Conference Agenda

This double symposium explores the important role that vocational colleges and similar types of institutions play in supporting social, educational, and cultural development in their local communities and regions. We argue that the role colleges play is not as well understood or theorised as is the role of universities and schools, and that this matters because colleges are vital for the well-being of their local communities. They support their regions and communities in many ways that are not prominent beyond immediate participants. However, the ways in which they do so differs in different countries and this symposium includes diverse contributions from very different systems.

The domain of this symposium is the second vocationally oriented tier of post school education. This tier may offer other programs, but its key mission includes offering short-cycle tertiary education of about two years’ duration with a vocational / professional orientation, classified in the International Standard Classification of Education ISCED 2011 as category 55 short-cycle tertiary vocational education (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2012, pp. 48-50).

The roles of schools and universities are generally understood and institutionalized as broadly intellectual and cultural that are well established historically and globally. In contrast, vocational colleges are ‘mainly local organizations justified by specific economic and political functions or shaped by particular historical legacies or power struggles’ (Meyer, Ramirez, Frank, and Schofer, 2007, pp. 187, 210).

Colleges are under theorized, which leaves them vulnerable to vicissitudes of marketisation and privatization (Meier, 2013), and undermines the institutional conditions that support them. They are justified mostly by their preparation for work, and gaps in the correspondence between vocational education and work are almost always considered only a supply-side issue for colleges, rather than being co-constituted by education and work (Livingstone, 2009, p. 150). Colleges are therefore thought not to respond sufficiently to the labour market, and to need disciplining by competing with for-profit providers.

This thinking is particularly prevalent in the liberal market economies of Australia, Canada, England, the USA, and others. But it is also projected onto low and middle income countries by intergovernmental and non government organisations.

This double symposium seeks to investigate, compare and analyse colleges’ diverse social roles in different countries, explore commonalities in colleges’ social roles, and invite perspectives from participants in the symposium. Part 1 will comprise 3 presentations, and part 2 will comprise 3 presentations and a discussant.

This paper is situated within two broad theoretical traditions: new institutionalism, and the human development and capability approach. It adopts from sociological institutionalism and historical institutionalism the insight that institutions are the basic building blocks of society. It argues that institutions are modes of social organisation and resources that are shaped by rules, norms and discourses that are generally adopted by society. These social institutions both enable and constrain agency by providing parameters for action which may also build path dependencies by defining choices. The paper adopts Sen’s (1999, p. 123) position that ‘Individuals live and operate in a world of institutions, many of which operate across borders. Our opportunities and prospects depend crucially on what institutions exist and how they function. Not only do institutions contribute to our freedoms, their roles can be sensibly evaluated in the light of their contributions to our freedoms.’ Colleges have not been institutionalised in this way. The ‘mission’ of colleges is ambiguous. In Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, Canada, South Africa and elsewhere it has been shaped by a colonial legacy. Colleges’ role is cast as residual, doing what universities and schools don’t do. Colleges’ roles are less well understood. They have less autonomy and less power. The sector is ‘acted upon’, rather than considered an actor in its own right. The paper argues for a re-imagination of college education from narrow preparation for specific jobs, tasks and roles to preparation for broad occupations. It proposes an expansive view of the purposes of college education from human capital to human capabilities (Sen, 2007, p. 99). The paper argues for colleges to develop students’ capability for education, capability for work, and capability for voice (Schröer, 2015). The paper elaborates these purposes of vocational education (Reay, 2012; McGrath & Deneulin, 2021) which it argues are shared with different emphases with universities (Moodie, Wheelahan & Lavigne, 2019). It considers the nature of colleges and of college teachers needed to fulfil an expansive mission. This leaves us with 5 key research questions: 1. What should college qualifications look like? 2. What can colleges do that universities and schools can’t do? 3. What roles do colleges play in supporting local & regional economic, social and cultural development? 4. How will the work of occupations served by colleges change in 5, 10 and 15 years time? How should qualifications change? 5. How can we support college teachers as ‘dual-professionals’ – industry experts and expert teachers?

