The European Educational Model and its Paradoxical Impact at the National Level

in Tröhler, Daniel; Lenz, Thomas (Eds.) Trajectories in the Development of Modern School Systems: Between the National and the Global (2015)

The Bologna and Copenhagen processes promote standards for the categorization of educational programs and qualifications throughout Europe – with the goal to create greater transparency and permeability ... [more ▼]

The Bologna and Copenhagen processes promote standards for the categorization of educational programs and qualifications throughout Europe – with the goal to create greater transparency and permeability in European skill formation. However, key tools of Europeanization, like the Bachelor and Master degree cycles and the European Qualification Framework, fail to acknowledge important cultural, normative, and regulative idiosyncrasies of the educational systems in Austria and Germany. In both countries the sectors of vocational training and academic education represent distinct organizational fields divided by an "educational schism". The tensions and contradictions that accompany this traditional institutional divide have in many cases been masked by patterns of loose coupling. However, the current Europeanization processes tend to unsettle these patterns, which unleashes conflicts between the actors of the respective organizational fields, for example, with regard to the placement of the different certificates in the common qualification framework. The outcome of these struggles often is that the institutional divide between vocational training and academic education is widening rather than narrowing. The chapter shows how the Austrian and German institutional heritage has diverted the European educational model's initial goal to foster permeability and, with that, illustrates this model's paradoxical impact at the national level. [less ▲]

Stratifizierung von Berufs- und Hochschulbildung in Europa: Deutschland und Frankreich im Spiegel klassischer Vergleichsstudien

in Dietzen, Agnes; Powell, Justin J W; Bahl, Anke (Eds.) et al Soziale Inwertsetzung von Wissen, Erfahrung und Kompetenz in der Berufsbildung (2015)

Developing Advanced Work-Based Higher Education – What Germany and the U.S. Can Learn from Each Other

in AICGS Transatlantic Perspectives (2015)

Currently, many countries are experiencing a strong renewed interest in work-based training. When it comes to discussions in this field, American policymakers usually identify dual apprenticeship training ... [more ▼]

Currently, many countries are experiencing a strong renewed interest in work-based training. When it comes to discussions in this field, American policymakers usually identify dual apprenticeship training as the "crown jewel" of Germany's admired skill formation system. In turn, their colleagues from Germany frequently travel to the U.S. to inform about the merits of the German apprenticeship model. However, what is often overlooked is that dual apprenticeship training at the secondary level is no longer the only way in which advanced work-based training is offered in Germany. Due to structural changes, such as the shift to the service and knowledge economy and the increased flexibility of labor markets, employers as well as individuals increasingly demand higher-level academic competences. As a consequence, so-called dual study programs in Germany have massively expanded. Dual study programs are apprenticeships offered at the higher education level and they have begun to attract high school graduates with excellent grades. In fact, in terms of recruiting talent, they can compete with prestigious German research universities for talented youth. Yet in the U.S. there are few programs that offer such a combination. Apprenticeships in the U.S. case are mainly organized through private providers or community colleges at the post-secondary level. As Lerman (2014) emphasizes, "Unlike programs in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, the apprenticeship system in the U.S. is almost entirely divorced from high schools […]." However, community colleges are usually considered a higher education pathway mainly for those who do not manage to gain access to four-year colleges (universities). In this essay I argue that the U.S. skill formation system might profit from systematically introducing programs similar to German dual study programs. Conversely, the U.S. approach to work-based higher education offers inspiration for policymakers in Germany. Thus, for example, while German higher education still functions as a rather elitist system, community colleges are designed to make higher education accessible, especially for non-traditional and disadvantaged students. It follows that the two countries can mutually learn from each other regarding the development of new pathways of advanced work-based higher education. In the following I discuss German dual study programs and U.S. community colleges as well as co-operative (co-op) study programs. Then I compare the German and the U.S. approaches to show how each of them offers distinct comparative advantages. [less ▲]

Made only in Germany? Internationalization and Transfer of Dual Study Programs

Scientific Conference (2014)

