COOPERATION FOR QUALITY IN VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
STRATEGY DOCUMENT ON QUALITY IN VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
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Mayıs 2012 ISBN 978-605-4348-37-4
COOPERATION FOR QUALITY IN VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
STRATEGY DOCUMENT ON QUALITY IN VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
Vocational Education: A Crucial Matter for the Nation (MLMM) Project was kicked off in 2006 upon the collaboration of Vehbi Koç Foundation, Ministry of National Education and Koç Holding in order to create awareness in all segments of the society regarding the significance of vocational technical education, and to drive this process to sow the seeds of public-private partnerships. Over time, the project grew to encompass a total of 264 vocational high schools, 8,000 vocational high school students, 20 Koç Group companies of various scales and sectors, and more than 350 employees as volunteers. The project involved the matching of companies to vocational high schools which provided an educational program in the company’s respective field of activity aiming to promote youth access to employment and foster qualified human capital required by enterprises. The matching process was expanded to cover a broad range of activities, including scholarships, internships, and voluntary coaching support to vocational high school students in line with the needs and resource of schools and workplaces. It also focused on curriculum, material and laboratory support to improve the school’s infrastructure and educational content to keep up with today’s technologies. In due course, the structure came to be known as “School-Business Matching Model”, based on the idea of building bridges between education and business communities by means of conceiving sectoral collaboration between vocational schools and businesses. As a part of its MLMM Project, Koç Holding is striving to expand the aforementioned model into corporate, industrial and political levels.
The Education Reform Initiative (ERI) focuses its efforts in two priority areas, the first of which is to develop education policies that will ensure the access of all children —boys and girls— to quality education, which is a fundamental right, and to raise Turkey’s economic and social development to higher levels. The other area of focus for ERI is to ensure that education policy processes are participatory, innovative, and transparent. Established within Sabancı University in 2003, ERI continues its work towards achieving these goals through research, advocacy and training, with the vision of achieving “quality education for all”. Since 2006, ERI has directed its efforts on restructuring vocational education so as to fulfil young peoples’ potential, meet the requirements of business, and help Turkey make use of its young population to advance in international competitiveness. ERI is supported by Mother Child Education Foundation, Aydın Doğan Foundation, Bahçeşehir University, Borusan Kocabıyık Foundation, Enerji-Su, Enka Foundation, Hedef Alliance, İstanbul Bilgi University, İstanbul Kültür University, Kadir Has Foundation, Mehmet Zorlu Foundation, MV Holding, Nafi Güral Education Foundation, Sabancı University, The Marmara Hotels and Residences, Association of Private Education Institutions, Vodafone Turkey Foundation, Vehbi Koç Foundation, and Yapı Merkezi.
ABBREVIATONS EU USA EQF ÇSGB ECVET - İŞKUR KOSGEB MEB MYK OECD TOBB SVTC NVQS
European Union United States of America European Qualifications Framework Ministry of Labor and Social Security The European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training Education Reform Initiative Turkish Employment Agency Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Development Organization Ministry of National Education Vocational Qualifications Authority Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey Specialized Vocational Training Centers National Vocational Qualifications System
YÖK
Council of Higher Education
TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD 7 INTRODUCTION 8 GOAL 1: BASIC SKILLS ACQUISITION FOR ALL SECONDARY EDUCATION GRADUATES
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Proposal 1.1. Adapting Vocational and Technical Secondary Education Programs for the Development of Basic Skills in Students 11 Proposal 1.2. Providing Vocational and Technical Course Opportunities in Various Fields for Students in Academic Education-Oriented Schools 11 Proposal 1.3. Providing Practical Experience Opportunities for all Secondary Education Students 12 GOAL 2: IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
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Proposal 2.1. Reformation of Educational Programs and Establishment of a Connection Between “Education-Profession-Certificate” 14 Proposal 2.2. Improving Teacher and Administrator Qualifications 16 Proposal 2.3. Strengthening Guidance and Career Counseling Services 18 Proposal 2.4. Enhancing Educational Environments 19 Proposal 2.5. Improving Effectiveness and Efficiency in Skills Education and Internship Processes by Consolidation of School-Business Cooperation 20 GOAL 3: ESTABLISHING AND REINFORCING SUPPORT MECHANISMS FOR VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION SYSTEMS
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Proposal 3.1. Establishing a High-Quality, Sustainable and Up-to-date National Vocational Qualifications System 23 Proposal 3.2. Improving statistical data on vocational and technical education and labour markets, and establishing an effective monitoring-evaluation mechanism 25 GOAL 4: IMPROVING THE SOCIAL STATUS OF VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
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Proposal 4.1. Offering Horizontal and Vertical Mobility Options to Students 26 Proposal 4.2. Diversifying Lifelong Learning Opportunities Following Compulsory Education 27 Proposal 4.3. Supporting Vocational and Technical Education with Communication and Information Campaigns 28 REFERENCES 30
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FOREWORD The principle to devise public policies in data-based and participatory processes is laid down for the education sector as well. It is necessary to identify areas in education that have room for improvement, further examine and understand those areas with research, followed by development of applicable and sustainable solutions that involve stakeholders. It is crucial that NGOs or private sector organizations working towards the improvement of public policies take part in similar processes. This is the approach we have adopted for the project on Cooperation for Quality in Vocational Education developed with Koç Holding and Education Reform Initiative (ERI). In an effort to guide the development of vocational education in Turkey, we have published the Strategy Document for Quality in Vocational and Technical Education in a participatory process based on international trends and the current situation in our country, a product of intense work spanning eighteen months. The Strategy Document offers content and approach to support and complement the ongoing Action Plan to Strengthen the Relationship between Employment and Vocational Education coordinated by the Vocational Qualifications Authority as well as current efforts by the Ministry of National Education to formulate a new strategy in vocational and technical education. The emphasis shared by both Koç Holding and ERI in this document has been quality in vocational education. Indeed, all structural and legislative revisions in vocational technical education will be successful only to the extent that they contribute to the learning and skills acquisition of individuals who receive vocational education. In order to succeed in our efforts towards change in vocational education that are continuously gaining momentum, we now have to think outside the box and carry skills acquisition beyond vocational high schools or vocational schools of higher education. Developments on lifelong learning offer significant opportunities. In this Strategy Document, you will find what needs to be done to seize these opportunities. Strategy Document for Quality in Vocational and Technical Education is the product of primarily Koç Holding and ERI teams as well as many other contributors. We would like to extend our gratitude to Batuhan Aydagül and Nihan Köseleci from ERI; Aylin Gezgüç, Burcu Gündüz and Seçil Kınay from Koç Holding; members of our Advisory Board Bayram Akbaş, Serdar Sayan, Ömer Açıkgöz, Necdet Kenar, Meltem Özturan and Emre Görgün’e and Salih Çelik from the Ministry of National Education who has been leading projects on vocational education for years. We are in the hope that the Strategy Document would serve to enrich ongoing efforts and discussions.
