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On average, young people who complete Year 12 tend to have more successful transitions from education to work than those who do not. Hence we have seen numerous governments introduce policies that promote Year 12 completion. However, in recent years there has been a realisation that it does not make much sense to promote Year 12 retention for its own sake. No longer are targets expressed in terms of the numbers completing Year 12; now the targets are in terms of Year 12 or its equivalent. While this policy trend makes good sense, is it going to have the desired outcomes? The aim of Ryan's study is to answer this question by looking at data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY). This is not a straightforward task. The fact that some students benefit from doing Year 12 does not prove that all students would benefit from undertaking Year 12. In addition there is the problem of sample attrition, with the less successful individuals more inclined to drop out of the survey. Ryan employs a range of econometric techniques to account for these difficulties, focusing on those who do not complete Year 12 and continue on to further full-time tertiary education study. He defines a set of education pathways according to whether the individual is an early school leaver or not and whether the individual undertakes further education and training (including apprenticeships and traineeships). He also rates success through a number of outcomes; these include a number of labour market and study variables over the transition years.

The advanced learning internet technologies indicated a need for methodologies, tools and pedagogies that support the introduction of synchronous e-learning applications and especially Interactive Videoconferencing (IVC) into the whole learning environment. The objective of this chapter is to present the theoretical background and the methodology that have been developed, to implement a pedagogical model for IVC instruction. The proposed pedagogical model constitutes the results experienced from an IVC project in the University of Crete during the last seven years, under the title 'ODUSSEAS', which took place between eight hundred students and thirty teachers in eighteen elementary schools in Greece and Cyprus. © 2010 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

This paper presents the results of a pilot study of a project that uses 3D-virtual world technologies, namely Second Life, as a platform for learning simulations through role plays with the intent to improve the development of professional decision making amongst pre- graduate teachers undertaking a unit in professional ethics. At present students engage in discussion of ethical issues and case studies within the classroom environment as tools for learning decision-making and developing moral sensitivity. However, the effectiveness of these are limited by the already existing identities and social relationships of the students and the scenarios lack the social complexities evident in the professional world. This pilot study reflects on the first use of the 3D-virtual world to teach in this manner and highlights some of the limitations and possibilities that are to be considered in the larger research study. © 2009 Matthew Campbell.

Bridging the gap between theory and practice has long been a challenge for social work students. Facilitating this process has also taxed practice teachers and academic tutors. In 2004, the University of Edinburgh, in partnership with Glasgow Caledonian University undertook a pilot project testing and researching a change in the traditional tutor role with a view to enhancing students' integration of learning during the practicum. This paper outlines the background to and the activity and findings of the project. Then, drawing upon a discussion of the interface between psychodynamic theories and theories of education, we explore some ideas that have begun to emerge that have the possibility of enhancing the tutor role in student integration of learning.

