Living with and learning through CHANGE

Qualification Systems, Knowledge, and

Innovation-

the case of Reform 2000, Denmark

Hanne Shapiro,Danish Technological InstituteHanne.Shapiro@Teknologisk.dk

Denmark - developments 90’s - 2005

industrial restructuring across all sectors Drop in Danish owned companies’ productivity rates

– labour market reforms ( flexi-security model)

– Strong public sector

– Above EU average: educational attainment at the

upper secondary level– Growing drop-out rates at upper scondary level– Tension between VET for economic development

and for social inclusion - integration of low-skilled

Tensions and dilemmas

Schooling as an institutionally-based social system ↔ more fluent and broader lifelong life-wide learning systems

Demand for increased system performance and efficiency ↔ an increased focus on entrepreneurial and creative values – issues of governance and performance measurement

Equity and inclusion ↔ schooling as one of the prime instruments for increasing competitiveness and economic development

Education for a vocation - expressed as “labour market readiness” for a specific vocation ↔ employability- sector dynamism and convergence

Drivers of ChangeISSUE INDUSTRIAL

ECONOMY LEARNING ECONOMY

Markets Stable Dynamic

Scope of Competition

National Global

Organisational Forms

Single Mover Networked

Organisation of production

Mass production Flexible production

K ey drivers of growth

Capital/labour Continuous knowledge innovation + capital

K ey technology Drivers

Mechanisation/ electricity/steam

ICT, BIOTECH- minturarisation, convergence

Competitive advantage

Economies of scale

Specialisation, innovation

Skills demands J ob specific Multidimensional and changing

Policy goal Employment Employability

Industrial Society Learning Economy

Curriculum Emphasis on practical skills and

craftsmanship.

Head & hand in harmony.

Educational goal

Educated for a specific

profession with well established practices and values

Blurring professional Identities - complexity in

value systems and practices

Pedagogical setting

Instruction, classroom,

shopfloor

Construction, discovery, analysis, multiple settings

Organising elements

Subjects, time, disciplines

Problems, multidisciplinarity-

Activities, outcomes

Teacher’sInstructor role

Professional authority.

Conveys skills through

imitation

Supervisor, tutor, community

of practice- guided learning

towards enhanced autonomy

Governance Centralised Rule-based

governance. Teacher responsible

for reaching determined goals.

Framework based . Central/decentral

governance. Student and teacher co-operate to

reach goals. Processes and outcomes.

Policy paradoxes

Function of schooling: to prepare our youth for a better future, which is increasingly difficult to foresee.

Educational policies seldom lead change, but are a response to change

Educational policies are often built on forecasts of what we observed in our societies yesterday

Institutional dilemmas

Prolongation of school period

””Adultification of childhood- School storage”

Education as a precondition

Yet not the road to societal inclusion.

Value turbulens Therole of media and entertainment industry Fiction reality?

The instituionalised content provision

Most young people spend more time engaging with media than the school

Leisure time Identity formation through leisure time.

Unpredictability in labour markets

The future- the daily staging of identity.

Vocational education in Denmark Tri-partite system. National definition and

recognition of qualifications Dual -based upper secondary vocational education

system: Parallel reference levels - general system/adult

educational system Framework governance and output management-

competences as activity units, not as time units Credit transfer and recognition of prior learning Strong school component - Vocational and general

and personal competencies Formulated internationalisation strategy

Reform 2000 Point of departure:

– providing innovation in descriptive structures– Options for more concurrent innovations without

changing the main Education Act– Broad cluster of occupations as entryway

AIM:– flexibility in the curricular structure - the

individual’s pathway– Outcome and competence-based individual

variations in duration and qualification levels– a pedagogical reform in a changed socio-

economic context

Reform 2000 – gradual piloting Two evaluations. Multi-actor involvement of all the

main stakeholders. To collect and reflect on experiences that could guide and improve the implementation process.

Teachers and school leaders - training measures. Development projects to support implementation of

new instruments and roles - learning through practice.

Web based tool and infrastructure supporting modularisation, students’ personal educational plan.

 [

Danish VET system: top-down / bottom-up implementation

Changes 2000-5

Extended credit transfer

Improved options to obtain academic qualifications

More entry/exit options

Reduction in the school apprentice scheme

Short duration programmes

Advantages of a qualification framework

Relate qualifications to occupational and broader labour market needs.

Bring coherence to sub-systems of qualifications, e.g., higher education, adult learning, school awards, and in particular VET qualifications, by creating an overarching framework for them;

Support life-long learning by opening up access, targeting investments and recognising non-formal and informal learning);

to allow for transferability and transportability of skills and competences from one area to another, educational levels/occupational convergence

System efficiency – system openness i.e. sectoral convergence

Lessons learned

Insufficient funds for change in infrastructure

Traditional tri-partite governance structure↔ sector/technology convergence

Head and hand in harmony- complexity in work processes- the young students’ perception of relevance

Lessons learned Inadequate personal guidance

Limitations in the apprentice model given variations in different trades and occupations

The student as a ”reflective practitioner” is not the reality for all students

Flexibility, but a risk: ’one size fits all’

Individualisation has its costs

Point of departure in a specific trade↔broad entryways

Qualification frameworks

Facilitate the involvement of political actors and stakeholders in VET

Improved guidance and transparency- improvement of access and participation

Recognition of prior learning Competence-based and outcome-based systems Enable the development of a common language in

the discourse on qualifications (e.g. the concept of ‘meta frameworks’) despite differences and variations in detail at national, regional, or local levels.

Creation of mutual zone of trust- labour mobility- firm localisation- transparency in the knowledge base

Ways forwardLinear top-down approach

decision making, implementation, and evaluation-> do not automatically lead to change

-> the learning approach to policy formulationprovides a more fluid perspective to the policy

process

Futures methods guiding reform• strategic platform- Interconnectedness of

different policy domains- uncertainties that may influence policy making

• structural and system change perspective

……………….

Example of reform approaches

Building an informed and critical platform for decisions - Technological changes/changes in demand concerning a next major reform (2006?)

Designing new tools for creative policy formulation - OECD/CERI- Future of Schooling

Planned national review late autumn with a future outlook

Educational reform that follows change or instigates change?

Thank you for your attention!