Prof. Dr. Üstün Ergüder Director Education Reform Initiative
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INTRODUCTION Youth unemployment rate in Turkey is approximately 20%, and the risk of further increase in this rate as a result of the current global economic crisis is the precursor of a grave social threat in the long term. Similarly, the failure to meet the qualified personnel needs of industrial, service and agricultural sectors is a risk that can directly hamper the potential of sustainable growth. The important response tools for these two major risks stated above are qualified vocational and technical education. Vocational and technical education should be restructured in a way that will help fulfill young peoples’ potential, meet the requirements of business and help Turkey make use of its young population to advance in international competitiveness. While restructuring vocational and technical education, it is important for business, labour and education to reshape and adopt the proposals most suitable for their respective fields, acting on scientific analyses of concrete data and taking into consideration the inherent potential of the country as it advances towards European Union (EU) membership. We believe that the prerequisite for success in such endeavors is to ensure that policy makers and researchers listen and understand the needs of the private sector, and that private sector base its efforts on actual data and analyses. Within this framework, Education Reform Initiative (ERI) and Koç Holding joined forces in a common perspective to raise the quality of vocational and technical education in Turkey by launching Cooperation for Quality in Vocational Education in Turkey in 20 December 2010. The project aimed at developing participatory and data-based policy proposals. The process included benefiting from studies in the current literature as well as conducting new research. To this end, the first step involved examination of studies by public institutions, private sector, NGOs and international organizations between 2007 and 2011, with the resulting new legislation, programs and publications as a result of the examination have been submitted as Updated Situation Analysis in Vocational and Technical Education. Furthermore, a literature review of vocational and technical skills acquisition as part of lifelong learning was carried out to prepare a report that sets forth international trends in recent years. The report is entitled Vocational Skills Acquisition in the Context of Lifelong Learning: International Trends. Also as part of the scope of the project, technical and vocational high schools for girls, an important item in Turkey’s agenda, was examined within the perspective of women’s employment and gender equality. And finally, the field study entitled “Vocational Education: What Works and Why?” examines 30 examples of cooperation between schools and businesses with case studies and identifies common elements in successful examples of cooperation. The goal of the Strategy Document for Quality in Vocational and Technical Education is to formulate a strategy to raise quality in vocational and technical education based on all the research and information gathered as part of the project as well as articles and reports published by other stakeholders. Offering data-based, acceptable, applicable and sustainable policy proposals, this document aims at contributing to the development of formal and non-formal educational structures that enable individuals to acquire skills and qualifications that the labour force requires and which support lifelong learning. To this end, four basic goals have been included in the strategy document with various propositions to the public and private sector as well as civil society actors such as foundations, associations, labour unions and vocational institutions: 8
STRATEGY DOCUMENT ON QUALITY IN VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
• Basic skills acquisition for all secondary education students • Improving the quality of vocational and technical education • Establishing and reinforcing support mechanisms for vocational and technical education systems • Improving the social status of vocational and technical education This document treats skills, qualifications and vocational and technical education as a whole within the perspective of a lifelong learning approach, and offers goals and propositions that complement each other. The first two goals focus largely on secondary education with an emphasis on the importance of life and employment skills acquisition for all students. The third goal offers propositions for support mechanisms that need to be designed and set up to help the vocational and technical education system achieve its goals. The propositions developed for the final goal concentrate on how to improve the social status of vocational and technical education, which is a global issue.
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COOPERATION FOR QUALITY IN VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
GOAL 1: BASIC SKILLS ACQUISITION FOR ALL SECONDARY EDUCATION GRADUATES Transition to a knowledge-based economy and rapid developments in science, technology and globalization necessitate all individuals who complete secondary education to be equipped with strong basic skills and qualifications. These skills and qualifications include, above all else, literacy and numeracy, basic mastery of information technologies, adaptation to work environments, self-expression, establishing communication, accessing accurate information, decision-making and taking responsibilities, creativity, cooperation, critical thinking, problem solving, understanding complex systems and personal development. This opinion is supported by various studies conducted in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. These studies demonstrate that, in the wake of rapid technological changes (especially with information technologies becoming widespread), problem solving and communication skills are becoming the most sought after skills in the labour force.1 Furthermore, research shows that the performance of individuals in the labour force (unemployment rates, duration of unemployment, salaries, etc.) is closely linked to their literacy and numeracy skills.2 It is crucial that vocational and technical education programs help individuals acquire skills specific to a profession in order to facilitate their employment in decent and humane working conditions that correspond to their qualifications.
In the economic conditions of our age as well as in the increasingly competitive labour markets, individuals have to change jobs or even professions throughout their lives as they want or need, as well as constantly improve and develop their skills. Therefore, in an effort to contribute not only to their professional lives but their active participation in social life in general, vocational and technical education programs need to impart the abovementioned broader and transferable skills to students. Within this perspective, the traditionally strict boundaries between general education and vocational and technical education in many countries show a tendency to ease, with differences between structure and content diminishing. The trend particularly evident in EU countries is towards establishing a 9 to 10 years of common and compulsory general education with subsequent vocational and technical education. Such systems intend to alleviate the potential drawbacks that might be encountered by students who are forced to choose a specialization at an early age.3 Countries such as the United States of America (USA), Canada, Australia and New Zealand do not provide vocational and technical education at secondary school levels, but at associate degree levels instead.4 Meanwhile in Turkey, most of the vocational and technical education institutions are part of the secondary education system. After graduating from eight-year compulsory primary education, young people continue their studies either in general education high schools or vocational and technical high schools. Following are the proposals to equip all students in secondary education with strong set of basic skills and qualifications, and to diminish sharp curricular differences between general and vocational education:
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1 2 3 4
Autor, Levy and Murnane, 2003; Levy and Murnane, 2004; Kézdi, 2006. Chiswick, Lee and Miller, 2002. Şimşek, 1999. Köseleci, 2012a.
STRATEGY DOCUMENT ON QUALITY IN VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
• Adapting vocational and technical secondary education programs for the development of basic skills in students • Providing vocational and technical course opportunities in various fields for students in academic education-oriented schools • Providing practical experience opportunities for all secondary education students
Proposal 1.1. Adapting Vocational and Technical Secondary Education Programs for the Development of Basic Skills in Students Following the restructuring of secondary education in Turkey in the 2005-2006 academic year, the aim has been to provide basic skills acquisition with a common program for the 9th grades of both general and vocational and technical secondary education institutions.5 This is a significant step towards basic skills acquisition for all secondary education students.
In the meantime, in an effort to establish a strong foundation for lifelong learning, the possibility of increasing the duration of the common basic skills acquisition program in secondary education to two year must be debated. Such a system would offer all students the same curriculum in their first two years of secondary education, and the opportunity to choose between general or vocational and technical education for the final two years. Students should continue to receive courses that aim at developing their basic skills even after the beginning of their specialization in a vocational or technical field. For instance, with a view to creating a qualified labour force with foreign language skills, the course hours of foreign languages should be increased in vocational and technical secondary education institutions according to the structure and expectations of the related sector, with special attention on compulsory vocational foreign language courses. Similarly, numeracy skills should be incorporated in the curricula in a creative format that stimulates students’ interest (for instance, inclusion of trigonometry or geometry in wood technologies courses). Impact analyses reveal that the applied mathematics courses in vocational and technical education institutions in the USA, Belgium and Germany yield highly successful results.6 Another important point to mention is the need to adapt education and training programs in a manner to ensure that in all levels and areas of study, including vocational and technical education, students are trained to become critical thinking, inquisitive, analytical and selfexpressing individuals.
