Dual vocational education and training and policy transfer in the European Union policy: the case of work-based learning and apprenticeships

Abstract

In the search for solutions to national skill formation challenges, the central and northern Europeans models of good practices in dual vocational education and training (VET) permeated the imaginary of the southern countries. Particularly, the German dual VET system has been predominant in the discourse of policy-makers. This research analyses the role played by the European Union (EU) in the promotion of this model as the reference for the reforming Member States during the policy transfer stage of cross-national attraction. This paper develops a reflexive Thematic Analysis among the fundamental documentation related to VET resulting from the EU Governance Triangle. Its aim is to interpret the EU proposal for the reform of VET, with a focus on the characteristics which shape the way in which the training is developed. This Thematic Analysis reveals that the EU promotes a VET training model based in work-based learning as a pillar, preferably articulated in the form of apprenticeships. This, along with the general principles for the regulation of apprenticeships promoted by the EU, proves the agency role exercised by the EU in the dissemination of dual VET as a model of good practice. © 2022 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.

Keywords

Author Keywords

Apprenticeships vocational education and training policy transfer comparative education European Union Education policy Collective skill formation

Index Keywords

Author Affiliations

Department of Pedagogy, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Granada, Spain

Department of Theory and History of Education, Universidad de Málaga, Malaga, Malaga, Spain

Funding & Acknowledgements

Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, MCIU

Grant: RTI2018-101660-B-I00

Funding text 1: The authors are members of the Research Group Educational Policies and Reforms, formed in 1993. The group is based in the Pedagogy Department of the University of Granada. Their activities focus on the study of aspects of educational policy, comparative education, education reform and the government of education. They are currently carrying out the project entitled Challenges and difficulties in the implementation of dual apprenticeships in the Spanish VET system (REDEFORD) within the R&D Projects of Knowledge Generation of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.; Funding text 2: This work was supported by the REDEFORD R+D+i Project of the Ministry of Science and Innovation of the Government of Spain (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, previously named as Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades) under the Grant [RTI2018-101660-B-I00] and the Ministry of Universities of the Government of Spain (Ministerio de Universidades, previously named as Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades) under the Grants for University Teacher Training (FPU) under the Grant [FPU 19/02739].

Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, MCIU

Funding text 1: The authors are members of the Research Group Educational Policies and Reforms, formed in 1993. The group is based in the Pedagogy Department of the University of Granada. Their activities focus on the study of aspects of educational policy, comparative education, education reform and the government of education. They are currently carrying out the project entitled Challenges and difficulties in the implementation of dual apprenticeships in the Spanish VET system (REDEFORD) within the R&D Projects of Knowledge Generation of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.; Funding text 2: This work was supported by the REDEFORD R+D+i Project of the Ministry of Science and Innovation of the Government of Spain (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, previously named as Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades) under the Grant [RTI2018-101660-B-I00] and the Ministry of Universities of the Government of Spain (Ministerio de Universidades, previously named as Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades) under the Grants for University Teacher Training (FPU) under the Grant [FPU 19/02739].

Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, MICINN

Funding text 1: The authors are members of the Research Group Educational Policies and Reforms, formed in 1993. The group is based in the Pedagogy Department of the University of Granada. Their activities focus on the study of aspects of educational policy, comparative education, education reform and the government of education. They are currently carrying out the project entitled Challenges and difficulties in the implementation of dual apprenticeships in the Spanish VET system (REDEFORD) within the R&D Projects of Knowledge Generation of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.; Funding text 2: This work was supported by the REDEFORD R+D+i Project of the Ministry of Science and Innovation of the Government of Spain (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, previously named as Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades) under the Grant [RTI2018-101660-B-I00] and the Ministry of Universities of the Government of Spain (Ministerio de Universidades, previously named as Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades) under the Grants for University Teacher Training (FPU) under the Grant [FPU 19/02739].

Ministerio de Universidades, MIU

Grant: FPU 19/02739

Funding text 1: The authors are members of the Research Group Educational Policies and Reforms, formed in 1993. The group is based in the Pedagogy Department of the University of Granada. Their activities focus on the study of aspects of educational policy, comparative education, education reform and the government of education. They are currently carrying out the project entitled Challenges and difficulties in the implementation of dual apprenticeships in the Spanish VET system (REDEFORD) within the R&D Projects of Knowledge Generation of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.; Funding text 2: This work was supported by the REDEFORD R+D+i Project of the Ministry of Science and Innovation of the Government of Spain (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, previously named as Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades) under the Grant [RTI2018-101660-B-I00] and the Ministry of Universities of the Government of Spain (Ministerio de Universidades, previously named as Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades) under the Grants for University Teacher Training (FPU) under the Grant [FPU 19/02739].

Ministerio de Universidades, MIU

Funding text 1: The authors are members of the Research Group Educational Policies and Reforms, formed in 1993. The group is based in the Pedagogy Department of the University of Granada. Their activities focus on the study of aspects of educational policy, comparative education, education reform and the government of education. They are currently carrying out the project entitled Challenges and difficulties in the implementation of dual apprenticeships in the Spanish VET system (REDEFORD) within the R&D Projects of Knowledge Generation of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.; Funding text 2: This work was supported by the REDEFORD R+D+i Project of the Ministry of Science and Innovation of the Government of Spain (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, previously named as Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades) under the Grant [RTI2018-101660-B-I00] and the Ministry of Universities of the Government of Spain (Ministerio de Universidades, previously named as Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades) under the Grants for University Teacher Training (FPU) under the Grant [FPU 19/02739].

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Dual vocational education and training and policy transfer in the European Union policy: the case of work-based learning and apprenticeships

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