Lukas Graf

The Emergent European Model in Skill Formation: Comparing Higher Education and Vocational Training in the Bologna and Copenhagen Processes

Proposing an alternative to the American model, intergovernmental reform initiatives in Europe have developed and promote a comprehensive European model of skill formation. What ideals, standards, and governance are proposed in this new pan-European model? This model responds to heightened global competition among “knowledge societies” as it challenges national systems to improve. The authors thus compare this emergent European model with the historically influential models of Germany, France, Great Britain, and the United States. To what extent does the European model resemble these traditionally influential national models? The authors report findings of a theory-guided content analysis of official European policy documents in higher education and vocational training from 1998 to 2010. They find that while the European model is a bricolage that integrates diverse characteristics of influential models, the ambitious goals and standards codified in the twin Bologna and Copenhagen processes in higher education and vocational training offer a new model to compete internationally. Dozens of countries now seek to implement these principles. This comparative analysis finds different visions for the future of skill formation on both sides of the Atlantic.

The hybridization of vocational training and higher education in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland

This book analyzes institutional changes in the relationship between vocational education and training (VET) and higher education (HE) in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. … The key finding …is that all three countries rely in part on hybridization – a specific combination of organizational and institutional elements from the two organizational fields of VET and HE – to introduce gradual institutional reforms within their long-established skill formation systems. … this book seeks answers to a number of specific research puzzles: Why did it come to hybridization at the nexus of VET and HE in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland and how have the respective hybrid organizational forms developed since their genesis? To what extent do the hybrid organizational forms differ in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland? What are the implications of hybridization for institutional permeability between VET and HE? And, finally, what is the impact of current European educational policies on such hybrid organizational solutions? This book is organized around these questions. Chapter 2 reviews the literature to provide arguments for the case selection – and also to highlight the research gap … Chapter 3 presents the theoretical framework. … Chapter 4 describes the methods and data, including detailed information on the case study and comparative design, systematic process analysis, as well as the expert interviews. … Chapter 5 explores the history of Europeanization in the field of education. This chapter provides essential background information as each of the three country case studies also explores whether and to what extent European educational policies have affected the observed processes of hybridization at the nexus of VET and HE. … The following chapters present the case studies on Germany (Chapter 6), Austria (Chapter 7), and Switzerland (Chapter 8). … The comparative chapter (Chapter 9) focuses on explaining the similarities and differences in the historical developments observed in the three country cases. The comparative chapter also offers some inductive generalizations, or lessons learnt, from the process analyses of hybridization in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. In Chapter 10 I summarize the main findings and reflect upon the hypotheses formulated in Chapter 3. Chapter 10 also offers some policy recommendations and an outlook on further research opportunities. (DIPF/Orig.)

The rise of work-based academic education in Austria, Germany and Switzerland

Abstract Austria, Germany and Switzerland are renowned for their extensive systems of collective vocational skill formation, which, however, have developed largely in separation from higher education. This divide has become increasingly contested as a result of a variety of socioeconomic factors that have led to an increasing demand for higher level skills. Do the three countries deal with these challenges in similar ways? The comparative analysis is based on process tracing from the 1960s to 2013 and builds on historical institutionalism as well as several dozen expert interviews with key stakeholders. A key finding is that all three countries have developed hybrid forms of work-based academic education that combine elements of vocational training and higher education. However, in Austria and Switzerland, these hybrids have been integrated into the traditional model of collective governance, whereas the German case signifies a departure from this model.

Amerikanisierung oder Europäisierung der (Aus-)Bildung? Die Bologna und Kopenhagen Prozesse und das neue europäische Modell der Hochschul- und Berufsbildung

Die USA, Deutschland, Frankreich und Grosbritannien stehen fur jeweils unterschiedliche sowie international viel beachtete Modelle der Hochschul- und Berufsbildung. Es gibt keinen globalen Konsens daruber, welche Kriterien fur den Erfolg nationaler Bildungssysteme gelten oder welchem Vorbild gefolgt werden soll. Gegenwartige europaische Reformen, wie die Bologna- und der Kopenhagen-Prozesse, sollen die Wettbewerbsfahigkeit Europas im Vergleich zu den USA erhohen. Doch auf welchen zentralen Vorstellungen basiert das in diesen Prozessen verbreitete, im Entstehen begriffene europaische Bildungsmodell? Mit einer Inhaltsanalyse europaischer Dokumente (Deklarationen und Kommuniques) gehen wir der Frage nach, ob die Ideale, Ziele, Legitimationen und Standards dieses Modells eher auf eine Amerikanisierung oder auf eine bricolage verschiedener aus Europa stammender Modelle hindeuten.

