From Nov. 2009 on p&w with the University of Economic Sciences Cracow will collaborate on the project "Ensuring Quality in VET Networks". The innovation transfer project was selected for funding by the National Agency for Lifelong Learning, Poland in August 2009.

Abstract:

Through recent Leonardo da Vinci programme periods the European CERN partnership, with the help of evaluation, planning and management experts has developed evaluation toolsfor VET programmes. Besides research papers, evaluation handbooks and training programmes the EVAL II project with SPEAK produced an strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation tool for VET networks, which in the course of the Leonardo da Vinci pilot project EVAL IV has been tested and validated in collaboration with VET institutes and stakeholders.

The project will transfer the SPEAK instrument within a multi-stakeholder approach to national VET networks, and will advance their effectiveness and efficiency by using the European common quality assurance framework as a reference framework for implementation.

Tags: CQAF | EQARF | Evaluation | Qualität in der Berufsbildung

p&w from Oktober 2009 to September 2011 jointly with the German Youth Institute (Deutsches Jugendinstitut e.V), Halle will conduct the project G8WAY -Gateway To Educational Transition. The project was selected for funding by the Education, Audivisual and Culture Excutive Agency of the European Union under the transversal strand - Key Activities 3 ICT.

Abstract

A major characteristic of European societies might be seen in the rapidly growing differentiation of educational pathways, opportunities and biographies. This increase in complexity from learners requires great effort into initiative taking, creativity, problem solving, risk assessment and decision taking. Through the past years various structures have been developed in order to support students in mastering educational transition. However they have been often formulated in an institutional perspective, counting out learners' experience and creativity skills as well as new opportunities of technology enhanced learning.

G8WAY is based on the idea, that the growing availability of web 2.0 allows for bridging this gap through learner centred and connective approaches, with a chance to more effectively manage educational transition. Thus, G8WAY will develop web 2.0 enhanced learning environments, which will enable learners to reflect and develop creativity potentials and transitional skills in the light of self and others' learning experience, made visible through a variety of media sets and PLE tools, each of them designed to meet the requirements of transition envisaged, and all of which are mapped into one single pedagogy framework.

G8WAY will produce 2 transition scenarios, which is a) school to work and b) general to higher education. A third scenario will test the latter ones in an intergenerational learning setting. For each of the scenarios a problem oriented concept and case based reasoning method will be developed and embedded into a web 2.0 learning environment. The project capitalizes on the outcomes of excellent EU projects, which developed e-tools to make visible informal competencies through media such as digital video and fotography, digital cartoons, assessment tools and e-portfolio.

Tags: E-Learning | ICT | Übergangsmanagement | WEB 2.0

p&w jointly with the LMU Munich University will coordinate the EU Grundtvig multilateral project R3L+ "Quality framework for Learning regions. The project will start in October 2009.

Through the past vast years the Learning Region has become a widely adopted concept in European education policies. However during the years the concept has taken different notions and has been reflected in a variety of network figurations. Due to the different departures and pathways each of them has developed domain specific knowledge, in the area of social capital building, regarding good governance and institution building, stakeholder collaboration, public-private partnerships and transversal cooperations. The basic intention of project is to capitalize on this diversity by bringing together actors from the respective countries in order to learn from each other and jointly elaborate a common quality framework for the development and management of cooperative learning arrangements among educational providers, SMEs and public agencies.

Findings from recent evaluation showed that a major obstacle towards a broader diffusion of the learning regions concept might be seen in the fact that there is still a lack of common quality instruments, which would allow for trustful and sustainable cooperations among educational actors. Following the priority of the call the project will address this problem to improve the quality in adult education by reflecting good practice to be found in Learning regions in the light of the Common Quality Assurance Framework (CQAF). More specifically the project will capitalize on good practice found in the Learning regions, and further develop a common set of quality methods and instruments to ensure the development, assurance and improvement of quality of learning networks in compliance with the Common Quality Assurance Framework.

From the project results the partners will derive a handbook, best practice guide and training module for managers and stakeholders of learning regions, which shall allow for the effective planning, implementation, evaluation and review of cooperations among educational providers within Learning regions.

Tags: Lernende Region | Qualitätsmanagement

"System innovation and evolution in European Vocational Educational Training (VET)" is the title of a new book publication, which investigates the structural determinants and process variables of the change of vocational training systems in Europe (France, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Romania, Spain, Denmark, Germany, Greece and Netherlands). The findings are based on comparative analysis of 20 case studies, covering historical and ongoing reform projects. The main focus of the study is on the objective / subjective reasons for change, the role and functions of actors during change, steering instruments introduced, adaptive patterns and policy learning emerging from the nationally specific pathways of change.