Proposal 1.2. Providing Opportunities to Receive Various Vocational and Technical Courses for Students in Schools with Greater Emphasis on Academic Education In Turkey, graduates of general secondary education institutions with no prospect of continuing university education have been facing an exceedingly difficult transition to labour markets. Some of these young people go through long periods of unemployment only to accept extremely poor working conditions (low wages, informal employment, etc.), while others (especially young women) are forced to withdraw from the labour market completely. In order to solve the problem of the “lack of profession”, vocational and technical education should not be limited to vocational and technical education high schools alone, and high 5 Board of Education and Discipline Decree on the Restructuring of Secondary Education No. 184 of 7 June 2005 stipulates that 9th grades of all general high schools and vocational and technical high schools incorporate Common Skills, Computer, and Introduction and Orientation courses developed as part of the Project on the Reinforcement of Vocational and Technical Education. 6 Stone et al, 2006.
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COOPERATION FOR QUALITY IN VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
school students in general education must also be provided basic vocational skills in various fields. Today, even in many countries that offer vocational and technical education after secondary education, middle school or high school students who wish to acquire general vocational skills are able to take elective courses for this purpose. In a similar vein, general secondary education institutions should also provide elective courses (information technologies, multimedia, management, marketing, technical drawing, metalworking, structure-wall building etc.) to prepare students for professional life. Additionally, once the modular system and the system of certification of qualifications are implemented effectively, students will have the chance to accumulate required credits and certify their qualifications.7
This will therefore enable acquisition of skills and qualifications for graduates of general high schools that will facilitate their participation in the labour force without a university education. Furthermore, this practice would serve as a major milestone towards developing individuals who can steer their own education and lives, with the chance to make or amend their own choices.
Proposal 1.3. Providing All Secondary Education Students with Opportunities for Practical Experience Many studies highlight the importance of continued out-of-school education and practical experience acquisition for secondary education students.8 A well-managed work place can serve as effective learning environment for specific skills related to the profession/job in question. Experience gained outside the school help facilitate the acquisition of personal and managerial skills (problem solving, conflict management and entrepreneurship).9
In secondary education institutions that offer vocational and technical education, the complementation and support of theoretical knowledge with practical skills are of great importance for individuals to improve their level of qualifications. To this end, the “dual structure� in Turkey, aiming to offer theoretical knowledge balanced with practical education in workplaces, should be reinforced.10 Indeed, countries with strong vocational and technical education systems such as Austria and Germany regard theoretical education and practical education in businesses as complementary elements. In these countries, vocational and technical education students alternate between receiving practical knowledge by working in businesses and academic knowledge by attending school on certain days of the week. Moreover, by relating academic knowledge with life, gaining practical experience whenever possible, and developing intellectual and manual skills, students in general secondary education institutions would be better equipped for the future. To achieve this end, general education in Turkey should take on a more practical approach, and students in such institutions should be provided with opportunities to gain practical experience in workplaces. These opportunities would help students observe first-hand working conditions in public institutions, private sector and non-governmental organizations, contribute to the production process, and develop their critical thinking skills.
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7 Certification and credit earning will be discussed in more detail in the following sections. 8 Spitzer, 2006; Keeley, 2007. 9 OECD, 2010. 10 Improvement of skills education and internship processes to offer a more balanced theoretical and practical education will be discussed in more detail in the following section.
STRATEGY DOCUMENT ON QUALITY IN VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
GOAL 2: IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION The aim of vocational and technical education is to impart to working-age individuals the knowledge, skills and competences required for a particular task or occupation. It is a commonly held view that quality vocational and technical education significantly contributes to sustainable growth while increasing economic competitiveness, improving human resources, enhancing social inclusion and reducing disparities in regional development. As such, vocational and technical education is central to the policies regarding poverty reduction, economic growth in many countries for the past several years.11 It is a fact that differences in a country’s level of development, industrial organisation and production processes play an important role on determining its approach to vocational and technical education. Consequently, there are notable discrepancies between the vocational and technical education systems of different countries.
However, these countries have undertaken various reforms to renew their systems and improve the quality of vocational and technical education in line with certain common trends. These trends include transition to a modular system, involving occupational standards in curricula development process and adopting qualification-based certification, offering vocational counseling and guidance, reinforcing school-business cooperation, and complementing theoretical knowledge offered in educational institutions with applied training in businesses. A significant recent development in Turkey is the increased emphasis on vocational and technical education in development plans and other high-level policy documents. All highlevel policy documents, albeit with certain differences in targets, propose increasing the proportion of vocational and technical education in secondary education. Furthermore, increasing the popularity of vocational and technical education a priority not only for the Ministry of National Education (MEB), but for all stakeholders.12 Meanwhile, the priority for vocational and technical education in Turkey should not lie in boosting the number of students in these institutions, but in enhancing the employability of vocational and technical education graduates, and their prospects of finding decent jobs in the labour market. To this end, public institutions, led and coordinated by MEB, Council of Higher Education (YÖK) and Vocational Qualifications Authority (VQA), strive toward formulating policies to raise quality in vocational and technical education. A product of these efforts is the Action Plan to Strengthen the Relationship between Employment and Vocational Education13 effective since 2010, developed in coordination with the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (ÇSGB) and with the participation of all related stakeholders. The plan sets forth the goal to establish sustainable cooperation between the public and private sector, strengthen the relationship between vocational and technical education and the labour market, and improve the effectiveness of active labour force policies as well as the employability skills of the labour force. To this end, various 11 Within this framework, in 2002 EU countries launched the Copenhagen process with the understanding that vocational and technical education is more than a national agenda but a more comprehensive issue requiring policies and strategies developed at European level. With the Copenhagen process and the subsequent joint declarations, vocational and technical education is now not only regarded as an area of “secondary importance” for the EU, but one of the key factors that play a decisive role in sustainable growth, employment, and social cohesion. 12 For instance, Strategy Document on Industry in Turkey, and the National Employment Strategy under development, elaborate widely on the reinforcement of vocational and technical education. 13 Official Gazette No. 27642 of 15 July 2010.
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priority areas and measures have been determined, each under the responsibility of a different ministry, institution and organization.14 The goal is to increase the quality of vocational and technical education in Turkey in a way that will help individuals realize their potential, meet the qualified personnel needs of the agricultural, industrial and service sectors, and contribute to the country’s competitiveness. With this purpose in mind, the following propositions are set forth in this section to increase the quality of vocational and technical education: • Reforming educational programs and establishing connection between “educationprofession-certificate” • Improving teacher and administrator qualifications • Strengthening guidance and career counseling services • Enhancing educational environments • Improving effectiveness and efficiency in skills education and internship processes by consolidation of school-business cooperation
Proposal 2.1. Reforming Educational Programs and Establishing Connection between “Education-Profession-Certificate” The reform in vocational and technical education curricula in Turkey started with the process of transition to modular system. The modular system allows students to enroll in modules within a more flexible program developed individually by the students themselves, rather than the traditional fixed program of courses.15 To this end, modular programs for a variety of occupations and fields have been developed and implemented since the 20042005 academic year. Efforts are in place to continue updating the programs. One of the fundamental elements that determine the success of reform in vocational and technical education curricula is the establishment of a strong connection between “education-profession-certificate”. The first step in establishing this connection is specifying occupational standards16 and qualifications.17 Establishment of the VQA in 2006, tasked with creating a National Vocational Qualifications System (NVQS) based on national occupational standards and qualifications as well as measurement-assessment and certification, is an important development in this regard. Following the preparation of occupational standards and qualifications, existing educational programs should be developed/updated in view of these standards and qualifications. Within this framework, it is crucial that the national occupational standards and qualifications published in the Official Gazette are reflected and implemented in the curricula of vocational and technical schools/education institutions at the secondary level by the MEB and in higher education level by YÖK. It is equally important to develop curricula compatible with the modular system over a vast scope of fields and branches.
