the case for the different groups of regions of origin (Southern Europe, East Europe, Turkey, other Middle East and North Africa, Other regions).

Methods: We conduct multivariate analyses on the basis of data from the German Educational Panel Study (NEPS). Our analyses relate to young people who left a general education school after Year 9 in the summer of 2011 or Year 10 in the summer of 2012. Our database comprises information provided by a total of 5,952 school leavers.

Results: For all four origin groups worse chances in comparison to non-migrants were detected. But there are differences in the disadvantages of opportunity between the various groups. They acquire more often lower school qualifications than their counterparts not from a migrant background and also have worse chances than the latter of successfully progressing to company-based vocational education and training. This applies even if other important influencing factors such as social origin are taken into account. Young people from a Turkish or Arab background have the lowest chances in general education and vocational training. As generation status rises disadvantages diminish for all origin groups, but with different magnitudes. A clear upwards-directed integration can be observed solely for the East European origin group.

Conclusion: The results of our analyses signalise a clear need for action on the part of German policy makers and German society to reduce the educational disadvantages suffered by young migrants and to develop an effective support mechanism. Integration is rarely achieved in the short term. It is a long-term task which frequently extends over several generations.

What students who perform in “secondary roles” can learn from scenario training in vocational education

David Sjöberg, Staffan Karp, Oscar Rantatalo — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Context: Learning through scenario training and live simulation in vocational education is generally regarded as an effective tool for developing professional knowledge. However, previous research has largely overlooked the learning of students in secondary roles in scenario training. The objective of this study is to explore learning for students who act in secondary roles during scenario training in vocational educational settings.

Method: The studied case entails scenario training for police students in a Swedish police education programme. A case study design, which included both participant observation and a questionnaire, was used. The analytic lens applied was inspired by practice theory and focused on how structural and situational arrangements of the training activity affect learning.

Results: Our findings show that students who act in secondary roles learn from their scenario training experiences, but this learning often is overlooked in the design of training activities. Due to the structural arrangements of training activities, learning emerged as students in secondary roles were tasked to support the primary participants in relation to their learning objectives. In addition, it emerged in how students in secondary roles used previous scenario training experiences in relation to the current scenario and its learning objectives. Examples of learning from situational arrangements emerged as students in secondary roles formulated and provided feedback to primary participants and through informal discussions and reflection processes. Learning also emerged as students in secondary roles embodied the “other” during scenario training, something that provided the students with new perspectives on police encounters.

Conclusions: We theorize and extract three dimensions for how learning emerges in this case for secondary participants. It emerges through embodying the “other”, in students’ sensory experiences, and through reconstruction of knowledge through repetition. However, our findings also show that learning for students in secondary roles can be improved through mindful set-up and design. Based on the findings, our article provides a discussion and suggestions on how scenario training can be planned and set-up to develop professional knowledge for students in secondary roles.

Exploring visual languages across vocational professions

Alessia Eletta Coppi, Alberto Cattaneo, Jean-Luc Gurtner — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Context: Discovering visual languages across professions is a complex task since it entails discovering a communication system composed of information in image or textual form called representations and also including various kinds of annotations such as notes. Such a task has been previously scarcely considered within research, and basically only investigating in white collar professions (e.g., doctors). This leaves us wondering about all the possible shapes of these vocational visual languages and the potential of using these images to foster learning. For this reason, the current research aims to investigate commonalities and differences of visual languages across vocational professions with the goal of using the outcomes to design educational activities for vocational education and training (VET).

Approach: 55 semi-structured interviews have been conducted within eleven professions from the areas of Craftsmanship, Industry, Health and Services such a plumber and fashion designers. The interviews were audio-recorded and analyzed with NVivo through a coding scheme which served as the main reference for the analysis.

Findings: Results showed that, in terms of visual representations, professionals use different types of drawings such as technical drawings (e.g., woodworkers), evaluation forms (e.g., dental assistants) and illustrations (e.g., gardeners). For sketches, participants indicate the practice of creating sketches depicting objects to produce (e.g. goldsmiths). For photos, they portrayed things to remember or pay attention to (e.g., chemical technologists). Participants across professions use annotations such as notes to specify details of their job. On the other side, they also report profession-specific annotations such as mathematical symbols like the surface roughness (e.g., polymechanics) and diagrammatic elements like different type of lines to indicate the status of the bones and muscles (e.g., massage therapists) or where to cut textiles (e.g., fashion designers). In terms of communalities, participants within technical professions indicated a shared use of both representations and annotations. Conversely, other professions had very specific visual languages hardly shareable across professions.

Conclusion: These results helped in discovering the visual languages of different professions and this knowledge will be used to implement educational activities based on specific skills needed in different professions such as observation skills with the use of VET-specific educational technologies.

Book review: Teachers and teaching in vocational and professional education

Joy Papier — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 00:00:00 +0000

The book is published in the series Routledge Research in Vocational Education. This series present the latest research on Vocational and further Education and provides a forum for established and emerging scholars to discuss the latest practices and challenges in the field.