The proportion of freshmen enrolled in dual study programmes has steadily increased in recent years. From the perspective of potential students, these programmes are highly attractive because they combine types of learning that used to be largely separate at an institutional level: vocational and academic learning. In training-integrated dual study programmes, different institutional contexts, governance regimes, teaching styles and learning environments make bridging these two worlds of learning a challenge for both educators and learners. However, these programmes also allow leeway for didactic innovation, through the cooperation of different types of educational institutions and through new ways of using available didactic methods, and for establishing a new relationship between higher education (HE) and vocational education and training (VET). This paper positions training-integrated dual study programmes as an object of design-based research (DBR). By developing and using an extended model for the pedagogic development of HEIs, “pädagogische Hochschulentwicklung” (Brahm, Jenert, & Euler, 2016a, p. 19; Euler, 2013, p. 360), the paper systematically identifies generic educational problems in these hybrids. Based on a literature review, this paper classifies and explains the design challenges at the level of the learning environment, the study programme and the organisation. The challenges revolve mainly around the cooperation and integration of HE and VET. The paper concludes with an outlook on future DBR projects designing dual studies.
In Germany, dual learning programmes are increasingly offered by higher education institutions. These programmes’ main characteristic and greatest challenge is their integration of academic and vocational learning. So far, this challenge has frequently been stated without specifying its exact nature and consequences for learners. The present study addresses this pedagogical research gap and examines the extent of variation in the degree of integration among dual study programmes. With reference to curriculum theory, the study develops an empirical typology of curricular integration in dual programmes. The data sample consists of 152 programmes at (dual) universities and universities of applied sciences. Data is analysed using hierarchical cluster analysis. Results indicate that the currently prevailing forms of curricular integration should best be differentiated according to five types. The five overlapping types of integration are located on a continuum ranging from parallelism through organisational linking to full curricular integration targeted immediately at students’ personal integration. The analysis confirms that there are problems with complying with integration standards set on the policy level. Above all, the study offers new insights on what marks the diverse integration landscape of dual study programmes. It proves that approaches to integration are more differentiated than previous research has shown.
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