Historically, learning and work were inseparable during the pre-modern era, whereas during modern era a progressive differentiation took place between work and learning. In the late modern era differentiation has become fragmentation. Learning and work after post-compulsory education are organised in different forms such as educational establishments, teams and processes. Although many examples of separation can be found, these are also increasing example models of integration, from new kinds of apprenticeships to work-based learning, work-related learning, organisational development and so on (Boud, 2005). Nowadays, the fact that knowledge and skills are also provided outside formal education and training, is gradually leading to the formulation of a European educational policy (Tessaring & Wannan, 2004). International comparisons (e.g. Stenström & Lasonen, 2000) of VET systems in the European countries revealed much of variation in how the relationship between education and working life is organised. Described as a continuum, at one end are countries such as Germany and Austria in which working life bears the main responsibility for VET, while at the other end there are countries where vocational education has been strongly school-based. For example, in Finland prior to the turn of the millennium initial vocational education was mainly organised by vocational schools with few links between education and working life. However, in recent years educational policy has emphasised the importance of creating closer relationships between education and industry in countries with as well as those without a school-based VET system. Consequently, since 2001, among the central reforms undertaken in Finnish upper secondary VET has been the incorporation into the curriculum of work-related learning lasting at least 6 months. Efforts to achieve closer cooperation between VET and working life also include what are known as vocational skills demonstrations, a procedure that was in experimental use in educational establishments from 1999 until autumn 2006, when it became established practice (Opetusministeriö, 2004).Vocational skills demonstrations are competence-based tests carried out in a work situation or as past work of a process which are designed, implemented and assessed by the education provider in cooperation with representatives from working life. Vocational skills demonstrations represent a new form of student assessment, in which cooperation between education and working life plays a central role and which brings together representatives from working life and teachers (Räkköläinen, 2005, p. 21; Stenström, 2001, 2005; Stenström, Laine, & Kurvonen, 2006). Competencebased examinations have been used mostly in countries where vocational education is driven by working life (Eraut, Steadman, Trill, & Parker, 1996; Wolf, 1995). The recent enhancement of the work-related1 learning system in Finland and pilot projects to try out performance-based tests are developments reflecting the current process of change in the relationship between working life and VET. The effort to raise the level of VET participation has made the question of reorganising assessment to meet the demands of both HE institutions and working life an acute one in other European countries as well (Green, Wolf, & Leney, 1999). The aim of this chapter is to describe how work and learning are linked in Finnish vocational education and training with particular reference to skills demonstrations. First, the context of work-related learning is described and everyday learning compared with formal learning compared. Second, the skills demonstration system as part of work-related learning and vocational study programmes in Finland is introduced. Third, the vocational skills demonstration as a tool for improving the interface between education and working life is discussed. This chapter is in fact based on a study the aim of which was to examine students' practice-oriented learning as a part of VET provision in authentic situations in the workplaces (Stenström et al., 2006). The context was the experimental phase of in the introduction of vocational skills demonstrations in Finland. Skills demonstrations were included in all initial vocational qualifications in autumn 2006 (Laki ammatillisesta koulutuksesta annetun lain muuttamisesta 15 July 2005/601). The data were collected by interviewing students in the fields of social welfare and health care and the construction industry (n = 6), their teachers (n = 8), and representatives (n = 6) of enterprises operating in these fields in central and southern Finland.©Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009.

To address employer dissatisfaction with the quality of graduates, Constructionarium was developed in 2003 to develop practical skills for University students. This is a residential initiative where students are tasked to construct scaled-down structures of real buildings within a week. Drawing on the experience and lessons learnt from undertaking Constructionarium at a Northern University in the UK, data was collected over three years through student surveys and interviews with student, academic and practitioner participants. Observational data captured in the students' reflective essays after the events were also used in the analysis. The analysis reinforced the espoused benefits of exposing real-life situations to students, and revealed how quickly students 'conform' to poor practices that are well documented in the academic literature, including lapses in health and safety, inadequate industrial relations and poor time and cost management. These findings indicate the dominance of practice - at times worryingly ill practice - over academic theory. Consequently, there are implications on the extent in which educationalists can facilitate the development of next generation of practitioners who would adopt good practices. Furthermore, the experience challenges the mantra of organisational learning and poses the question as to whether habits of bad practice in industry can ever be unlearnt.

This paper describes the methodology for an ongoing PhD study that explores how reflection supports articulation of design knowledge by the tertiary graphic design student. The study seeks to make connections between the reflective process and the articulation of knowledge inherent in the design experience, leading to the transfer of that knowledge to future problems. A case study strategy of inquiry has been employed, which draws on a mixed methods research approach, framed by cognitive psychology theory. An intervention in the form of a structured critical reflective learning framework has been developed and applied. To analyse the outcomes emerging from the learning framework, a taxonomy identifying levels of cognition evident in student reflective reports has been developed. The rationale for this methodology is discussed, along with how the approach was implemented. Preliminary findings from the case study are reported. Initial observations suggest that structured critical reflection can play an important supporting role to encourage enhanced cognitive engagement and to support articulation and knowledge transfer by the design student.

The Dutch VET system is under constant pressure to respond to a changing economy. It has been adapting to fundamental changes in job demands as well as to a strongly growing number of vocational students. The qualification system has been thoroughly restructured and various vocational learning paths and school types (the apprenticeship system and school-based vocational education; initial and adult vocational education) are integrated into a single vocational education and training (VET) system. New content as well as new didactics for vocational schools have been implemented to respond better to the needs of a changing economy and labour market. Regional VET Colleges are developing from industrial training centres into innovative learning centres, in order to prepare students better for working life and lifelong learning. In order to reach that objective, the challenge facing the Dutch system is making qualification structures, educational targets and new educational practices, like problem-based learning, more convergent, rather than the current state of tension or even contradiction. In this context, apprenticeships were rediscovered in the late nineties, but with new learning and working arrangements and with new connections between school and work-based learning. Apprenticeship has become part of an elaborated system of vocational education, which includes two main pathways with different combinations of school and workplace learning. With the expansion of the objectives of vocational education to include effective problem solving on the job and work process knowledge, workplace learning has become more important. However, the quality of workplace learning remains a topic of heavy debate. There are two main issues: the quality of workplace learning and the connection between workplace and school-based learning as part of the integrated development of vocational competences. The first is tackled by updated regulation, by government as well as by national bodies and employer organisations, designed to uphold the quality of training in apprenticeship in terms of content, guidance and assessment. New contentand didactics at school, as well as different and more intensive patterns of interaction between employers and vocational schools, are being developed to improve the connection between learning in school and in the workplace. Working together, employers and vocational schools strive for high-quality outcomes. The aim of this chapter is to describe workplace learning in the Dutch VET. An additional focus is on the quality of the connections between workplace and school-based learning.©Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009.

