Promoting Students’ Transitions to Successive VET Levels through Continuing Learning Pathways

Abstract

Continuing learning pathways have been proposed as curriculum design solutions to reduce student drop-out rates and to promote their transitions to successive levels of the educational system. The present study aimed to compare the effects of a specific continuing learning pathway in Dutch VET (the Green Lyceum or GL, which combines a lower secondary pre-vocational school-based (VMBO) programme and a middle-management VET (MBO) programme in an integrated learning trajectory offered by agricultural (or 'green') VET institutes) with a more traditional route (a regular middle-management VET programme) in terms of students' learning performance at MBO level and their transitions to a higher professional bachelor programme (HBO). GL students more often obtained a MBO diploma at EQF level 4 in the nominal study time period than comparable students in terms of cognitive level in regular MBO. Moreover, former GL students more often proceeded with an HBO programme than comparable students coming from regular MBO. Finally, students coming from the GL less often opted for HBO programmes in the agricultural domain than comparable students coming from regular 'green' MBO and more often decided to start with programmes corresponding with other sectors. To conclude, the combination of design characteristics of these continuing learning pathways seems to promote students' transitions within the VET system and, thus, can inspire the design and implementation of comparable learning routes to solve transition problems.Vocations and Learning

Online vs. Classroom Learning: Examining Motivational and Self-Regulated Learning Strategies Among Vocational Education and Training Students

“…Several researchers have suggested (e.g., Cardinal, 2010;Cents-Boonstra et al, 2018;Dubeau et al, 2017;Biemans et al, 2019) that VET programs attract less motivated students, and studies on VET motivational and SRL strategies are therefore not priority areas for exploration. To us, this opens a door to new research, which might focus on the Catalan context using the preliminary validated scales to compare motivation levels and SRL strategies between VET and high-school or university students-these being similar in age but differing in levels of motivation (Martin, 2008).…”

Students’ experiences with different learning pathways to higher professional bachelor programmes

“…The present study will focus on the GL as a possible alternative pathway to HBO. Previous research (Biemans et al, 2019) already demonstrated that former GL students more often proceeded with an HBO programme than comparable students coming from regular MBO. The central aim of the present study was to examine former GL students' experiences in HBO and to compare those with the experiences of students coming from the two traditional routes to HBO mentioned above.…”

“…Transitions between successive educational levels of the VET system (but also in other segments of the educational system) appear to be problematic for many students. As described by Biemans et al (2019), this phenomenon has been analysed in the international literature on the permeability of educational systems (e.g., Bathmaker & Thomas, 2009;Bradley, 2008;Gorard et al, 2006;Watson, 2006). One of the key aspects of permeability of educational systems is the 'capacity of education and training systems to enable learners to access and move among different pathways (programmes, levels) and systems' (Cedefop, 2014, p. 193).…”

“…Thus, both groups of students seem to experience their own challenges in HBO. Crucial issues in this regard are the lack of curriculum continuity between the respective curricula and the absence of integration of these educational programmes (see also Biemans et al, 2019). Mulder and Cuppen (2018) identified additional factors that are related to drop-out from HBO.…”

“…Brockmann et al, 2008). In this way, so-called competence progression models for specific content domains can be implemented to ensure students' continuing competence development (Biemans et al, 2019). For example, Lilleväli and Täks (2017, p. 3) elaborated on the concept of a competence progression model within the context of entrepreneurship education (or EE) as 'a step-by-step advancement in various contexts and with learning outcomes and roles of EE throughout the education system' (see also Rasmussen & Nybye, 2013).…”