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"education"

Conceptualisations of the knowledge economy are highly contested. They range from descriptive accounts that associate it with a particular understanding of Post-fordism as well as with specific currents in Neo-liberalism that emphasise the salience of digitalisation and immaterial labour. In the case of the latter, there is a resonance with discussions of the fourth industrial revolution that address the changing nature of waged labour and its pedagogic requirements (Avis, 2021). Unger (2019), in a largely abstract account, provides a suggestive analysis of the knowledge economy that articulates with the previous conceptualisations. These overlapping constructions form a backdrop to the chapter whose specificity lies in its engagement with Higher Vocational education (HIVE). The question the chapter poses serves as a provocation and is unanswerable given HIVE’s complexity. However, it enables an exploration of several issues: the relationship of the knowledge economy to STEM-ification, vocationalisation, employability and professionalism. These are set within a policy context in which there is an affinity between Post-fordist rhetoric and the knowledge economy which bear upon pedagogy, knowledge and critical practice. Importantly the issues the chapter addresses enable the problematisation of some of the tenets of the knowledge economy and the tensions graduates of VET/HIVE encounter when facing un-under-employment. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.

Seeking to understand which pedagogical theories support the initial training of special education teachers in Brazil, we analyze documents, based on historical-dialectical materialism. We examined 53 courses and 1101 subjects, categorized into: fundamentals of education; vocational training; field-specific; “Others”, their relations with the stages and modalities of basic education and with curricular knowledge. We observed that there is an emphasis on the understanding of teaching as an individualized process, which seeks to develop students’ skills and competencies. The absence of a theoretical basis and curricular content distances this formation from a schooling project and brings it closer to non-critical perspectives, such as the new and technical school. © 2025, Centro de Estudos Educacao e Sociedade - CEDES. All rights reserved.

Introduction: When considering personal characteristics in undergraduate medical admission, professional prequalification (i.e., previous work experience in the medical field) and performance on situational judgement tests (SJTs) are prominent criteria. Despite evidence on the ability of professional prequalification and SJT performance to predict general interpersonal skills, their benefit for students’ concrete behavior in everyday situations remains unclear. Methods: With the present study, we examined how undergraduate medical students with prior professional qualification and students with better SJT performance act in actual social situations by using a behavior-focused observer approach. Supervisors rated the students after a mandatory one-week practical training in general medicine on three distinguishable interpersonal dimensions, namely agency (i.e., assured-dominant), communion (i.e., warm-agreeable), and emotional stability (i.e., calm and stable). Prior to admission, participants (N = 210) completed a traditional SJT (i.e., HAM-SJT), a natural science test (i.e., HAM-Nat), and responded to sociodemographic questions. Results: Controlling for cognitive admission criteria, age, and gender, students with prior professional qualifications were rated as more assured-dominant (β = 0.21; 95% CI [0.04; 0.39], p = 0.019), whereas students with better HAM-SJT performance were rated as more warm-agreeable (β = 0.17, 95% CI [0.02; 0.31], p = 0.024). Discussion: The results value both admission criteria as complements to cognitive criteria in undergraduate selection but emphasize their differentiated focus on students’ interpersonal behavior. Medical schools are invited to review their admission criteria based on the present findings and on the question of required and learnable skills. © 2025 The Author(s).

Transitions are significant turning points in young people’s lives as they enter adulthood. However, for learners with an intellectual disability (ID), this transition comes with effort. To identify and clarify current practices that influence school-to-work transition for learners with mild ID, the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI), the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) were followed in conducting this scoping review. A 5-step process was followed: the research question was identified; related studies were identified through an electronic grey literature search and databases; studies were selected; the data were charted; and lastly the findings were organised, summarised and reported on. Thirty-one (n = 31) articles published between 2009 and 2021 were included in this review. The current practices associated with school-to-work transition were learnerships or internships, vocational training, transition planning, collaboration effort, independent living skills training, family involvement, self-determination, social skills training, career counselling, and employers’ involvement. School-to-work transition for learners with mild ID is a complex, multifaceted process. These practices are necessary to support effective transition across life stages. © 2025, South African Journal Of education. All rights reserved.

This paper explores the application and efficacy of task-based teaching (TBT) methods within the context of internet-based distance learning for English, with a particular focus on integrating environmental education. Through an empirical study involving two groups of college students, the authors examine how TBT can enhance students' language proficiency, motivation, and engagement compared to traditional lecture-based instruction. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the findings indicate significant improvements in various aspects of language skills among students exposed to the TBT method. Moreover, the integration of environmental content into digital teaching materials not only enriches the learning experience but also raises awareness about critical global issues. This study highlights the potential of TBT in online environments as a transformative pedagogical tool that fosters deeper cognitive engagement, practical language application, and autonomous learning. © 2025 IGI Global. All rights reserved.

Decades of decline in skilled trade labour require an urgency of addressing this trend. This study investigates Michigan's skilled construction labourer (SCLs) shortage through three overarching questions: what factors influence and cause this shortage; how are stakeholders responding; and what innovative solutions could reverse this trajectory. A review of the literature revealed recruitment difficulties due economic volatility, skill deficiencies, and perceived lack of advancement. Based on these factors and others, two surveys were conducted to study opinions of construction managers and skilled trade labourers mostly in Southeast Michigan by analysing demographics across different categories using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results not only corroborated the importance of vocational training but also added to the body of knowledge details that were not previously investigated. The results indicate that exposure to vocational education at high school increased the likelihood of seeking vocational training before joining the industry from 2.6% to 29%, and internships played a major role in training union workers. However, project managers (PMs) preferred recruiting workers from internships and on-the-job training over trade schools and unions. The young workers had mixed expectations of remaining in the industry until retirement compared to those over 40 years of age. The methodology utilised in this study can help the construction industry in the United States and elsewhere to identify areas of improvement to attract more workers into the field, and the findings of this study are particularly useful to construction companies in Michigan in determining where they need to focus their efforts to improve training and recruitment. © 2025 Jennifer Russell et al., published by Sciendo.