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14 Ongoing efforts in Turkey since 2007 regarding the improvement of the vocational and technical education are discussed in detail in the Updated Situation Analysis Report on Vocational and Technical Education issued as part of the Project on Cooperation for Quality in Vocational Education. 15 This model aims to introduce a more flexible framework for students to decide on occupational specialization, and in a similar trend with the OECD countries, allows for acquiring vocational qualifications in a certain occupation in the 12th grade, following the acquisition of all basic qualifications in a given field. 16 Occupational standard is defined as minimum qualifications that demonstrate the knowledge, skill, behavior and attitudes required for the successful practice of a profession. In tangible terms, occupational standards are texts that define the occupational conditions in the labour force and outline the tasks and duties employees need to fulfill. 17 Qualification means a formal outcome of an assessment (degree, diploma, certificate, etc.) which is obtained when a competent body determines that an individual has achieved learning outcomes to given standards.
STRATEGY DOCUMENT ON QUALITY IN VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
MEB, YÖK and VQA should work in close and strong cooperation to establish connection between curricula and occupational standards/ qualifications. In order to develop and implement curricula and modules in conformity with national occupational standards and qualifications, the involvement of all stakeholders in a given sector, particularly labour and employers’ unions and vocational institutions, is crucial. Furthermore, curricula should be updated at regular intervals in line with developing and changing technologies and conditions in the labour market, and provide students with skills required in the labour market such as total quality management, problem solving and (sector-specific) entrepreneurship. Needs-skills analyses on a provincial level should be taken into consideration in updating curricula and in introducing new vocational and technical education institutions or new professional fields/branches. These analyses should form a reference point in projections for supply and demand in the labour force. It may be argued that the sectoral committees established within the VQA should take on a more active approach, as they play a major role in the determination of occupational standards and qualifications. Furthermore, it is highly important to revise the structure and functions of Provincial Employment and Vocational Education Boards, one of the mechanisms that are in charge of developing local employment policies. To achieve this end, the governor’s office that oversees the Provincial Employment and Vocational Education Boards and all related institutions and organizations should assume responsibility for these processes.
In an effort to reveal the impact of developed and implemented programs on the relationship between education and employment, impact analyses should be drawn up and conducted at the onset of the process, and an effective monitoring and assessment body should be established within related institutions. MEB, YÖK and VQA play a vital role in the realization of these processes. Consequently, the capacity of these institutions to develop curricula should be reviewed as soon as possible, and increased where necessary. The last stage in the establishment of a connection between “education-professioncertificate” involves the foundation of a system based on national qualifications, allowing the measurement, assessment and certification of performances of individuals (in formal, non-formal and informal education) at national level. This would allow assessing individual skills and qualifications through certification institutions accredited by VQA, in accordance with national qualifications based on national occupational standards, and with national vocational qualification certificates also approved by VQA and compatible for international equivalence. Doubtlessly, full implementation of this measurement, assessment and certification system would take time, and require detailed and well-planned efforts. In order to accelerate this process and to ensure that this the system is realized, all stakeholders (particularly MEB, YÖK and VQA as well as public institutions and organizations, accreditation bodies, trade associations, NGOs, etc.) should adopt this system and fulfill their responsibilities to render the system reliable and valid.18
18 Measurement, assessment and certification will be discussed in further detail in the following section.
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Proposal 2.2. Improving Teacher and Administrator Qualifications Teachers play a unique role in learning processes and consequently, at all levels of the education system. As such, education, knowledge, experience of teachers and school administrators, as well as their capacity to monitor and adapt to changes, play a determining role in the improvement of vocational education quality.19 It is often reiterated that teachers/ trainers and school administrators in vocational and technical education in Turkey should be actively supported so that they fulfill the requirements of the reformed curricula, make utmost use of the developing physical infrastructure, and contribute to the improvement of education outcomes.20
In-service training is one of most important policy tools devised to improve the competence, skills and qualifications of teachers and administrators. Although numerous steps have been taken in recent years for this purpose, there is still a need for an extensive, school-based, and effective in-service training mechanism that cultivates teachers and school administrators through a variety of channels, with interactive methods and peer coaching activities. The findings of the field study entitled “Vocational Education: What Works and Why?� conducted as part of the Cooperation for Quality in Vocational Education project underlines how school administrators and teachers play a major role in the success of vocational and technical education institutions through their sectoral experience; communication, entrepreneurship, decision-making and leadership skills, and the relationships they establish with businesses and other stakeholders.21 In view of these findings, it would be beneficial to formulate in-service training courses that involve personal experiences and successful examples as part of the efforts to enhance leadership, communication, teamwork and coaching skills in school administrators in particular. In-service training programs aimed at teachers of vocational courses still have a very centralized structure, which makes it difficult to respond to local needs. Accordingly, determining training requirements at individual school levels based on objective criteria, and providing school administrators with the authority to select teacher would create a positive impact.
Furthermore, the relationship between provincial directorates of national education and provincial employment and national education boards should be consolidated, and local stakeholders (businesses, vocational chambers, labour union representatives, etc.) should be equally involved in the coordination and provision of in-service training. It is important for vocational course teachers to closely follow-up the developments in their respective fields, and in-service training programs aimed at improving teacher qualifications should be formulated within the general approach of the reformed curricula. Therefore, inservice training courses (theoretical and applied) for vocational educators should be offered in a systematic manner, and with the participation of all actors in the relevant sector. In this context, in-service training programs may be applied in a well-equipped educational institution selected for the purpose of hosting regular in-service training courses with the participation of businesses in the related sector. Additionally, the private sector should offer greater opportunities for teachers to monitor vocational skills training and internship of students in the businesses. This would contribute to the improvement of skills training and internship processes, while giving teachers the chance to catch up with the developments in their field.
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19 OECD, 2010; Aycan et al., 2012. 20 ERI, 2011. 21 Aycan et al., 2012.
STRATEGY DOCUMENT ON QUALITY IN VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
Vocation course teachers should be encouraged to gain sectoral experience, and necessary changes should be made accordingly. Successful examples from other countries could utilized to offer innovative methods that yield results in the short term. For instance; researches in Finland,22 Australia23 and China24 have shown that, temporary work opportunities provided to teachers with no sectoral background or who want to update their professional knowledge had resulted in positive outcomes. Another method that could yield short term results is the establishment of a distance learning infrastructure for teachers, which would provide the opportunity for continuous skills development. Business experience in relevant sector should be sought in the recruitment of new teachers in vocational and technical education institutions and listed among required teacher qualifications. Other sources could be used in the event of failure to find a sufficient number of teachers with the required qualifications. Engineers, technicians and qualified instructors with current knowledge and experience, who are currently working in the industry or the service sector, or have left work for various reasons (other than those that render them ineligible to teach) could be employed as vocational trainers. These individuals may be encouraged to prepare for teachers qualification exams, obtain certificates and serve in vocational and technical education institutions as (part-time) instructors. One significant issue to highlight with these propositions is mind is the necessity for inter-institution coordination in the effort to improve teachers and school administrators qualifications. A determinant factor in the successful outcome of these efforts will be the active participation in the said process by MEB, YÖK, VQA, general directorates that serve in the provision of education services, public offices that respond to the needs of teachers, local stakeholders and private sector organizations.