Traditional formal education has often been accused of being disconnected from the learning of real working life competencies. Recent studies have shown that students may feel that formal education is 'too theoretical', and graduates often claim that they do not possess the competencies needed to do their jobs (e.g., Mora, Garcá-Aracil, & Vilas, 2007; Stenström, 2006; Tynjälä, Slotte, Nieminen, Lonka, & Olkinuora, 2006; van der Velden, 2006;). A similar criticism often levelled by entrepreneurs and employers is that the slow process of formal education hinders it from responding to the acute needs of working life (e.g. Billett, 2007). The content and pedagogical practices of formal education programmes may not serve the needs of current jobs. To overcome these problems, some employers have adopted an old - but until recently largely forgotten - practice of educating workers in the workplace. This 'education on demand' may be realised through different models, varying from close co-operation between formal education and industry to the traditional dual system of vocational education and training, as in Germany, or to specialised training programmes organised wholly by companies themselves (for more on corporate universities see, e.g. Andresen & Lichtenberger, 2007; Rademakers, 2005). The goal in all these models is to bridge the gap between education and work, and to provide students with real life experience so as to better equip them with the skills and knowledge needed in productive working. The aim of this chapter is to examine a specific example; the company-based training of shipyard workers. Our assumption is that training carried out in an authentic work environment, and its close vicinity in the company school, could provide a promising starting point for realising the connectivemodel of work experience (Griffitths & Guile, 2003; Guile & Griffiths, 2001) described in Chapter 2 of this volume. Thus, we examine whether features of the connective model are present in a shipyard metal industry course run by the company in the workplace.We also examine company-based training from the expertise development point of view and analyse how the transition from novice towards expert begins and proceeds in a workplace-based training programme carried out in a combined classroom and authentic work environment. In our analyses we draw on ideas from two different directions of research: classical studies of expertise and studies of conceptual change. This is a novel approach to vocational development. We start by discussing the theoretical viewpoints and previous empirical findings of expertise research that supports the idea of providing education and training in the workplace.We also discuss possible problems related to workplace training.We examine the development of expertise from different complementary perspectives and describe expertise as a complex phenomenon composed of cognitive, social, and bodily aspects. In the second part of this chapter we present empirical findings from a study conducted in the shipbuilding industry where future employees are trained in the company's own school and in an authentic production environment.©Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009.

Self-directed learning and other life-long learning skills are among requirements of today workers. To sustain in competitive globalised world of work they need to be creative, innovative, critical and analytical in their approach. In order to achieve all those competences, learning institution can no longer teach their students using traditional teacher-centred approach only. More student-centred approach such as Problem Based Learning (PBL) and Problem Oriented Project Based Learning (POPBL) should be employed. It is believed that those two approaches are able to promote the competencies required for lifelong learners. In the present teaching scenario, polytechnics are still practicing the traditional approach in classroom such as pen-and-paper or exam-based learning. students can no longer survive by memorizing textbooks, they now need to explore and experience genuine tasks that connects to the real-world; in which they can develop, master, and demonstrate authentic skills. Engineering Education needs to move from an instructive to constructivist approach.Problem based learning (PBL) is one of the constructivist approaches where cooperation among learners plays important role in the learning method. Project is one of the core subjects in the Polytechnics system which carries 2.5 credit hours. students will be assessed based on their performance throughout the projects as well as the final outcome of the projects. However most of these final projects designed by students are lacking of creative and innovative dimensions.PBL differs in certain aspects from conventional learning. In normal conventional classes, students normally learned based on what the lecturers delivered in class. This paper discusses issues and challenges the lecturers faced in promoting students-centred approach such as POPBL. Several suggestions are proposed to assist the implementation of POPBL approach in the polytechnics setting in Malaysia.