Background/purpose: Entrepreneurship training interventions (ETI) have rapidly grown in domestic and international higher education systems. There is evidence that education focusing on entrepreneurship programs can increase employability. Entrepreneurship has been the driving force behind this expansion as a survival approach for economic improvement in South Africa. This study aims to identify the types of entrepreneurship capacity development interventions that are available to unemployed youth. Human capital theory is used as a theoretical foundation to argue that poverty, unemployment, and inequality can be reduced through skill development. Materials/methods: 18 participants from three institutions were interviewed using a semi-structured interview technique: the Youth Business Advisory Centre (YBAC) in Eshowe, the Zululand Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ZCCI) in Richard's Bay, and the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) in Richard's Bay. The collected data were analysed using NVIVO version 12 and Microsoft Excel. Results: Findings revealed that the entrepreneurial capacity development programs available to the unemployed in KDC included, and were not limited to, mentorships, business expos, workshops, coaching, training, online courses, business seminars, and conferences. These programs focused on building critical entrepreneurial skills such as financial management, customer service, and digital marketing. Conclusion: The study recommends a mandatory computer literacy program before engaging the youth in other programs. The findings are valuable to policymakers who want to develop more effective entrepreneurial programs tailored to the unique needs of the unemployed. © The Author(s), 2025.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of contemporary perspectives, policies, and practices relating to reported vocational education and training (VET) teacher recruitment and retention challenges, with a particular focus on England and Australia. Design/methodology/approach: This position piece discusses the topic from a transnational perspective by reviewing the relevant literature and examining the impact of policies and practices in England and Australia. Findings: The paper finds that there is a paucity of empirical research relating to VET teacher shortages, but that globally, experience in the sector suggests there are challenges in recruiting and retaining the qualified VET teaching workforce required to address current and future training needs. It recommends that further research is undertaken with an international approach to better understand the problem from the perspective of VET teachers, leaders, and education institutions, and to identify potential solutions. Research limitations/implications: The paper does not report on empirical research but suggests that further studies are required to better understand the problem and identify potential solutions based on the respective socioeconomic, demographic, and policy contexts. Originality/value: While there are studies examining VET and VET teaching from the perspectives of quality, reputation, and esteem, few examine the issue and impact of VET teacher shortages, or the challenges of VET teacher recruitment and retention in the contemporary and comparable contexts of Australia and England. © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Many schools are creating and expanding their work-based learning (WBL) offerings to provide students access to meaningful adult–youth interactions during high school in response to increased policy focus on career readiness. Strong WBL systems depend on the success of school–industry partnerships, which, historically, have been difficult to create and sustain. This study investigates three telling cases (urban, rural and suburban) that transformed student learning experiences through industry partnerships. The analytic framework of systems dynamics makes visible the complex cross-sector interactions that enable each case. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and publicly available data (e.g., news reports and sociodemographic data). The interviews were coded to (1) identify the elements and connections in each system and (2) distil common design features between the three systems. The systems have four common design features: explicit trust-building, signalling institutional credibility, (striving for) robust systems and aligning instructional systems with industry needs. The findings demonstrate how very different schools enacted principles from the educational change literature to overcome documented barriers to collaboration. Retaining the complexity of educational contexts was essential to better understand the essential elements in each case. Furthermore, the common design principles can be useful to school and community leaders to design and refine local systems. Future research can build on this exploratory work to investigate the complexity of school–industry partnership designs and how they impact student outcomes over time. © 2025 Brian Towers (BRITOW) and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

This study examined the effect of entrepreneurial personality traits on entrepreneurial mentoring and entrepreneurial potential among vocational students in Malaysia. Vocational colleges offer technical and vocational education, emphasizing the teaching of entrepreneurial competencies through entrepreneurial education and training to prepare modern employees and innovative future entrepreneurs for the nation. The study used a stratified random sampling and collected 270 responses. The findings of the analysis, using structural equation modeling, indicated that entrepreneurial personality traits such as alertness, locus of control, innovativeness, and need for achievements significantly affect entrepreneurial potential. The finding also confirmed that entrepreneurial mentoring significantly affects the entrepreneurial potential of TVET students. Entrepreneurial mentoring proved to be an essential link that mediates the relationship between entrepreneurial personality traits and entrepreneurial potential. The interaction between mentors and students has been proven to be an effective tool in cultivating entrepreneurial potential. This study first provides insights into how teachers’ entrepreneurial mentoring affects students’ interest, especially in entrepreneurship. Vocational students are equipped with solid technical skills, and their strengths in exploring entrepreneurship align with the latest trends in service businesses. The government, vocational colleges, and industries should collaborate to enhance entrepreneurial alertness, innovativeness, and the need for achievements and locus control to facilitate students’ interest in entrepreneurship. Training and coaching should also be provided to teachers to enhance their skills as entrepreneurial mentors. This model offers vocational colleges opportunities to produce more high-quality and skillful entrepreneurs for a sustainable society and economy. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2025.