Equipping qualified instructors who supervise interns and apprentices in workplaces with pedagogical qualifications is as important as the need to develop vocational skills of vocational and technical education teachers. Researches25 conducted on the internship and skills acquisition processes in businesses have revealed that qualified instructors often focused on vocation specific skills while generally lacking on communication and teamwork skills. Therefore, qualified instructors should be provided with guidebooks for development, and encouraged to attend training courses on these areas. Thus, allowing them to gain experience in how best to share their knowledge and skills as well as improve their subject knowledge. Furthermore, having qualified instructors join vocational course teachers in certain courses would contribute to the pedagogical development of qualified instructors while enabling teachers to update their vocational knowledge and skills. A significant step has been taken in Turkey with new regulations requiring the establishment of an “education unit” in businesses that offer skills training to ten or more students.26 What’s important at this juncture is to work towards translating these regulations into concrete results. Providing businesses with financial incentives may be considered in this regard. These financial incentives may be in the form of tax advantages or state coverage of premiums for the training personnel. 22 Cort, Harkonen and Volmari, 2004. 23 Harris, Simons and Moore, 2005. 24 Kuczera and Field, 2010. 25 Evans, Dovasyon and Holland, 1990; Harris, Simons and Bone, 2000. 26 New practices have been introduced for vocational and technical education with amendments in the Law No. 6111 on Restructuring of Certain Receivables and Amendment of Social Insurance and General Health Insurance Law and Other Certain Laws and Decrees of 13 February 2011, and Vocational Education Law No. 3308.
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Proposal 2.3. Strengthening Guidance and Career Counseling Services In today’s world, technological developments have led to the creation of new professions that require new skills and knowledge. Thus, improvement of vocational guidance and career counseling services has gained even more significance due to their role in assisting individuals make more informed and accurate professional choices, and develop their career plans accordingly. Studies conducted in many countries27 refer to the positive impact of effective guidance and career counseling services on self-confidence of individuals as well as their decisionmaking and communication skills. Meanwhile in Turkey, as is the case in other OECD countries, there are serious problems concerning guidance and career counseling services in vocational education. The first issue involves separating guidance and career counseling from psychological counseling within the scope of vocational and technical education institutions.
In most cases, the guidance departments in such education institutions are responsible for aiding students in personal problems (regarding their learning processes or behaviors) as well. This in turn might reduce professional orientation and career planning to secondary importance. Therefore, these two services should be separated as well as employ their own specialists for their tasks. A guidance and career counselor, as distinct from a psychological counselor, is expected to have knowledge of career and learning opportunities, professions (definition, areas of duty, workspace, job finding circumstances and promotion opportunities etc.) and labour market conditions as well as to be qualified enough to guide students. Current statistics in our country demonstrate a very high number of students per guidance counselor. It is of vital importance to launch efforts to reduce this rate to an acceptable level as soon as possible, and train and recruit guidance and career counselors equipped with qualifications stated above. At this point, a short to medium-term solution might be devised by mobilizing the existing professional and vocational counselors of Turkish Employment Agency (İŞKUR). Guidance and career counseling activities in Turkey are carried out in the form of “school familiarization” in the 9th grade rather than focusing on vocational orientation; and naturally, falls short of the desired outcome. However, vocational guidance and career counseling should be provided in a holistic approach, starting at the preschool level and expanding across the entire educational life of an individual. Students’ interests, skills and capabilities should be identified in various stages of their education, and the next level in their education should be introduced to both the students and their parents. Providing special career assistance for students graduating from vocational and technical education institutions will reduce the transition period from school to labour market, and help individuals find jobs that are well-suited to their qualifications. Therefore, guidance and career counselors should maintain a close relationship with not only students but also with teachers, and qualified instructors and employers in businesses. In addition, students should be provided with training opportunities on industrial relations, professional and communication skills, resume writing and interview methods as they graduate and move into the labour market.
Bringing together successful employees or entrepreneurs with students for Q&A sessions at schools might also prove beneficial. These individuals might be selected from among the alumni of the school in question in order to boost student motivation and serve as a role model.28
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27 OECD, 2004; Bowes, Smith and Morgan, 2005. 28 Aycan et al., 2012.
STRATEGY DOCUMENT ON QUALITY IN VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
Cooperation of guidance and career counselors with other teachers to offer training courses for vocational and technical education students would encourage and improve entrepreneurship, and contribute to developing individuals who would establish their own business in areas required by the economy. Besides general entrepreneurship courses, additional specific courses should be provided in the field the individuals would like to enter.
Proposal 2.4. Enhancing Educational Environments A key element that affects the quality of vocational and technical education is the availability of modern technological equipment and infrastructure in educational institutions and businesses that offer skills training and/or internship opportunities. Recent projects in Turkey have contributed substantially to renovate and increase the compatibility of equipment, particularly in educational institutions, with curricula. For instance, the Specialized Vocational Training Centers (UMEM) launched in cooperation with ÇSGB, MEB, The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) and TOBB Economy and Technology University is an important step in this direction. A key goal of the UMEM Project is to overhaul the technical infrastructure of selected vocational and technical secondary schools, equip them in line with newest technologies, and help their teachers adapt to developing technologies. It is essential for schools and stakeholders in the related sector to work in close cooperation to respond to the equipment needs of educational institutions for training courses, especially in fields with higher costs as well as higher employment opportunities (such as the industrial sector). Accordingly, continuous cooperation between businesses and schools should be encouraged for setting up laboratories in vocational and technical education institutions, and bureaucratic obstacles to such projects should be removed.
However, the responsibility of the business should not be limited to the setup phase alone. Following the setup of the laboratory, technical equipment should be monitored and renovated regularly by relevant personnel and/or department of the company, and continuous education should be offered to vocational and technical educators responsible for the laboratory.29 Education environments that offer practical training to students should also adjust to modern product and service production processes. With the legislative amendments introduced in 2011, all enterprises with more than 10 employees are under legal obligation to offer skills training to students of vocational education institutions. These enterprises are liable for administrative fines in the event that they fail to fulfill this obligation. Although initially this led to an increase in the number of enterprises that provide skills training, many small and medium-sized enterprises lack required equipment and sufficient number of qualified personnel to offer training according to revised curricula, which leads to difficulties in realizing the impact of the new regulations. Furthermore, insufficient occupational safety measures, lack of protective equipment for interns and the difficulty of assessing compliance with the new regulations pose serious problems in terms of occupational health and safety.30 In this context, a possible solution might be found in the form of sector-specific skills development centers, an important element of the dual vocational education system in Germany. With agreements between skills development centers and education institutions, students can be provided with skills training in centers featuring equipment compatible with their curricula and modern technologies. 29 Aycan et al., 2012. 30 For a detailed analysis of the relationship between education and employment in the new legislation, see Kenar (2011).