Germany, along with Switzerland and Austria, has a long tradition in the provision of dual apprenticeship training. However, since the late 1960s we see a new development with the rise of hybrid dual ... [more ▼]

Germany, along with Switzerland and Austria, has a long tradition in the provision of dual apprenticeship training. However, since the late 1960s we see a new development with the rise of hybrid dual study programs located at the nexus of vocational training and higher education. In recent years, this innovative training model has received increasing attention by policy makers in Germany – and abroad. In this context, our study first analyses the degree of internationalization of dual study programs in Germany. Secondly, we examine institutional conditions for the transfer of these programs to other countries: France, the US, Mexico, Brazil, and Qatar. The explorative analysis is based on a range of expert and stakeholder interviews in all six countries. We apply a neo-institutional comparative-historical approach. [less ▲]

The Swiss Apprenticeship System. Its Institutional Specificities and Strengths in International Perspective

in AICGS Transatlantic Perspectives (2014)

The Hybridization of Vocational Training and Higher Education in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland

Book published by Budrich UniPress (2013)

Austria, Germany, and Switzerland are increasingly relying on hybridization at the nexus of vocational training and higher education to increase permeability and reform their highly praised systems of ... [more ▼]

Austria, Germany, and Switzerland are increasingly relying on hybridization at the nexus of vocational training and higher education to increase permeability and reform their highly praised systems of collective skill formation. This historical and organizational institutionalist study compares these countries to trace the evolution of their skill regimes from the 1960s to today's era of Europeanization, focusing especially on the impact of the Bologna and Copenhagen processes. [less ▲]

New Institutional Linkages between Dual Vocational Training and Higher Education. A Comparative Analysis of Germany, Austria and Switzerland

in Windzio, Michael (Ed.) Integration and Inequality in Educational Institutions (2013)

Germany, Austria, and Switzerland have traditionally provided a large proportion of their workforces with qualifications obtained in the dual vocational training system. However, due to the growing demand ... [more ▼]

Germany, Austria, and Switzerland have traditionally provided a large proportion of their workforces with qualifications obtained in the dual vocational training system. However, due to the growing demand for abstract and codified knowledge, all three countries aim at increasing the permeability and individual mobility between the dual training sector and the higher education system. In this chapter we analyse the ways in which Germany, Austria and Switzerland have tried to establish institutional linkages between dual vocational training and higher education. We begin by discussing options for creating such linkages: (1.) upgrading of vocational education and training courses, (2.) introducing dual courses of study, (3.) facilitating attendance of general upper secondary schools for people with vocational qualifications, (4.) enabling the parallel acquisition of a dual vocational training qualification and a higher education entrance qualification, (5.) allowing admission to higher education on the basis of prior dual vocational training qualifications and a certain amount of work experience, and (6.) recognising prior learning as an element in higher education programmes. Our analysis shows that, recently, Germany has relied strongly on the admission to higher education based on vocational training certificates in combination with work experience. Switzerland and Austria are rather pushing the comprehensive introduction of programmes that enable the parallel acquisition of a dual vocational training qualification and a higher education entrance qualification. Finally, we raise questions about the risk of institutional ambiguity and institutional task overload. [less ▲]

Auswirkungen des neuen europäischen Bildungsmodells auf die Verknüpfung zwischen Berufs- und Hochschulbildung in Deutschland, Österreich und Frankreich

in Amos, Karin; Schmid, Josef; Schrader, Josef (Eds.) et al Europäischer Bildungsraum. Europäisierungsprozesse in Bildungspolitik und Bildungspraxis (2013)

Vergleiche innerhalb von Gruppen und institutionelle Gelingensbedingungen. Vielversprechende Perspektiven für die Ungleichheitsforschung

Book published by Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (WZB) (2013)

Die Untersuchung sozialer Ungleichheiten gehört zum Hauptgeschäft der Soziologie. Viele Ursache-Wirkungs-Mechanismen für Ungleichheitsphänomene sind gut erforscht, zumeist existieren alternative oder ... [more ▼]

