Newsletter for European Research in Learning and Work [L&W]

Newsletter for European Research in Learning and Work [L&W]

Edition: February 2012 [www.news.wifo-gate.org][Impressum]

[Conferences] [Centres/Networks] [Programmes] [Projects] [Publications]

Dear Colleagues

This is the latest edition of the L&W Newsletter, which will reach you via a mailing list of over 1200 experts in and beyond Europe. As usual, it focuses on transnational research activities in the field of human resource development (HRD) and vocational education and training (VET), centred on major categories: conferences, networks/ centres, programmes, projects and publications. Many thanks to all who contributed information for this edition of the Newsletter!
Particularly worth noting in this edition are the following: the extended deadline for the Stockholm conference on Policies & Work Market Demands (see Conferences), the announcement of a research position in the field "Learning, Training and Work" at Geneva university (see Centres/Networks), a call for papers for a Special Issue on "Basic and Employability Skills" (see Publications) and - last but not least - the doctoral thesis "Taking the Copenhagen process apart" (see Publications). 
The next edition of the Newsletter will appear in early April 2012. You are invited to submit short pieces of news (text of 100 to 200 words, without attachments, but including links to web resources) - please by 31 March 2012 at the latest!

With best wishes
Sabine Manning
Research Forum WIFO
Editor of the L&W Newsletter 

Conferences

International Congress "Knowledge Management and Organizational Development" May 2012
EDO 2012 II International Congress Knowledge Management and Organizational Development: training and corporate training, organized by the Organizational Development Team (EDO) of the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the Centre for Legal Studies and Specialised Training (CEJFE) of the Catalan Government, will take place at Barcelona 23-25 May 2012. The deadline for the presentation of complete contributions is Monday 20 February 2012. We want to encourage you to make a contribution to one of the two scheduled forms: free papers or papers related to a symposium theme. Regarding symposiums, you can submit 4 or 5 papers that revolve around one of the subject matters (if that is the case, please get in touch with our secretariat by sending an e-mail to edo@uab.cat). For more details on our Congress, please check this website: http://edo.uab.cat/congressus
(Call received from EDO team edo@uab.cat)

International Conference "Entrepreneurship and Innovation Networks" June 2012
The Research Centre for Spatial and Organizational Dynamics (CIEO), University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal will host this years' Uddevalla Symposium, organized by the University West, Trollhättan, Sweden in cooperation with Jönköping International Business School, Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovations Studies (CESIS), Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden and George Mason University, USA. The 15th Uddevalla Symposium 2012 on "Entrepreneurship and Innovation Networks" will take place at the University of Algarve, Portugal, from 14th to 16th June 2012. We welcome researchers from various fields, such as economic geography, economic history, entrepreneurship, international business, management, political science, regional economics, small business economics, sociology and urban and regional planning. We expect a great event with worldwide recognized guest speakers and indexed ISI international journals as outcomes. For further information, please visit the symposium website www.symposium.hv.se
(Posted by: Julieta Rosa jarosa@ualg.pt on behalf of Teresa de Noronha)

NOTE: Forthcoming and recent events related to European research in work and learning are listed on the WIFO Conference page [www.conferences.wifo-gate.org]. 
[Back to Newsletter]

Centres/Networks

Professional Practice, Education and Learning (ProPEL) Research Network – International Conference, May 2012
ProPEL (http://www.propel.stir.ac.uk/) is a collaborative, multi-professional international network that promotes research and knowledge exchange in leading issues of professional education, practice and learning. Housed at the University of Stirling under the Direction of Professor Tara Fenwick, and working with a range of partner researchers, we aim to promote leading-edge research and theory that examines the most pressing issues in professional practice, education and learning, today and for the future. We would like to invite you to our international conference from 9-11 May, 2012 at the University of Stirling.  The conference theme is ‘Professions and Professional Learning in Troubling Times: Emerging Practices and Transgressive Knowledge’. The conference will include over 140 individual papers, symposiums and poster presentations. We also have a number of distinguished keynote speakers, including Professor Julia Evetts (Nottingham) and Professor John Urry (Lancaster). For more information please email propel.conference@stir.ac.uk or visit: http://www.propel.stir.ac.uk/conference2012/
(Posted by: Bonnie Slade b.l.slade@stir.ac.uk)

Seminar on "Personal and Political in Cross-cultural Comparisons" in Tampere
The VET & Culture Network will hold a Seminar on Personal and political in cross-cultural comparisons, with a focus on vocational, adult and higher education, 15.-17.3.2012 in Ahlman vocational institute, Tampere. The seminar is part of long-term international research and study collaboration in adult and vocational education, developed since 1993 in the research network Vocational Education and Culture and in ESREA´s Adult Education Professionals and History networks (http://www.peda.net/veraja/uta/vetculture, http://www.esrea.org). The aim of the seminar is to provide a platform for reflection and discussion on the function and meaning of personal and political in comparative/ cross-cultural research in areas of adult, vocational and higher education. The seminar is free of charge, but most participants are expected to take care of their travel and accommodation costs (in Ahlman vocational institute, http://www.ahlman.fi/kartanon_yhteystiedot). Expressions of interest should be sent to anja.heikkinen@uta.fi and dong.seob.lee@uta.fi (deadline 31.1.2012). Further information see http://www.peda.net/veraja/uta/vetculture/conferencesandevents.
(Posted by:  Anja Heikkinen Anja.Heikkinen@uta.fi)