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Stakeholders in the related sector (chambers, vocational institutions, etc.) should be encouraged for the foundation of skills centers. Likewise, enterprises establishing and supporting vocational and technical secondary education institutions in their field of operation would contribute to the improvement of education environments in schools.
Proposal 2.5. Improving Effectiveness and Efficiency in Skills Education and Internship Processes by Consolidation of SchoolBusiness Cooperation A basic problem observed in labour markets is the lack of qualified personnel for a given profession. A great number of vocational and technical education graduates are not recruited in their field for lack of qualifications. On the other hand, enterprises that hire vocational and technical education graduates are compelled to provide compensatory skills training for these young people who enter the labour markets lacking the knowledge and skills required by their profession. Meanwhile, graduates who are equipped with the necessary vocational and personal skills often have difficulty finding jobs in enterprises that offer the working conditions, wages, or personal rights that correspond to their qualifications. One of the fundamental reasons behind this issue is the absence of a sufficiently systematic and efficient relationship between vocational and technical education institutions and the actors in the related sector. Consequently, it is crucial for businesses to develop systematic relationships with the relevant departments of vocational and technical education institutions, based on the needs of their manufacturing processes. One of the most important pillars of school-business cooperation is, without a doubt, the applied skills training and/or internships. Skills training and internships play a major role in the development of vocational and technical skills in students, as well as their problem solving, decision making, communication and entrepreneurship skills. Furthermore, they also enable employers and potential future employees to understand each other better, thereby facilitating the process of transition from school to work and contributing to the manufacturing processes of enterprises.31 Effective management of the skills training and internship process is of great importance for the maximum benefit and the achievement of goals for both the educational institution and the business.
The findings32 of the field study entitled “Vocational Education: What Works and Why?” conducted as part of the Cooperation for Quality in Vocational Education project has demonstrated the need for meticulous planning, close inspection and follow-up of skills training and internship processes. In this context, there are various practices that should be highlighted for successful skills training and internship planning as well as student-school matching processes: • Taking student discipline and motivation into along with their school grades and vocational and technical skills during selection for skills training/internship at enterprises; establishing a commission of vocational course teachers and enterprise representatives for the selection process, and organizing a general aptitude test to measure the comprehension and perception and cognition skills of students,
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31 OECD, 2010. 32 Aycan et al., 2012.
STRATEGY DOCUMENT ON QUALITY IN VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
• Ensuring the availability of sufficient technical equipment in enterprises offering skills training/ internship; providing students with the opportunity to gain practical experience related to their field; including students in the scope of in-service training; ensuring appropriate working conditions (remuneration, work hours, etc.) and providing good opportunities for the employment of students in the relevant enterprises after graduation, • Effective use of online career centers for school-business matching, and organizing career days to bring together students and businesses, • Making the required changes to dedicate an entire semester of students to practical education at enterprises followed by another semester of academic education at school, in order to ensure that students benefit equally from both.
The quality of the practical training offered by the enterprises depends on the establishment of an effective “quality assurance” system. First of all, protocols between schools and businesses would bring a legal and institutional framework to the skills training/internship processes. Education institutions and enterprises share the responsibility of monitoring the skills training/internship processes. On one hand, coordinating teachers responsible for monitoring the skills training/internship processes should closely follow up the training of the student receives in the enterprise. On the other hand, enterprises should offer skills training/ internship programs with the potential to deliver a substantial impact on the vocational and technical skills of students. In addition, it is crucial for qualified instructors or human resources experts to allow workplace observations by coordinating teachers. A commission of vocational course teachers, qualified instructors employed in enterprises, and representatives of sectoral institutions (chambers, unions etc.) could be tasked with preparing examinations within the scope of vocational and technical education programs, thus ensuring an effective quality assurance system.
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GOAL 3: ESTABLISHING AND REINFORCING SUPPORT MECHANISMS FOR VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION SYSTEMS Vocational and technical education aims at enabling young people to realize their potential and enter the labour market in decent conditions, while meeting the need for qualified personnel in the economy. Obviously, these goals require major changes in existing vocational and technical education systems, as highlighted in the previous sections. However, such changes alone are not the only requirement for obtaining the desired result. Strengthening the “interaction� between vocational and technical education and the labour market in particular, requires certain support mechanisms oriented towards labour markets, outside the scope of the education system. These mechanisms encompass the framework of qualifications; effective measurement, assessment and certification systems and monitoring-evaluation of vocational and technical education programs. The first step is the establishment of an effective national (or regional, as is the case in the EU) qualifications system for defining occupational standards and recognizing acquired qualifications with certificates or diplomas. A common framework 33 for qualifications enhances reliability and transparency while enabling every individual -regardless of age or education- to continue with their education at any point in their lives, thus supporting lifelong learning and facilitating transition to higher education.34
However, it should be noted that the impact of a qualifications framework depends on its ability to utilize an effective method for identifying qualifications by level, the amount of support from stakeholders in the relevant sector, complementary measures to encourage homogeneity within the vocational and technical education, and improvements to mobility within the system. Furthermore, national qualifications frameworks should also be complemented with a reliable and transparent national measurement, assessment and certification framework. In recent years, various countries designed and launched such national qualifications systems. EU countries in particular have accelerated efforts to establish an European Qualifications Framework (EQF) to foster mobility between countries as part of lifelong learning, easy recognition of qualifications of every individual across all member states and to establish a relationship between qualifications frameworks on national and sectoral levels. Applicable to all levels of qualifications35 ranging from general education, vocational and technical education and higher education, the EQF focuses on learning output and outcomes (knowledge, understanding and capacity at the end of the education) instead of learning inputs (duration of the education program, type of institution, etc.) in order to form a common framework between different education systems within the EU.36 Regarded as a natural extension and complement to the EQF, the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET) is a tool developed to provide a common platform to communicate different national and/or sectoral qualifications systems. Accordingly, ECVET utilizes a method involving learning outcomes (knowledge, skills and competence) which can be accumulated and transferred, and credits to determine
22
33 Qualifications framework defines and classifies qualifications based on learning outcome (knowledge, skill, competence). 34 Kis, Hoeckel and Santiago, 2009; Kis and Field, 2009. 35 Lifelong learning (non-formal and informal) education qualifications also fall under the scope of the EQF. 36 EQF defines eight levels of qualifications indicating learning outcomes, with each level described in terms of knowledge, skills and competencies.
STRATEGY DOCUMENT ON QUALITY IN VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
qualifications.37 EQF and ECVET aim to establish a modern, flexible and quality vocational and technical education system, based on the principle of lifelong learning that responds to the needs of the labour market, and integrated with other education systems.38
Last but not least, another significant issue is the need for current and reliable data and effective monitoring-evaluation programs to ensure that vocational and technical education achieves its goals. The absence of a regularly collected data that allows comparison on the international level makes it difficult to identify critical areas and weaknesses in vocational and technical education. This section offers two policy proposals on the development of support mechanisms for vocational and technical education, based on the items described above. • Establishing a high-quality, sustainable and up-to-date national vocational qualifications system • Improving statistical data on vocational and technical education and labour markets, and establishing an effective monitoring-evaluation mechanism
Proposal 3.1. Establishing a High-Quality, Sustainable and Up-to-date National Vocational Qualifications System One of the major problems concerning the vocational and technical education system in Turkey is the failure of documents provided by the (formal and non-formal) vocational and technical education institutions to offer reliable information on the knowledge and skills of individuals. Furthermore, a large majority of individuals who acquire vocational experience outside the formal or non-formal education system have no chance to certify their knowledge, skills and competencies.