Editors: Prof. N. Patiniotis, Prof. D. Stavroulakis, Prof. E. Figueira, Prof. L.F.M. Nieuwenhuis, Dr. R. Preisinger-Kleine, Dr. C. Fartusnic, Brian Dillon.

Tags: Bildungspolitik | Bildungsreformen

Between the 23rd and the 24th of January the kick-off meeting for the Projekt PwD Employ - Personal Learning Environment for the Efficient Recruitment of People with Disabilities took place in Palma de Mallorca. Following the results of the Leonardo da Vinci precedessor project ImmiTrain the aim of the project is to develop Web 2.0 based training modules for HRD managers, who are concerned with the vocational integration of people with disabilities.

During the first phase p&w is responsible for the development of scientific methods and instruments, which will be used to research national frameworks and good practices in qualification, especially approaches, which use e-learning methods or new media in corresponding learning concepts.

Tags: Menschen mit Behinderung | WEB 2.0

The 2nd transnational meeting took place in Bucharest, 9-10th October 2008. On the occasion of the event transfer strategies and implementation scenarios of the ICONET approach were discussed, followed by group sessions, during which transfer profiles were elaborated for different sectors, settings and target groups: vocational guidance of young people, initial training of young people, young prison inmates, young migrants as well as trade union job training for umemployed youth.

In the second part of the meeting, p&w presented the newly launched ICONET platform and gave a short introduction to localization of web content using open source software.

Tags: Informelle Kompetenzen

p&w praxis und wissenschaft projekt will be partner on the BEQUAL project, which is dedicated the development and testing of benchmarking instruments for quality assurance in VET.

Quality assurance is a European priority for education and training in order to make Europe's education and training systems a world quality reference by 2010. The Common Quality Assurance Framework for VET in Europe (CQAF) is the main instrument for achieving this goal.

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Tags: Qualität in der Berufsbildung

In July 2008 we launched the website "Network Informal competencies", which was developed for the European project ICONET. The site during the project lifetime and beyond will serve as information and communication portal for partners, clients and stakeholders in informal learning of youth and its validation.

Particular features are a largely modularized architecture, intensive use of joomfish technology and full compliance with W3C standard, which not only allow for an unusual broad range of localization options, but also will save overall maintenance and transaction costs in transnational partnerships' internet activities.

Tags: Informelle Kompetenzen

pw praxis und wissenschaft within the framework of the Leonardo da Vinci programme will be partner on the innovation transfer project "PwD Employ - Personal Learning Environment for the Efficient Recruitment of People with Disabilities". The project is promoted by the Spanish organisation ASOCIACION BALEAR DE ESCLEROSIS MULTIPLE.

Find out more: PwD Employ

Tags: Menschen mit Behinderung | WEB 2.0

From 25th to 26th January 2008 the 1st transnational workshop on the ICONET project (informal competences net) took place in Halle, Saale. the project meeting as attended by partners from Germany, UK, Portugal, Romania, Austria, Greece and France.

Tags: Informelle Kompetenzen

Many disadvantaged young people have acquired competences that may be relevant for VET through processes of non-formal and informal learning but that cannot be used systematically, because these competences are invisible. Making these competences visible should enable disadvantaged youth to better understand their own competences and to learn how to use them for VET, should give educators a better understanding of pupils` competences acquired outside schools and should enable teachers to systematically use these competences in preparing for VET, should give disadvantaged youth better access to training and employment in companies, should enable companies or training institutions to systematically use these competences in VET.

The purpose of the validation tool is to make visible competencies that have been acquired by young people in various areas of activities outside formal learning. Making these competencies visible will help the young person to better understand what abilities she or he has and how these abilities can be applied in further learning, in vocational training, in a job but also in private life. Making competencies visible will also help educators (teachers, trainers, social workers) to better link education and training to what competencies the young person has already acquired and will help prospective employers to learn more about the abilities of applicants that are not shown in the certificates that they are able to present.

The aim of the ICONET project is to transfer and mainstream the validation approach to new countries, sectors and target groups. It combines four dimensions of transfer: the dimension of countries: transfer to countries, not included in the previous project (Portugal, Austria, France); dimension of sectors: while the previous project concentrated on the school-to-work trajectories between final levels of compulsory education and vocational training / work, in ICONET also further vocational education shall be included (Germany, United Kingdom), in addition in Greece the validation methodology shall be delivered to SMEs and disseminated throughout the industrial sector; dimension of target groups: previous implementations of the validation approach within the framework of ICONET shall be expanded in terms of quality and quantity, by adressing now also young migrants (Germany, France, Portugal), young prisoners (Romania) and disabled target groups (Austria); transversal dimension: imparting the ICOVET-model with existing structures of validation of informal competences (Germany, UK)

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Tags: Informelle Kompetenzen