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Increased migration between Asia-Pacific countries and the rapid pace of regional integration are leading to increasing calls for quality assurance in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) qualifications. The third International Congress on TVET held in Shanghai in 2012, for example, recommended the development of guidelines to assist Member States in this process. To this end, UNESCO Bangkok with Asia-Pacific Member States developed this set of guidelines. The guidelines focus on the quality assurance of TVET qualifications based on findings from 13 country studies. The study was carried out through a participatory process involving consultation with Member States to best respond to their diverse contexts and needs.

The aim of these guidelines is to propose principles and indicators that can assist Member States in optimizing their quality assurance mechanisms for TVET qualifications. They provide a framework for documenting, developing, monitoring, evaluating and improving the currency and comparability of certificates, diplomas or degrees in TVET. Member States are strongly urged to make efforts to implement the guidelines as appropriate to their specific national contexts.

Edited abstract from publisher's website. Show less

Essay-based examinations form a cornerstone of the public assessment system in the UK, but comparatively little research has been conducted into the processes involved in designing, answering and appraising essay-based questions/responses. This study explores the idea of examination validity through a qualitative review of these processes, based on materials sourced from the June 2002 [Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations] OCR Politics AS/A2 module 2596 (Politics of the UK). Through a detailed analysis of question papers and candidate scripts (informed by mark schemes, curricula and examiner reports), a model of current processes is advanced. Issues related to question design are highlighted, and a methodology for future quality assurance in essay-based examinations is derived from philosophical considerations such as 'fairness' and 'validity'. This paper resulted from research conducted as part of the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate's ongoing work to develop a system of procedural guidelines and example questions to facilitate robust question design.

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This paper argues for a radical re-think of the way to approach 14-19 curriculum and assessment. The comparability framework has obscured and undermined the essential purposes of assessment, and constrained exam boards' ability to develop meaningful assessments for young people that meet both their own and the nuanced requirements of further/higher education and employers. The UK government's programme aims to challenge low expectations and make assessment more demanding, but its increasingly top-down, one-size-fits-all approach looks likely to discourage participation, and reduce the scope for young people to explore and demonstrate their aptitude for subjects beyond the core. To develop the skills Britain needs to succeed, there must be greater scope for innovation and diversity than the present proposals allow. A competitive market for qualifications is crucial.

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This Professional Development Kit is the key outcome of the Demonstrating Best Practice Project - Using Self-Assessment. This project was undertaken by The Chisholm Institute, Frankston Campus and aimed to enable teachers and trainers to align their work practice with the organisation's strategic directions. The Kit describes a Self-Assessment Model for use by teachers and trainers to ensure that their planning and career development requirements are aligned to the organisation's strategic directions. Show less

Product and process innovations are of ultimative importance for a long-lasting enterprise competitiveness. Across all branches and services, innovations can be understood as changing the functionality, performance of products, and quality of services including the way they are produced. An important difference between innovations is that of radical versus incremental innovation. Whereas radical innovation is basic and of disruptive character and is based on paradigmatic change of the current technology concept, incremental innovations are of smaller scale and take place concurrently on the basis during work processes. While reflecting on innovation skills for apprentices, it can be stated that incremental innovations could be given into the hands of workers, foremen, and apprentices. Assuming that different in-company training pathways of apprentices are possible, the development of innovation skills toward incremental improvements on product, as well as production processes, could be brought into reality.

Published abstract.

The volume from which this chapter is taken is available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 137.1084. Show less

The purpose of this paper is to describe and determine the efficacy of a Technical Education Curriculum Assessment (TECA). The TECA was designed to guide the judgment of the quality of technical education curricular materials. Three research strands were combined into a theoretical framework which underlies the education of effective technicians. The TECA consists of sets of rubrics which focus on workplace competencies, technical accuracy, and pedagogical soundness. The rubrics were constructed using a deductive-inductive approach. This was an iterative process that ensured validity by moving back and forth from the theoretical framework uncovered in the literature review (deductive) to the application of the rubrics to actual curricular materials (inductive). We describe the process of rubrics development and provide data which support their validity and reliability. This psychometrically sound instrument should assist industry and education professionals to make more informed decisions when designing, implementing, and evaluating technical education curriculum.

