Katherine Caves

Getting there from here: A literature review of VET reform implementation

Despite huge incidence of vocational education and training (VET) reforms, we know more about good VET systems than how to implement them. In this review, we develop a determinant framework for VET implementation that combines theories and frameworks related to policy and general education reform, plus VET theory and the few existing VET implementation frameworks. We review 1,835 sources on VET reform implementation and code 177 for 1,538 framework-item mentions. Key success factors are employer, intermediary, and educator involvement; human, financial, and research resources; cooperation and coordination; clear strategy with political will and context fit; and accountability. There is a bias towards Europe, though it does not drive results. The sample equally represents developed and developing countries. Future research should test our framework, examine item interactions, and develop theory. VET reform implementation is distinct from general education reform implementation, and its evidence base is bigger than expected but less systematic than it should be.

Beyond employer engagement: measuring education-employment linkage in vocational education and training programmes

Abstract The effectiveness of vocational education and training (VET) depends on the quality of interactions between the actors from the education and employment systems, which ensure the correspondence of skills supply and demand. This paper develops an instrument to measure education-employment linkage (EEL) by capturing EEL in each sub-process where these actors can and should interact. Surveying VET experts from 18 countries suggests that countries with dual VET have the highest EEL, while the included Asian countries score lowest in terms of EEL. The analysis further reveals that the three most important sub-processes are employer involvement in the definition of qualification standards; employer involvement in deciding the timing of curriculum updates; and the combination of workplace training with classroom education.

The Impact of High School Exit Exams on Graduation Rates and Achievement.

ABSTRACT The authors examined the short- and long-term effects of high school exit exams (HSEEs) on graduation rates and achievement using an interrupted time series approach. There is a positive overall effect of HSEE introduction for graduation rate trends, which is heterogeneous over time. HSEEs have a negative impact on graduation rates in the year of introduction and briefly after, which is short lived and becomes positive (but not statistically significant) over the long term. There is also a preintervention negative effect, suggesting that high schools prepare for the HSEE before introduction. There are no effects for achievement, possibly due to the lack of meaningful cross-state achievement data. The findings are robust to the inclusion of states that do not have HSEEs as a control group and also robust to controlling for No Child Left Behind introduction.