McGrath, S., & Deneulin, S. (2021). Education for just transitions: Lifelong learning and the 30th anniversary Human Development Report. International Review of Education, 67(5), 637-658. Moodie, G., Wheelahan, L., & Lavigne, E. (2019). Technical and Vocational Education and Training as a framework for social justice: Analysis and evidence from world case studies. Retrieved from Brussels: https://issuu.com/educationinternational/docs/2019_eiresearch_tvet Reay, D. (2012). What would a socially just education system look like? Saving the minnows from the pike. Journal of Education Policy, 27(5), 587-599. doi:10.1080/02680939.2012.710015 Schröer, R. (2015). Employability versus capability: European strategies for young people. In H.-U. Otto, R. Atzmüller, T. Berthet, L. Bifulco, J.-M. Bonvin, E. Chiappero-Martinetti, V. Egdell, B. Halleröd, C. Christrup Kjeldsen, M. Kwiek, R. Schröer, J. Vero, & M. Zieleńska (Eds.), Facing trajectories from school to work: Towards a capability-friendly youth policy in Europe (pp. 361-385). Springer. Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom. Anchor Books. Sen, A. (2007). Education and standards of living. In R. Curren (Ed.), Philosophy of education: An anthology (pp. 95-101). Blackwell Publishing. Wheelahan, L., & Moodie, G. (2016). Global trends in TVET: A framework for social justice. Education International. Retrieved from Brussels: http://download.ei-ie.org/Docs/WebDepot/GlobalTrendsinTVET.pdf

As publicly funded multipurpose post-school institutions serving local and regional populations, further education colleges in England have important, if under-recognised, educational, social and economic roles. Colleges sit between secondary schools, universities and training providers. They provide academic, vocational, general and higher education as well as workforce training. Qualifications span the basic, intermediate and higher levels. Students are diverse in age and background. They include a disproportionate share of disadvantaged and second chance students. Further education colleges do not enjoy the status generally accorded to schools and universities. In part, this is a legacy of their history as technical colleges predominantly concerned with vocational education for industrial workers and employers. A shift to more diverse missions, together with their independence from local government, brought colleges into competition with better known institutions and more prestigious establishments, but also with other colleges. Issues of organisational identity, funding and status are acute, as highlighted by a wave of mergers and closures. Monitoring of colleges is against a narrow range of performance measures. Studies of the character and wider benefits of college learning are few. In this paper, concepts of boundary marking and boundary management are used to analyse the transition of colleges in England from technical and vocational institutions to general further education establishments. A relationship between boundary conditions and organisational identities is posited. Although further education was loosely defined in legislation, the division of labour between colleges, schools and universities in the 1950s and 1960s was uncomplicated. Where technical colleges were locations for part-time education and training geared to employment, grammar schools were places of general education leading to academic qualifications, and (for the few) universities were providers of undergraduate and postgraduate education. By contrast, the open and overlapping boundaries of modern-day general further education colleges are zones of competition with schools, universities and training organisations. The features and changes making for this transition are reviewed. Their implications for the social and community roles of colleges are examined. Issues in researching and evidencing the impacts of colleges are highlighted. Recent attempts by governments to recover a vocational mission or technical route for colleges are appraised, including their potential for inclusion and diversion.

Aldrich, R. (Ed.). (2002). A Century of Education. RoutledgeFalmer. Cantor, L. M. & Roberts, I. F. (1972) Further Education in England and Wales. Routledge and Kegan Paul. Cantor, L. M. & Roberts, I. E. (1983). Further Education Today. A Critical Review. Routledge and Kegan Paul. Cotgrove, S. F. (1958). Technical Education and Social Change. George Allen & Unwin. Dent, H. C. (1961). The Educational System of England and Wales. University of London Press. Gallacher, J. & Reeve, F. (Eds.). (2019). New Frontiers for College Education. Routledge. Garrod, N. & Macfarlane, B. (2009). Challenging Boundaries. Managing the Integration of Post-Secondary Education. Routledge. Green, A. & Lucas, N. (Eds.). (1999). FE and Lifelong Learning: Realigning the Sector for the Twenty-first Century. Institute of Education University of London. Hodgson, A. (Ed.). (2015). The Coming of Age for FE? Reflections on the past and future role of further education colleges in England. Institute of Education Press. Scott, P. (1995). The Meanings of Mass Higher Education. Society for Research into Higher Education & Open University Press. Smithers, A. & Robinson, P. (Eds.). (2000). Further Education Re-formed. Falmer Press. Venables, P. F. R. (1955). Technical Education. Its Aims, Organisation and Future Development. G. Bell & Sons.

