Search Results (5)

Despite the fact that the Swiss VET system has been regulated by federal laws since 1930, the 26 cantons that make up the Swiss Confederation enjoy a certain room for maneuver when implementing federal provisions at the regional level. This is reflected in sometimes significant differences between the cantons, particularly with regard to participation in dual VET. Based on a historical reconstruction of the institutionalization process of the Swiss VET system, our contribution first explains the institutional conditions under which cantonal differences are possible; secondly describes their evolution; and finally identifies the main factors which influence their appearance. In more detail, our contribution begins with a reconstruction of the development of VET in Switzerland and in three cantons (ZH, GE, TI) during the decisive period for the Swiss VET system from 1950 to 1970. This reconstruction is based firstly on a historical analysis of sources (laws, messages, statistical data, reports, brochures, press articles, etc.) published from 1880 to the present day, with particular attention to the period 1950–1970. This analysis allows us to reconstruct the process of institutionalization of the field, with emphasis on the constant tension between federal regulation and cantonal autonomy, as well as the statistical evolution of cantonal differences. In a second step, we subject the same set of sources to a discourse analysis allowing us to identify the main arguments accompanying the decision-making process in our three cantons. This latter analysis enables us to show the sometimes-subtle differences between cantonal policies and their respective conceptions of VET. Full article

Swiss Vocational Education and Training (VET) is based on national legislation which was introduced in the 1930s and renewed in the 1960s (as well as in the 1970s and in 2002). At first, the goal of the national VET legislation was to further Vocational Education and Training in order to support small and medium enterprises; however, later, it also included industry and services and has more recently grown to support the learners themselves. The 1963 national legislation and the following implementation acts in the cantons were decisive in shaping the Swiss VET system from a historical and comparative perspective. We argue that still today we do not have a unified, national system of education, but rather e cantonal modes of education and also of VET. However, the cantonal actors—with a specific focus on Ticino, Geneva, and Zurich—argue with similar justifications, when it comes to the reform of VET. Nevertheless, within this national legal framework, the cantons adopt rather different solutions. The result is that different (language specific) regional pathways of VET were established, based on various education and training regimes. In this research paper, we aim to concentrate on the years from 1950 to 1970, a period that turns out to be particularly significant for the development of Swiss VET. We focus our research on the introduction of the Vocational Training Act in 1963 and look in detail at the extent to which the cantons developed their corresponding implementation acts from the perspectives of different motives and logics. Full article

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become an emerging health issue globally, posing a threat to zoonotic pathogens and foodborne diseases. In Bangladesh, the poultry sector supplies the majority of the demand for animal-source protein. The irrational and excessive use of antimicrobials (AMU) has been observed in the poultry sector. The development of AMR is associated with many factors, including the knowledge and attitudes of poultry farmers. Therefore, AMR reduction requires intervention from all the stockholders, including the farmers who are considered as end users of antimicrobials. This current research conducted a cross-sectional study to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of poultry farmers on AMU and AMR in Bangladesh. We determined the KAP of poultry farmers (broiler and layer farmers) of some selected districts of the country using a tested and paper-based questionnaire. The results demonstrated that most of the respondents have insufficient KAP regarding AMU and AMR. The respondents used a variety of antimicrobials primarily in the treatment of various diseases in poultry. One-third of the farmers did not seek antimicrobials from registered vets. Instead, they depended on others or themselves. The factor score analysis further revealed that the farmers’ demographic and socioeconomic variables were significant factors influencing the KAP. An adjusted logistic regression analysis showed that older farmers with 9–12 years of farming experience and graduate-level education, engaging in medium-sized layer farming, were more likely to have correct KAP on AMU and AMR. Further, farmers from the Cox’s Bazar region showed correct knowledge, whereas farmers of the Chattogram region showed a correct attitude towards AMU and AMR. A Spearman’s rank-order correlation revealed a positive association between knowledge–attitudes and knowledge–practices. The findings of the current investigation provide baseline evidence about the KAP of poultry farmers from low-income resources and offer insights into designing interventions and policies for the use of AMU and AMR in Bangladesh. Full article

Education for sustainable development (ESD) plays a significant role in achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and simultaneously tackling the current global ecological challenges. Integration of ESD in Vocational Education and Training (VET) offers opportunities for private sector actors to contribute to reaching these global goals. The dual structure of business-integrated training in Germany further exemplifies a business case and the numerous opportunities available to private companies for engaging with the SDG framework. This briefing paper highlighted available evidence from the ESD literature on VET skills development in advancing the SDGs. Outcomes from best practices were based on the tried-and-tested länder—federal states—piloted vocational training of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) INEBB1 project (INEBB), demonstrating the conditions necessary for vocational education training in sustainability and plausible transfer mechanism within companies. These conditions included (1) the application of deductive concepts, (2) the establishment of blended-learning platforms (place-based and digital), and (3) the adaptation of the criteria and contents from the German Sustainability Codex (DNK) in curriculums designed for the training. This innovative vocational course and certification as specialist training for sustainable development was a model case in bringing the SDGs closer to German companies’ vocational education. INEBB2 sought to upscale applicable and task-based instructions from the experimented model project INEBB1 within different companies through regional, lateral, and vertical transfer strands. The INEBB project model in the review suggested there was a need for further empirical work and policy discourse on educational transfer research in the framework of VET for sustainable development. The INEBB project model integrated the new standard occupational profile items of the environmental protection and the sustainability and digitalised world of work across occupational competencies in the German dual system of vocational education and training that will come into force in August 2021 for all 326 dual training professions. Full article

The study investigates the Romanian entrepreneurial education training program emphasizing the secondary education student entrepreneurial intents included in technical and professional Vocational Education Training (VET) programs, in order to identify its role in increasing student intention in the process of choosing a career as an entrepreneur among graduates of the vocational and technical Romanian education system. The study research methodology was based on the interpretation of two questionnaires consisting of 23 questions, which were applied to a population of 253 and 159 respondents. The survey period was conducted between 2019 and 2020. The respondents were students from the vocational and technical education system in Romania, mostly from the Central Region of Romania, but the results of the study could be extended to the entire Romanian education system. The data were processed using SPSS software, and the results of the study revealed direct, positive, and significant links between psychological and behavioral traits and entrepreneurial intentions of the student surveyed, moderated by the entrepreneurial education acquired through the school curriculum. These results could also be the basis for developing future policies and programs to encourage entrepreneurial behavior, especially for secondary education students from the Romanian education system, specifically on pre-university education. Full article