www.ssoar.info Participation in continuing vocational education and training: results from the case studies and qualitative investigations Brown, Alan; Grollmann, Philipp; Tutschner, Roland Veröffentlichungsversion / Published Version Forschungsbericht / research report Zur Verfügung gestellt in Kooperation mit / provided in cooperation with: SSG Sozialwissenschaften, USB Köln Empfohlene Zitierung / Suggested Citation: Brown, A., Grollmann, P., & Tutschner, R. (2005). Participation in continuing vocational education and training: results from the case studies and qualitative investigations. (ITB-Arbeitspapier, 54). Bremen: Universität Bremen, Institut Technik und Bildung (ITB). https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-351182 Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Dieser Text wird unter einer Deposit-Lizenz (Keine This document is made available under Deposit Licence (No Weiterverbreitung - keine Bearbeitung) zur Verfügung gestellt. Redistribution - no modifications). 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Alan Brown, Philipp Grollmann, Roland Tutschner & PARTICIPA Project Consortium Participation in Continuing Vocational Education and Training: Results from the case studies and qualitative investigations ITB-Arbeitspapiere Nr. 54 Institut Technik und Bildung Universität Bremen 2005 Alan Brown, Philipp Grollmann, Roland Tutschner & PARTICIPA Project Consortium Participation in Continuing Vocational Education and Training: Results from the Case studies and qualitative investigations Bremen: Institut Technik und Bildung (ITB), Universität Bremen, 2005 ITB-Arbeitspapiere Nr. 54 ISSN 1615-3138 The Project “Participation in Continuing Vocational Education and Training (CVET): a need for a sustainable employability" (Project Contract nº HPSE-CT2001-00074) was funded within the European Community Initiative “Improving the Human Research Potential and the Socio-Economic Knowledge Base", which was part of the European 5th Framework Research and Development Programme. © 2005 ITB, Universität Bremen Am Fallturm 1, 28359 Bremen Tel. +49 (0)421 218-9014, Fax +49 (0)421 218-9009 [email protected] www.itb.uni-bremen.de 2 Contents Contents .......................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction ....................................................................................................................4 Germany.......................................................................................................................... 7 Greece ........................................................................................................................... 33 Italy.................................................................................................................................61 Portugal......................................................................................................................... 93 Spain..............................................................................................................................111 United Kingdom ..........................................................................................................129 3 Introduction The main objective of the PARTICIPA project is the investigation of factors influencing the continuous vocational education, training and learning (CVETL) activities in the six partner countries Portugal, Spain, Greece, Italy, United Kingdom and Germany. Roughly, the project can be divided into two periods, in which the objectives were approached with different methods and research designs, namely, quantitative and qualitative methods, which were expected to complement each other. In the previous research phase the PARTICIPA project partners have investigated the participation in CVETL of skilled technical workers by means of quantitative research methods. The theoretical framework of these quantitative investigations was the ISSTAL1 model of social participation developed by D. H. Smith (Smith & Macauly, 1980). This model was the frame of the partners’ studies, which are presented in detail in the second report. Subject of the studies were two sectors. The ICT sector, with its increasing importance in the European economy and with its strong impact on other sectors, was investigated by all partners, whereas the second sector was chosen by each of the partners separately according to its regional importance. The findings of these quantitative studies were presented in detail in the second report (Brown, Grollmann, Tutschner, & PARTICIPA Project Consortium, 2004). At this place we would like to outline the findings of the second research phase, that is, the results generated by a number of case studies, and to discuss them in comparison with our previous quantitative results, which shall therefore be summarized briefly. Within the Spanish setting the research findings have shown the greatest accordance with the ISSTAL model. Intellectual activities, psychological functioning, beliefs and values, images of learning and access to training are the dimensions that most influence participation in CVET activities. In the Portuguese setting the variables images of learning, intellectual flexibility, and experience have exerted the strongest effect on participation. In contrast to the original ISSTAL Model retained information and attitudinal dispositions showed a strong effect. In the Greek and German setting those variables categorised under social background (e.g. age) and situational variables (e.g. immediate job demands or financial support) were found to have major effects on CVET participation. Situational factors were also very much stressed in the British and Italian studies. The British and the Italian research teams carried out their studies in sectors and enterprises particularly affected by global competition, special market dynamics and technological change. This had led to new patterns of occupational work and a strong requirement for employees to constantly update their knowledge and skills. Therefore, professional experience is rated highly as a fundamental pre-condition for successful CVET. 1 ISSTAL is the abbreviation for Interdisciplinary, Sequential-Specificity, Time Allocation and Lifespan. 4 Introduction In short, we can summarise that the findings of the quantitative studies have suggested that participation in continuing vocational education and training is more influenced by individual agency in Portugal, Spain and Greece, whereas structural factors (in terms of forms of provision of CVET and access to particular types of learning while working) are more influential in Germany, Italy and the UK. In this third report of the PARTICIPA Project the results of the case studies and of the ‘focus group meetings’ will be presented. The function of the case studies was to find explanations for the significance of the identified factors, which affect the participation in CVETL, and also to scrutinise and to deepen the results of the quantitative studies. Therefore, the partners of the PARTICIPA Project have carried out one or two sectoral case studies per country by semi-structured expert interviews and non-participant observation. Furthermore, the ‘focus group meetings’ in each region with experts of the investigated sectors should also contribute to deepening the results of the previous research phase in order to understand more fully the participation of technical workers in CVETL activities. The case studies should illustrate what factors contribute to continuous learning on the organisational and the individual level and how CVETL is put in place in economically successful and dynamic environments of smaller and medium enterprises (SMEs). They also provide informative insights with regard to the polarity of more formal and more informal ‘drivers’ of CVET, what can be learnt in work processes and which knowledge and competencies can be better acquired through other forms of learning. To get a set of comparable data in this research phase the partners have agreed on some common criteria for choosing the case study enterprises. These are: – The size of smaller and medium enterprises should be between 10 and 250 employees. – The company should be seen as representing ‘good practice’ in CVETL. – The enterprise should have a significant proportion of full-time technical