Transitions in Youth conference 2012
After a very successful meeting in Tallin in September 2011, we are now preparing for the 20^th annual workshop of the European Research Network on Transitions in Youth. It will take place from 5-8 September 2012 in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and will be organized by Maarten Wolbers (Department of Sociology, Radboud University Nijmegen). The central theme for TIY2012 will be: "Transitions in youth: challenges for the next twenty years?" A proper conference and call for papers will be sent out shortly.  We would also like to take this opportunity to draw your attention to the new TIY website, which can be visited at: http://www.socsci.ru.nl/~maartenw/tiy/
(Announcement received from: Walter Van Trier walter.vantrier@ugent.be)

VET & Culture Meeting 2012
The the next annual VET & Culture Meeting will take place from 30.08. to 02.09.2012 in Wuppertal (Germany). After the more formal conference together with ETF in 2011 and following the tradition of biannual cycles, the Wuppertal meeting will be a workshop with inputs, discussions and hands-on work. All networkers are invited to join and contribute with their ideas to the agenda. More information about the general framework and topics to work on will soon be made available. Follow also the website http://www.peda.net/veraja/uta/vetculture/conferencesandevents.
(Based on information from: Gabriele Molzberger gabriele.molzberger@uni-wuppertal.de via the Newsletter of the VET and Culture network)

NOTE: References to research networks in the field of European work and learning are available on the WIFO page Networks at a glance [www.networks.wifo-gate.org].
[Back to Newsletter]

Programmes

PhD Program
The Research Centre for Spatial and Organizational Dynamics (CIEO), University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal offers the PhD Program in Innovation and Land Use Management – 2nd edition. The goal is to promote scientific research in the area of the spatial dynamics and organization, on a basis of multidisciplinary scientific knowledge related with innovation, sustainability and spatial organization. For more information and inscription: http://www.cieo.ualg.pt/advancedtraining.php
(Posted by: Julieta Rosa jarosa@ualg.pt on behalf of Teresa de Noronha)

NOTE: Contributions are welcome for the next edition of the Directory of Doctoral Dissertations (www.ddd.wifo-gate.org), provided as part of the WIFO Gateway, which focuses on European research in the field of vocational education (VET) and human resource development (HRD). Please provide information on expected or newly completed doctoral dissertations investigating issues of HRD, VET or work-related adult education, according to the following pattern: 1*Theme of dissertation (original language AND English); 2*Year of (expected) completion or publication; 3*Author (name and email address); 4*Tutor (name and email address); 5*Institution of tutor (name and home page). Contributions should be posted by email to the editor (sm@wifo-gate.org).
[Back to Newsletter]

Projects

NOTE: Contributions are invited to update the Overview of European research projects [www.projects.wifo-gate.org], provided as part of the WIFO Gateway. The overview focuses on transnational research projects, mainly supported by EU programmes, in the areas of human resource development, vocational education, work and learning. Please send the following information to the editor (sm@wifo-gate.org):  (A) exact title and acronym (short name) of the project; (B) name and email address of the coordinator or main contact; (C) address of the website (or info page/ flyer) of the project.
(Contact and editor: Sabine Manning)
[Back to Newsletter]

Publications

Challenges and Reforms in Vocational Education: Aspects of Inclusion and Exclusion
Stolz, Stefanie / Gonon, Philipp (Eds.)
In this collected edition, globalisation and its consequences on vocational education systems are described and, at the same time, combined with the question of whether new phenomena of inclusion but also of exclusion are produced. Inclusion and exclusion are differentiations that predominate in all kinds of (vocational education) systems, regardless of their national background. Vocational education developed out of the requirement to integrate large parts of society into a broader or more extended education and, consequently, into an economic and social process. Besides the so-called 'social question', gender-, status- and generation-specific characteristics and also the participation in higher education are under discussion. Depending on each country - this volume features contributions of Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Denmark, France, Finland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the USA - this debate generates a different development which is described by the authors in their different research areas. Collectively, a multifaceted overall picture arises which illustrates the importance of inclusion and exclusion. Further information: http://www.peterlang.com/index.cfm?event=cmp.ccc.seitenstruktur.detailseiten&seitentyp=produkt&pk=63157&concordeid=431068). This book (Peter Lang Publishers, 2012) is based upon the VET & Culture Conference "Inclusion and Exclusion in a Globalised World" in Zurich 2009 (http://www.peda.net/veraja/uta/vetculture/conferencesandevents/conferences/zurich093)
(Posted by: Stefanie Stolz stefanie.stolz@igb.uzh.ch )

