Handbook Of Technical And Vocational Education And Training Research

Features

Description

Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) research has become a recognized and well-defined area of interdisciplinary research. This is the first handbook of its kind that specifically concentrates on research and research methods in TVET. The book's sections focus on particular aspects of the field, starting with a presentation of the genesis of TVET research.

They further feature research in relation to policy, planning and practice. Various areas of TVET research are covered, including on the vocational disciplines and on TVET systems. Case studies illustrate different approaches to TVET research, and the final section of the book presents research methods, including interview and observation methods, as well as of experimentation and development.

This handbook provides a comprehensive coverage of TVET research in an international context, and, with special focus on research and research methods, it is a cutting-edge resource and reference. Review: EWR 9 (2010), Nr. 1 (Januar/Februar) Felix Rauner / Rupert Maclean (Hrsg.) Handbook of Technical and Vocational Education and Training Research Berlin: Springer 2008 (1103 S.; ISBN 978-1-4020-8346-4; 341,33 EUR) Consisting of 142 chapters, written collectively by 128 authors, as the latest and broadest international Handbook of TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) Research in English, as Rauner put it in the introduction, this handbook aspires to be not just a reference book offering lexical knowledge on TVET research, but also a tool to distinguish TVET research with other research disciplines (9), as well as a big step towards the internationalization of TVET research (10).

Following the structure of the German edition that was published in 2005, the handbook consists of five sections, namely Genesis of TVET Research; VET Research in Relation to VET Policy, Planning and Practice; Areas of VET Research; Case Studies of TVET Research; and Research Methods. Among these sections, the section three Areas of VET research , occupying page 159 to 613, is no doubt the focal point of the entire book.

Many well known TVET experts from different country and research backgrounds (not only education research, but also several other areas of expertise) have contributed to make the integration of this variety of topics and questions in TVET research possible. The handbook covers a wide range of and offers abundant information to topics concerning the TVET research as well as several countries and regions in the world.

This broad coverage on different topics in TVET research makes it not only a good reference book for education researchers, but also a useful tool and source of information for policy-makers, practitioners, and students as well as anyone who is interested in the field. Due to its scope it is impossible to comment on every part of the book within a few pages; it is therefore attempted here to stress some chapters related to three countries, namely Germany, China and the USA.

Germany, with its long-standing strong tradition in TVET research, is still an important reference point in this handbook; China, with its growing economic influences as well as the increasing resources it invests on TVET research in recent years, is becoming a significant participant and partner in the TVET research internationally; as the biggest economy in the world, USA represents a different tradition in terms of TVET as well as its research and also covers several chapters in this handbook.

In section one, researchers from the corresponding three countries (Germany, China, and USA) describe and analyze the genesis and development of TVET research in each country. When put together, an interesting picture of the international TVET research development can be seen. In their paper about the development of TVET research in China, Jiang, Yu and Yao (37-43) trace the genesis of systematic TVET research in China to the late 1970s; it was not until 1984 the first theoretical work on TVET of the new China was compiled (38).

From 1980 to 2001, TVET as well as its research have