Die Untersuchung sozialer Ungleichheiten gehört zum Hauptgeschäft der Soziologie. Viele Ursache-Wirkungs-Mechanismen für Ungleichheitsphänomene sind gut erforscht, zumeist existieren alternative oder komplementäre Erklärungen für vorhandene Ungleichheiten. Aus dem Wissen, wie Ungleichheiten (in bestimmten Kontexten) entstehen, kann allerdings selten abgeleitet werden, wie sie verringert werden können. Mit diesem Papier möchten wir daher zwei komplementäre Analyseperspektiven vorstellen, die notwendige und vielversprechende Untersuchungsrichtungen definieren und zwei Zielrichtungen verfolgen: 1. eine Spezifizierung der Reichweite von ungleichheitsgenerierenden Mechanismen und 2. die Identifizierung von institutionellen Gelingensbedingungen für den Abbau sozialer Ungleichheiten. Letzteres meint, institutionelle Bedingungen zu identifizieren, unter denen ein bekannter Mechanismus nicht mehr wirksam ist oder zumindest abgeschwächt wirkt. Die Analyse von Gelingensbedingungen findet dabei ihren Ausgangspunkt in der Feststellung, dass es häufig einen beachtlichen Anteil an Einheiten einer Population gibt, die zwar der benachteiligten Gruppe angehören, die allerdings – entgegen den theoretischen Erwartungen, die uns von den aus der Forschung bekannten sozialen Mechanismen nahegelegt werden – trotzdem ein positives Ergebnis erzielen (d. h. nicht oder kaum von der jeweils betrachteten Benachteiligung betroffen sind). Das Analysepotenzial dieser Perspektiven ist in der soziologischen Ungleichheitsforschung bisher weitgehend ungenutzt. Die Aufmerksamkeit der soziologischen Ungleichheitsforschung ist auf Intergruppenvergleiche, d. h. auf Unterschiede zwischen Subgruppen von Populationen, ausgerichtet. Die hier vorgestellten Analyseperspektiven des Intragruppenvergleichs und der Suche nach institutionellen Gelingensbedingungen sind nicht nur theoretisch interessant, sondern auch hinsichtlich politischer Implikationen für die Gestaltung bzw. den Abbau sozialer Ungleichheiten. Intragruppenvergleiche und Suche nach institutionellen Gelingensbedingungen klingt dabei leichter gesagt als getan, denn mit ihnen sind sowohl theoretische als auch empirische Herausforderungen verbunden. So stattet uns unser theoretisches Handwerkszeug sehr gut damit aus, Ungleichheiten zwischen Gruppen zu erklären, anders sieht es hingegen aus, wenn es um Ungleichheiten innerhalb von Gruppen geht. Umso größer ist jedoch die Chance, mit diesen Analyseperspektiven auch neue theoretische Beiträge leisten zu können. Gelingt uns diese Perspektivenerweiterung, dann können wir neue theoretische Einsichten – insbesondere hinsichtlich der Universalität und Kontextabhängigkeit von Ungleichheitsmechanismen – gewinnen und zugleich eine stärker policy-relevante Forschung betreiben. Für diese Perspektivenerweiterung möchten wir mit dem vorliegenden Discussion Paper einen Beitrag leisten. [less ▲]

Austrian Corporatism and Gradual Institutional Change in the Relationship between Apprenticeship Training and School-based VET

in Busemeyer, Marius R.; Trampusch, Christine (Eds.) The Political Economy of Collective Skill Systems (2012)

Within the context of collective skill formation systems, Austria presents a case in which a well-developed vocational education and training (VET) system provides a differentiated set of pathways for ... [more ▼]

Within the context of collective skill formation systems, Austria presents a case in which a well-developed vocational education and training (VET) system provides a differentiated set of pathways for youth as they prepare their transitions from school to work. If we wish to draw lessons from a comparison of collective skill systems, the dynamic relationship between a strong dual apprenticeship training system and a robust school-based training system is one of the key factors differentiating VET in Austria from the VET systems in Germany and Switzerland. Indeed, we argue that the Austrian collective skill system as well as contemporary changes within it cannot be understood without understanding full-time vocational schooling in Austria. [less ▲]