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This project has been undertaken in response to issues which have arisen with the introduction of the National Training Reform Agenda. The National Training Reform Agenda, amongst other things, indicates a commitment to training and assessment in accordance with the principles of competency based training and assessment. In addition to this, the principle of reasonable adjustment with respect to the employment and training needs of people with disabilities has long been accepted as appropriate and necessary to assist this group of people to make the most of their abilities and give them a 'fair go' in competing for jobs, or undertaking training courses. There was concern within the [then] Department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET) that consideration had not been given to how the principles of reasonable adjustment for people with disabilities might be applied to the newly introduced competency assessment mechanisms. This project, undertaken by the Disabilities Unit of the New South Wales TAFE Commission, addresses this issue. This project looks at existing and proposed competency assessment mechanisms, as a basis for the study. It then goes on to identify barriers to fair assessment outcomes for people with a disability and measures to remove these barriers. Finally, the study identifies principles of best practice and sets out practical guidelines for reasonable adjustment in assessment. The study should provide practical ideas for the application of reasonable adjustment to competency based assessment and hopefully, stimulate discussion in the training and disability fields on how these principles can be further developed. The project team identified a key question in the study, to which the answer seems clear. How do we make sure that the assessment process, whether in vocational training or in the workplace, accurately reflects the competencies or potential competencies of each person with a disability being assessed, and does not impose an artificial barrier to employment or career advancement? By providing everyone concerned in vocational and workplace assessment with up-to-date guidelines on the use of reasonable adjustment measures, and ensuring that these guidelines are followed whenever required.

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Competence-Based Assessment (CBA) is a new approach for assessing pedagogical competence of students in higher education institutions of technology and education in Vietnam. CBA is the process of collecting evidences and making judgments on whether competence has been achieved. CBA does not provide students with evidences to recognize their own knowledge and skills from dealing with real-world problems, but regulate teaching and learning. This research mentioned on a brief literature review on CBA and revealed a status of assessing pedagogical competence in training students to become technical and vocational education and training (TVET) teachers at higher education institutions of technology and education in Vietnam. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to gather data associated with CBA in general and the application of this approach in assessing pedagogical competence of students. This research also gave minor suggestions to strengthen the quality of applying CBA in assessing pedagogical competence of students in higher education institutions of technology and education in Vietnam.

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The dictates of the quality movement form the rubric for the conduct of many processes within vocational education and training (VET): teaching, assessment, reporting, recording, research, customer service, auditing, financial management, business and industry partnerships, and so on. Traditional concepts of industrial quality were founded in post-war manufacturing contexts, and premised on products and processes being observable and measurable. The assessment, control and assurance of quality were regarded as (and are still widely believed to be) empirically verifiable. Total Quality Management (TQM) is an outgrowth of such positivist philosophies, as is the entire ISO 9000 system of certification. Although the verification of standards and procedures that these systems promise served certain needs of the old economy, how have they managed to retain their place in the new economy? This paper will argue that the concept of `quality' as a central plank in the Protestant project of unending self-improvement has been transformed and re-vitalised in the new economy which is service-oriented, globally-focused and infinitely flexible, in which students/workers must continually re-invent themselves in response to shifting workplace demands and/or personal imperatives. It is, therefore, timely to problematise the ideology of quality and to examine its rhetoric. This paper will focus on that rhetoric as it is employed in several VET-related contexts.

Excerpts from printed abstract used with the permission of the copyright holder.

Volume one of these proceedings is indexed at TD/TNC 68.31, volume two is indexed at TD/TNC 68.32 and individual papers may be found from TD/TNC 68.17 to TD/TNC 68.29 and from TD/TNC 68.33 to TD/TNC 68.100 Show less

This introductory guide describes how organisations can improve their potential for learning through a competence-based approach and provides practical strategies for managers to use in helping their organisations develop into 'learning organisations'. The author examines how to organise the learning environment, make use of flexible learning materials, develop systems and procedures, use techniques from quality management, and establish a learning resource centre. The guide includes short case studies and checklists, and demonstrates how various competence-based standards such as Investors in People (IiP) and National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) can provide the basic framework for successful learning organisations. Part one examines the structures within organisations that can be harnessed to develop and nurture a learning organisation; Part two addresses human resource development within the organisation; and Part three examines how the initiatives outlined in parts one and two can assist in gaining external recognition for the organisation and its staff through NVQ, IiP and ISO 9000 certification. Show less