The foundation of the National Vocational Qualifications System (NVQS)39 coordinated by VQS is a significant step towards the settlement of these issues. However, what’s more important is to maintain the quality, sustainability and currency of this system.40 The first stage of the NVQS is the preparation of national occupational standards and national qualifications according to the needs of the labour market. To ensure the acceptability and quality of related standards and qualifications, it is of critical import to include related stakeholders and experts (related ministries and public offices, local governments, labour and employers’ unions, vocational organizations etc.) with private sector representatives actively involved in the sectoral expert committees in the VQA.41 To achieve this end, incentives should be given for activities led by the VQA and carried out by the private sector to prepare vocational standards. Furthermore, a series of research, studies and analyses should be conducted in the process of preparing vocational standards. Needs and skills analyses for the labour market should be carried out to serve this end. However, these analyses should be regular and should include projections based on the needs of the labour market identified in the analyses.
37 CEDEFOP, 2010. 38 For an evaluation of EQF and ECVET within the framework of lifelong learning, see Köseleci (2012b). 39 NVQS is a set of rules and activities on vocational and technical education standards and the development and implementation of qualifications based on these standards as well as authorization, inspection, measurement, documentation and certification related to these qualifications. 40 MYK, 2012. 41 Young, 2005.
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As discussed in detail in the previous section, following the determination of standards, vocational and technical education programs in all levels and schools should be designed according to national occupational standards, constantly updated in line with technological innovations and standards, with teacher qualifications developed and examinations revised accordingly. A reliable evaluation and certification of learning outcomes in all levels and types of formal or non-formal education programs will help employers find the labour force they demand and individuals find the jobs that best fit their qualities. In our country, there is still a need for a standard system to measure, evaluate and certify student performance on a national level in order to ensure transparency, reliability and compatibility with the labour force in vocational and technical education. With the introduction of NVQS, students are evaluated by examinations on national qualifications by certification institutions authorized by the VQA, followed by the VQA-approved awarding of vocational qualifications certificates that are recognized on the national level and allow comparison on an international level. There is a need of strong cooperation between VQA and providers of vocational and technical education, MEB and YĂ–K. MEB in particular has considerable experience in student evaluation processes. Bearing this in mind, the Ministry and its related departments should contribute efforts to formulate evaluation tools and examination processes and to prepare criteria for the accreditation of educational institutions.
As is widely known, curricula in vocational and technical education (formal and non-formal) are prepared in a modular structure and activities are underway to enable these modules to be accredited as part of ECVET. However, especially secondary education institutions still use a pass-fail system. These institutions should replace the pass-fail system with a credit-based system. In-service training should be provided for teachers and school administrators on the credit system. As the obtainment of VQA-approved vocational qualifications will be on a voluntary basis, it would be helpful to launch information campaigns as well as introducing incentives and legislative amendments, so that the system is generalized on a broader level. For instance, in an effort to boost entrepreneurship and motivate individuals who would like to set up their own business, those with a VQA-approved vocational qualification certificate might be given priority for financial incentives provided by the Small and Medium Industry Development Organization (KOSGEB). Another option could involve KOSGEB covering the costs incurred by employers in small and medium-sized enterprises who enable their employees to receive vocational and technical education and to obtain a VQA-approved vocational qualification certificate. To serve this end, certain amendments were made to the VQA Law No. 5544 with a Statutory Decree No. 65 in 2011, in an effort to eliminate legal loopholes that have emerged since the VQA started its activities. The said legal amendments have enabled VQA to undertake all activities related to the establishment, development and ensuring the currency of NVQS. Furthermore, basic principles have been determined to prepare and bring into effect national occupational standards and national qualifications as well as accreditation of education institutions and examination, assessment and evaluation institutions. When these regulations are put into practice, the quality assurance of VQAapproved vocational qualifications certificates will be maintained and individuals will have faster access to these certificates.
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STRATEGY DOCUMENT ON QUALITY IN VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
Proposal 3.2. Improving Statistical Data on Vocational and Technical Education and Labour Markets, and Establishing an Effective Monitoring-Evaluation Mechanism Short to medium term needs analyses for labour markets are important tools that public and private sector organizations can use for service planning. However, Turkey has a very insufficient number of activities geared towards identifying current and future professional areas, employment rates and needs of local and national labour market as well as those aimed to monitor vocational and technical education graduates.
In order for vocational and technical education programs to help facilitate transition of individuals to the labour market, regional needs and trends for future development should be examined, with local and regional regulations coming to the fore in the formulation of new programs. For instance, regional analyses and data studies to be conducted by educational institutions and regional development agencies should identify areas that require entrepreneurs/ investors and these studies should be announced to entrepreneur candidates and the public. In most cases, there is no sufficient data on whether students are recruited in jobs related to their field of education following their graduation. The National Education Council passed a resolution on the establishment of a “Job Placement and Monitoring Department” in vocational and technical education institutions to enable the recruitment of the graduates of these schools in areas related to their education and to monitor their work performance. Following this resolution, the Directive on the Foundation of Job Placement and Monitoring Department in Vocational and Technical Education Institutions entered into force in 2002. However, desired results could not be achieved in practice. Therefore, there should be a greater number of analyses on e-graduate systems that allow online monitoring of vocational and technical education graduates, results of such analyses should demonstrate the deficiencies in the database and activities should be reinforced to eliminate these deficiencies. It will thus be possible to track the graduates from vocational and technical education institutions and discover their positions in the labour markets. Regular collection of data whether the graduates work in the field they received educated in and their working conditions could also give an idea on the impact of education programs. There is also a need for policy makers to conduct impact analyses that evaluate the possible costs and benefits, results and side effects of plans, programs, policies or projects in the vocational and technical education system. To serve this end, both cost-benefit analyses and program impact analyses should be devised from the very onset of processes. Therefore, studies (master’s or PhD theses, academic articles) should be encouraged on the impact analyses of vocational and technical education programs.
