In Switzerland, access to non-academic occupations requires the completion of a vocational education and training (VET) program. Over two-thirds of adolescents choose to start a dual VET program after compulsory education. However, this path from school to work is not always linear, and changes can be a means of adjusting wrong career choices. In…

Collaboration between schools and enterprises in vocational education and training (VET) is a challenge in many countries, Norway included. There is a tendency to organise VET in separate theoretical and practical learning arenas that lack mutual coherence. This article presents the findings of a four-year action research study in which 30…

Since decades, nursing education struggles with a persistent gap between the theoretical knowledge offered in the study program and its application in professional practice. To bridge this gap competence-based curricula were developed with instructional designs as authentic learning contexts and self-directed learning. In this project we explored…

Vocational education and training (VET) programs are typically regarded as the means to enable successful school-to-work transitions. However, high rates of premature contract terminations in VET programs suggest that adolescents face difficulties during this transition. This paper aims to examine the determinants of persistence intention,…

Pupils' and students' learning in the workplace and dual education has drawn increased attention because it is, among others, relevant in combating youth unemployment, increasing individual employability, and organisations' ability to provide high quality services and products. However, research focusing on pupils' and students' readiness to…

Occupational prestige, the hierarchical perception of occupations, is a neglected issue in studies on vocational education and training, although the attractiveness of apprenticeship programs is strongly affected by their prestige. Based on a qualitative study, this article examines the identity strategies of apprentices whose training programs…

A lack of alignment between professional practice and education has triggered the move to alternative educational models, often with detailed scripts and templates to be followed. Among these are variants of problem/case-based models, where learners are challenged to achieve professionally desired learning outcomes and acquire knowledge and skills…

Increasingly, contemporary work means graduates will operate in multiple workplace settings during their careers, catalysing the need for successful transfer of capabilities across diverse contexts. The transfer of skills and knowledge, however, is a complex area of learning theory which is often assumed and lacks empirical analysis. Facilitating…

This article analyzes the motives for firms providing apprenticeship training in Catalonia and the reasons why other firms do not provide such training. In light of the recent introduction of dual apprenticeships in the formal education system in Spain, a country with a traditionally school-based vocational education and training (VET) system,…

In vocational education, workplace simulations (WPS) have been implemented to ensure a better connection between the educational setting and the labour market. Moreover, WPS are supposed to motivate students and promote self-directed learning. So far, however, not much is known about the way students experience these WPS. The aim of the present…

This article proposes a model for the design of a hybrid VET curriculum across the school-work boundary. VET-curricula are designed on the basis of two main types of learning arrangements, namely, the plan for learning in school and for learning at the workplace. A challenge for curriculum development is creating consistency between different…

Policymakers worldwide consider participation in adult learning beneficial for employability, in particular for specific target groups. However, still little is known about the effect of adult learning pursued by low-qualified young adults on their employment prospects. On the basis of a Flemish longitudinal database, we study the determinants and…

The integration of learning across different learning sites is an important and challenging task for each vocational education and training system. Although various integrative teaching and learning models have been developed and many reforms have been undertaken, their implementation is complicated by several factors. In particular, individual…

Most learning in the workplace occurs while pursuing working rather than learning goals. The studies at hand aimed to identify task characteristics that foster learning in the workplace. Task characteristics are supposed to exert a major effect on the learning potential. However, the fact that learning is more often than not a rather unconscious…

The interest in research focusing on learning taking place at work, through work and for work has considerably increased over the past two decades. The purpose of the paper is to review and structure this wide and diverse research field. A tentative holistic model--the 3-P model of workplace learning--is presented, in relation to which the…