| Research
carried out in institutions related to VET and HRD forms part of several
activities. These can be directed towards policy and practice, in particular
administration, information, consulting/ services and development, or focus
on academic and scientific activities, above all advanced-level teaching.
The following analysis draws on an initial collection of 'main research
centres, including bodies, departments and units within universities' (see
Overview,
aspect 4). Research activities within these institutions vary a great deal
in terms of objectives and proportion. The resulting sample (333 institutions
of 25 countries) was analysed, on the basis of the institutions' home pages,
with regard to the major activities carried out in the institution concerned.
This analysis is a follow-up of an earlier study covering European countries
as a whole (see Issues arising from an institutional
analysis of HRD/VET research).
The
diagram
below presents an overview of the research-related activities across the
333 institutions. The proportion for each activity is derived from the
sum total of activities (n=402) in these institutions. In these relationships,
the activity concerned may dominate or complement research or be of equal
standing. In a lot of cases, two or more activities are combined within
individual institutions, although this is not reflected in the diagram.
Nevertheless, even the simplified overall structure shows the extent to
which VET/HRD research is interlinked with other activities. The evidence
as a whole suggests a highly interactive
character of European VET/HRD research.
Administration
+
research
(13%)
|
Information
+
research
(7%)
|
Consulting
+
research
(16%)
|
Development
+
research
(19%)
|
Teaching
+
research
(28%)
|
Research
on
its own
(17%)
|
In
the following analysis, the research-related activities of institutions
are broken down into two types:
-
Research
involved in (or linked with) activities directed towards policy
and practice, including administration,
information, consulting/ services and development;
-
Research
as part of academic/ interdisciplinary
activity, including both advanced-level teaching and research on its own.
In the
map
below, the balance between these two types is presented in three patterns,
which characterise the institutional activities in each country (see definition
of patterns in the legend on the right).
|
DK
|
FI
|
NO
|
SE
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
AT
|
BE
|
|
BG
|
CZ
|
EE
|
|
|
DE
|
FR
|
|
HU
|
LT
|
LV
|
|
|
IE
|
UK
|
|
PL
|
RO
|
SI
|
SK
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CY
|
ES
|
IT
|
MT
|
PT
|
|
|
|
|
Pattern
of research-related activities in institutions |
|
I
|
(A)
Focus on policy/ practice |
|
I
|
(B)
Balance between policy/ practice and academic/ interdisciplinary activities |
|
I
|
(C)
Focus on academic/ interdisciplinary activities |
|
As
the map shows, three patterns of institutional activity related to VET/HRD
research are found across European countries: In pattern A, the research-related
activities are focused on policy and/or practice (including administration,
information, consulting/ services and development), in pattern C, on the
other hand, research is mostly carried out as part of academic and/or interdisciplinary
activities (including both advanced-level teaching and research on its
own). In pattern B, there is an overall balance between research-related
institutions of type A (orientation towards policy and/or practice) and
type C (academic and/or interdisciplinary activities).
The total number of countries is fairly evenly distributed according to
the three patterns. In terms of regions, however, there is an obvious concentration
among the Northern countries (DK, FI, NO, SE) on pattern C, focusing on
academic and/or interdisciplinary activities, while the other regions include
this pattern in only a few cases (AT, ES, SK). The focus on pattern C in
Northern Europe may be due to the strong involvement in these countries
of VET/HRD research in lifelong learning and other holistic concepts which
are pursued in institutions of higher education and research.
The opposite pattern (A), referring to a focus on policy or practice, could
be associated with a predominant involvement of institutions in promoting
VET/HRD provision in the country concerned. Examples of this pattern can
be found particularly in Central-Eastern Europe, where countries are in
a transition stage (BG, LV, PL, RO, SI), partly in Southern Europe (CY,
PT) but also in Western Europe (DE, UK).
NOTE:
The Profile of national research is based on a comparative analysis of
selected activities in 25 European countries (see Overview).
This data has been compiled from the national reports prepared by the Cedefop
ReferNet in 2006 and subsequently published by Cedefop (see Introduction
and Reference). |