ECVET – Compatibility of Competences in the Automotive Sector
Georg Spöttl, Klaus Ruth (Eds.)
The bilingual brochure (English/German) aims at presenting a Credit Point system for the automotive service and repair sector. As a prerequisite, a sector-related qualifications framework was developed based on empirical surveys. The framework will act as a reference system for the further development of the credit point system. The added value of this concept lies in the fact that the descriptors of the qualifications framework could be very clearly described due to their work process orientation. They can be easily comprehended by the sector representatives who assess and voluntarily accept these results as an image of their practical field of work. A credit point system was linked to the work process oriented sector framework. The credit points are assigned directly for core work-processes and thus underpin the work process orientation. Both the sector framework and the Credit Point system will be discussed in the brochure. More information at: http://www.matchingframes.uni-bremen.de/products/
(Posted by: Georg Spöttl spoettl@uni-bremen.de)

Methods and Instruments for the Evaluation and Monitoring of VET Systems
A Special Issue on Methods and Instruments for the Evaluation and Monitoring of Vocational Education and Training Systems, edited by Philipp Grollmann & Melanie Hoppe, has appeared in the Journal Research in Comparative and International Education (Vol. 6 No 3, 2011). Included are contributions on #Reconceptualising vocational education and training systems in broader policy domains: monitoring and evaluation (Eddington), #The development of a strategy for vocational education and training: experiences from Montenegro (Hoppe/ Burmester/ Ebben), #Development of entry-level competence tests: a strategy for evaluation of vocational education training systems (Schütte/ Spöttl), #Monitoring of qualifications and employment in Austria: an empirical approach based on the labour force survey (Lassnigg/ Vogtenhuber), #The use of large-scale administrative data sets to monitor progression from vocational education and training into higher education in the UK (Hayward/ Hoelscher) and #Organised governmental learning: vocational education and training practices between peer review and peer learning (Speer). For further information see: www.wwwords.co.uk/rcie/content/pdfs/6/issue6_3.asp
(Reference from: Georg Spöttl spoettl@uni-bremen.de)/ Info based on Journal website/

Practice-Based Innovation - Through Reflection at Work
The book Practice-Based Innovation: Insights, Applications and Policy Implications, edited by Helinä Melkas & Vesa Harmaakorpi (Berlin: Springer-Verlag 2012) is based on contributions from a number of European scholars on different aspects of practice-based innovation, and its relations to learning and knowledge integration. For further details see: http://rd.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-642-21723-4 - Included is a chapter on Fostering Practice-Based Innovation Through Reflection at Work, contributed by Per Nilsen & Per-Erik Ellström, with the following outcome: Practice-based knowledge built up through experience is needed to obtain expertise and skills in occupations and work tasks, but this form of knowledge is not conducive to change or renewal. The development of practice-based innovations can be fostered by creative learning made possible through the deliberate use of research-based knowledge to challenge well-established attitudes, beliefs, and practices. Reflection in the workplace can be used as an instrument to integrate research-based knowledge with practice-based knowledge to scrutinise and possibly revise prevailing thought and action patterns, thus facilitating creative learning. Reflection is often not allotted formal priority on the management agenda, yet the potential of reflection cannot be fully realised without formalising this as an expected, legitimised activity in the workplace. Thus, decisions and planned mechanisms, structures, and procedures are needed to facilitate and support reflection in the workplace.
(Based on information received from: Per-Erik Ellström per-erik.ellstrom@liu.se)

Taking the Copenhagen process apart: Critical readings of European vocational education and training policy
Doctoral thesis by Pia Cort - Danish University of Education. Aarhus University, 2011
The thesis analyses the Copenhagen Process from a critical perspective based on the policy analysis methodology, "What's the Problem Represented to Be?" (WPR) developed by Professor Carol Bacchi. The main research question "How can the European vocational education and training policy process - the Copenhagen Process - be understood from a WPR perspective? " is addressed in six articles which take apart the Copenhagen Process and deal with specific WPR questions and specific aspects of the Copenhagen Process: the construction of vocational education and training; changes in governmentality; the genealogy of EC vocational education and training policy; the technologies of Europeanization; and finally the discursive and institutional effects of the policy process in the Danish context. The thesis argues that the Copenhagen Process has legitimately extended vocational education and training policy formation to include the EU and its new institutional settings established through the Open Method of Coordination. Furthermore, vocational education and training is being reconfigured within a neoliberal Lifelong Learning discourse in which education and training in general is to contribute to the competitiveness of the EU in a global economy. Within this discourse, policy is de-politicized and naturalised as being neutral and evidence-based leading to the unreflective transfer of policies across countries. - Download of thesis via http://pure.au.dk/portal/en/persons/id(3382ef53-1410-48f1-84ad-0f2323b34ec7).html
(Received from: Pia Cort CORT@dpu.dk) 

NOTE: Books with a focus on cross-European issues of work and learning are presented on the WIFO Bookshelf [www.books.wifo-gate.org]. In addition, the WIFO Gateway provides a classified collection of European and international Journals related to education research [www.journals.wifo-gate.org].
[Back to Newsletter]

Impressum