This presentation pictures how the Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS) have been institutionalized since they were established in the 1990s. The exploration is based on secondary analysis of existing data and studies concerning Finnish UAS. It aims to provide an overview of how the trends concerning student pathways via UAS to work have developed, and enhance understanding of the role of UAS in the education system. The Finnish UAS were founded when former vocational colleges were developed to form the other pillar of the higher education system beside the traditional science universities (Ahola, 1997). The UAS have developed through several phases towards enhancing regional and national collaboration between their own network and other providers of education (Rauhala et al., 2022, Rantanen & Toikko, 2012). These phases can be characterized as follows. First, the UAS were experimented in 1991-1996. The UAS study programmes were developed through piloting, and programme standards raised to the level of Bachelors´ degrees. The successful piloting of the UAS was followed by a period of their systemic induction and developing regulation for them in 1997-2003. Between 2004-2013, the UAS studies matured to become a full member of the higher education system. In 2005, they also started to provide Master's studies for those with former UAS Bachelors, or equivalent, and work experience (Rantanen & Toikko, 2012). In the next developmental phase, between 2014-2016, there has been a shift toward a more unified higher education sector, legitimized by diminishing age cohorts and demand for economic efficiency. Whereas in the 1990s much emphasis in the Finnish UAS was put on upgrading and developing curriculum and pedagogy, in the 2000s there has been an increased shift toward emphasizing research and development as well as education for adults who are at work. Since 2017 the efforts to provide studies through the national network of UAS for students all over the country by digital means have been enhanced (Koskinen et al., 2020). The common provision has been targeted to enable flexible and more efficient provision of studies for UAS students. The ways to organize work-based learning as part of UAS studies have also been developed from the original model of internships towards more varied forms of placements and work-integrated learning (Virolainen, 2007; Tynjälä et al., 2022). During their lifetime the Finnish UAS have become an important route to higher education especially for those with initial vocational qualifications.

Ahola, S. (1997). 'Different but equal': Student expectations and the Finnish dual higher education policy. European Journal of Education, 32(3), 291-302. Koskinen, M., Nakamura, R., Yli-Knuuttila, H., & Tyrväinen, P. (2020). Kohti oppimisen uutta ekosysteemiä. Jyväskylän ammattikorkeakoulu. Rantanen, T., & Toikko, T. (2012). The three phases of the research and development activities in the Finnish universities of applied sciences. In S. Ahola and D. Hoffman (Eds.), Higher education research in Finland: Emerging structures and contemporary issues (pp. 383–405). Institute for Educational Research. Rauhala, P., Kantola, M., Friman, M., Mäki, K., & Kotila, H. (2022). Ammattikorkeakoulupedagogiikan lyhyt historia. In K. Mäki & L. Vanhanen-Nuutinen (Eds.), Korkeakoulupedagogiikka – Ajat, paikat ja tulkinnat. Haaga-Helia. Tynjälä, P., Virtanen, A., Virolainen, M. H., & Heikkinen, H. L. (2022). Learning at the interface of higher education and work: Experiences of students, teachers and workplace partners. In E. Kyndt, S. Beausaert, & I. Zitter (Eds.), Developing connectivity between education and work (pp. 76–96). Routledge. Virolainen, M. (2007). Workplace learning and higher education in Finland: Reflections on current practice. Education + Training, 49(4), 290-309.