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GOAL 4: IMPROVING THE SOCIAL STATUS OF VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION A significant problem of social status and poor reputation is observed both in our country and OECD and EU member countries as regards vocational and technical education institutions. General (academic) education is held in higher regard than vocational and technical education with students and/ or families considering vocational and technical education institutions as a last resort. Turning vocational and technical education into attractive options will be possible only if students and families believe that vocational education will translate into income and social status for individuals. Individuals and families decide upon education with a desire to go to schools that they believe will create the highest economic and social benefits for them and send their children to such schools. It is highly unlikely for schools to attract qualified persons and avoid being referred to as a “dead-end” if they do not allow individuals the chance to make lateral transfers to different schools or vertical transfers to higher education institutions once they start secondary education. Therefore, in an effort to offer a chance to the individual to review their educational choices, educational systems in many countries work on lateral and vertical transfer opportunities between general and vocational education. Provided that necessary conditions are met between educational and training programs, lateral and vertical transfers are easily carried out in these countries 42 where vocational and technical education is of great importance. Individuals who wish to transfer from one program to another may benefit from their previous works and/or achievements and transfer applicable credits. The need to acquire vocational skills throughout an entire lifetime should be also highlighted in an effort to render vocational and technical education more attractive. Therefore, lifelong learning opportunities following compulsory education should be diversified, providing support for adults to acquire skills and competencies. Lastly, there is a need for intensive communication and information activities to put all these policies into practice effectively. Rendering vocational and technical education attractive for students and their families and raising the status of vocational education is a permanent priority item on the agenda. Three policy proposals are offered in this section to serve this purpose: • Offering horizontal and vertical mobility options to students • Diversification of lifelong learning options after compulsory education • Supporting vocational and technical education with communication and information campaigns
Proposal 4.1. Offering Horizontal and Vertical Mobility Options to Students The level of attractiveness and reputation of vocational and technical education should be enhanced if it is to save itself from a low-status position. Particular emphasis should be laid on changing the perception surrounding vocational and technical education institutions in the secondary education level that reveals itself in phrases such as “low-quality jobs”, “lowquality education” and “no chance of university education”. Restructuring vocational schools of higher education plays a major role in this regard. Firstly, the programs between vocational and technical secondary education institutions and vocational schools of higher education should be integrated. 26
42 OECD, 2007; CEDEFOP, 2011.
STRATEGY DOCUMENT ON QUALITY IN VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
For both levels of education, programs should be geared towards revealing and developing interests, talents and skills in students and aim towards raising young people who inquire, explore and who can express themselves. Furthermore, teaching staff and administrative staff in vocational high schools should be improved in terms of quantity, quality as well as pedagogical terms; should be better equipped with technologies and should establish stronger cooperation with businesses in the related sector. Following a review of current vocational high schools, there might be a need to close certain schools that are unproductive and cannot find students. Resources to be gathered from these closures could be channeled into improvement activities in other schools. Vertical transfers should be broadened to enable transition from vocational schools of higher education to universities offering four-year undergraduate degrees, thereby paving the way for individuals to receive higher education. For students who wish to transfer from vocational schools of higher education to undergraduate programs in universities should be given supporting academic education (within the credit system and modules) in an effort to help them better adjust to university education. A vocational skill and aptitude test should be organized in order to eliminate the problem of quality that results from open admission to vocational schools of higher education after vocational secondary education, and to encourage individuals with a vocational education background or those that are skilled, talented and interested in vocational education. Such tests will result in higher advantage for students from vocational and technical secondary education programs. Individuals that have studied in a general high school and are interested in a vocation with a program enlisted in a vocational school of higher education but nevertheless lack the necessary qualifications, will be able to receive a vocational education that will prepare them for education in a vocational school of higher education, and complete their vocational knowledge/ skill background. These individuals should be additionally given a chance to prepare for an examination with the modules in the education programs.
Proposal 4.2. Diversification of Lifelong Learning Options After Compulsory Education Individuals who discontinue school after compulsory education in Turkey should be given opportunities to acquire skills and competencies. Particular attention should be given to establish alternatives to universities and vocational schools of higher education following secondary education. The level of attractiveness for these alternatives in the eyes of individuals depends on the certification of learning by NVQS, transferability of earned credits to other formal or non-formal education institutions and their recognition as a vocational qualification certificate and/or higher education degree. One of the major aspects in the vocational and technical education systems in OECD countries is the opportunity given to every individual to restart their education anytime, irrespective of their age or level of education.
Private institutions offering vocational skills will rise in number with the establishment of NVQS. In an effort to support this generalization, public policies can encourage the foundation of education network by creating circumstances and a flexible bureaucratic framework with competition in free market conditions for VQA-approved certification institutions and private institutions offering skills training. 27
COOPERATION FOR QUALITY IN VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
Vocational schools of higher education can play a basic role in lifelong learning with short and/ or long term vocational and technical education for young people and adults following compulsory education. For adult training in particular, vocational schools of higher education can successfully implement short and long term education programs to cover the need for qualified personnel in the local labour market and thereby raise the employability levels in the labour force.
To achieve this end, there is a need for a major structural change with which vocational schools of higher education will develop the awareness to sense the needs of the local labour markets and the flexibility to respond to these needs. These institutions should be incorporated in lifelong learning networks and should be rendered competitive, which will therefore help them feel the need to raise quality on a constant basis. One such effort could be offering public funds for each student enrolling in a vocational school of higher education and autonomy of evaluation for costs incurred in courses for vocational training and adult training. Lastly, it should be noted that vocational and technical education in the lifelong learning process is extremely costly, which therefore results in a problem of financing. Public policies could support vocational and technical education activities for lifelong learning with tax reliefs and education funds. Furthermore, private sector and businesses should be encouraged to invest more in the vocational and technical training of their employees and should develop new methods (equivalent financing options such as personal learning accounts and contribution allowances).43
Proposal 4.3. Supporting Vocational and Technical Education with Communication and Information Campaigns Information and awareness-raising activities should be undertaken while regulations are introduced to set the conditions in which vocational and technical education will yield higher economic and social benefits. Communication strategies should aim at changing the negative perceptions surrounding vocational and technical education. In an effort to raise awareness on the importance of vocational and technical education and the opportunities given in this area, a communication platform should be established to join related stakeholders, and a national communication campaign should be launched. Active participation should be ensured in this platform by the business world, vocational and technical education institutions and especially non-governmental organizations representing young people. The communication platform can launch a broad communication campaign that sets secondary education level students and their families as target group. This campaign to be run by vocational education institutions could encourage vocational and technical education and having a profession. The content of the campaign could include communication tools such as posters and flyers as well as career days and vocational school promotion days to be organized at schools. Furthermore, new communication mechanisms should be developed to raise access for young people to information on the vocational and technical education they will receive and employment possibilities in their field.
28
43 Kenar, 2009; Kรถseleci, 2012b.
STRATEGY DOCUMENT ON QUALITY IN VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
Prior to these activities that will identify young people and their families as direct target groups; the needs, expectations and the primary communication tools of young people should be identified, and communication tools should be set accordingly. İŞKUR could lead these activities and take on the specialization in youth-oriented communication efforts. Social media should be effectively used as a communication tool. However, in order to avoid further aggravating the disadvantages experienced by young people without access to the Internet, alternative communication tools such as local television channels should be taken into consideration. The scope of the communication activities should also include promoting the importance of vocational education in businesses, in order to raise employer awareness on the issue. These activities should not only underscore the contributions to the company and the sector resulting from the recruitment of young people with vocational and technical education, they should also aim at raising the level of knowledge in business owners on lifelong learning opportunities and incentives for all of these areas. Lastly, communication and information activities should not be limited to vocational and technical secondary education institutions but should be generalized in other areas of vocational education such as vocational schools of higher education and apprenticeship training. A new situation is emerging in vocational and technical education especially with the foundation of NVQS and the establishment of necessary conditions to diversify and generalize opportunities in lifelong learning. For the sake of raising access to these developments, it is highly significant to inform and raise awareness in individuals, businesses, social partners, non-governmental organizations and universities on the undertaken changes and innovations. Following constant and intensive communication and information efforts, information services should be sustained on a permanent and continuous basis by İŞKUR Service Centers, human resources departments of businesses and education institutions, with the aid of communication and information technologies.
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STRATEGY DOCUMENT ON QUALITY IN VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
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