New Institutional Linkages Between Dual Vocational Training and Higher Education: A Comparative Analysis of Germany, Austria and Switzerland

Germany, Austria, and Switzerland have traditionally provided a large proportion of their workforces with qualifications obtained in the dual vocational training system. However, due to the growing demand for abstract and codified knowledge, all three countries aim at increasing the permeability and individual mobility between the dual training sector and the higher education system. In this chapter we analyse the ways in which Germany, Austria and Switzerland have tried to establish institutional linkages between dual vocational training and higher education. We begin by discussing options for creating such linkages: (1.) upgrading of vocational education and training courses, (2.) introducing dual courses of study, (3.) facilitating attendance of general upper secondary schools for people with vocational qualifications, (4.) enabling the parallel acquisition of a dual vocational training qualification and a higher education entrance qualification, (5.) allowing admission to higher education on the basis of prior dual vocational training qualifications and a certain amount of work experience, and (6.) recognising prior learning as an element in higher education programmes. Our analysis shows that, recently, Germany has relied strongly on the admission to higher education based on vocational training certificates in combination with work experience. Switzerland and Austria are rather pushing the comprehensive introduction of programmes that enable the parallel acquisition of a dual vocational training qualification and a higher education entrance qualification. Finally, we raise questions about the risk of institutional ambiguity and institutional task overload.

Coronary angiography with or without percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with hemophilia—Systematic review

We aimed to summarize the evidence for periprocedural and long‐term strategies to both minimize the bleeding risk and ensure sufficient anticoagulation and antiaggregation in hemophilia patients undergoing coronary angiography with or without percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI).

Systemic treatment of a patient with relapsed and refractory extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma (ENKL) and meningeosis leukemica with daratumumab

NK/T‐cell lymphoma usually occurs in the upper aerodigestive tract, primarily the nasal cavity with destructive, midfacial, necrotizing lesions. It is rare in western countries but more frequently found in Asia, Central and South America. Median age at diagnosis is in the 5th decade with a male predominance. It is almost always associated with Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV) infection. In situ hybridization (ISH) for EBV‐encoded early small RNA (EBER) identifies malignant NK/T‐cells in histopathological specimens, which express cytoplasmic‐CD3ε and ‐CD56 but are negative for surface‐CD3. The most commonly employed initial treatment consists of different combinations of chemotherapy and radiation (concurrent, sequential or sandwich), but not many prospective trials exist. The p‐gylcoprotein causing multi‐drug resistance (MDR) is frequently expressed, which leads to ineffectiveness of anthracycline‐based regimens. Introduction of L‐asparaginase, which is not affected by MDR, has significantly improved prognosis. The very intensive and demanding SMILE protocol (dexamethasone, methotrexate, ifosfamide, L‐asparaginase and etoposide) shows response rates (ORR) of 79% and complete remissions (CR) in 45% of patients with newly diagnosed stage IV, refractory or relapsed ENKL, but severe hematological and infectious complications are frequent. Unfortunately, 30‐40% of patients relapse during chemotherapy and their long‐term outcome is dismal. Treatment of ENKL, relapsed/refractory to asparaginase‐containing first‐line treatment, represent an unmet medical need. Recently, PD1 blockage was shown as a possibly potent strategy after L‐asparaginase regimens. Furthermore, a recently published case report was able to document a remission in a CD38‐positive, extensively pretreated ENKL relapse after treatment with daratumumab. Here, we report about a 48‐year old Caucasian male, diagnosed with stage IV nasal ENKL in April 2016. He presented with nasal

Work-based higher education programmes in Germany and the US: Comparing multi-actor corporatist governance in higher education

Abstract In both Germany and the United States, employers search for new strategies to recruit and train people in times of a dynamically evolving economy and rising educational expectations on the part of individuals. In this context, we observe the proliferation of work-based higher education programmes in both countries. This development challenges the common classification found in the political economy and educational policy literature that distinguishes between collectively governed dual apprenticeships in Germany and market-driven on-the-job training in the US. The paper proposes an alternative conceptualization that identifies significant similarities in the governance mode of work-based higher education across the two countries. Based on expert interviews and document analysis, the institutional analysis focuses on complex multi-actor governance constellations at the nexus of vocational training and higher education and explores consequences for contemporary policy-making in advanced skill formation.

How Employer Interests and Investments Shape Advanced Skill Formation

© American Political Science Association, 2017 doi:10.1017/S1049096516002936 ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Integrating International Student Mobility in Work-Based Higher Education: The Case of Germany

Dual study programs are hybrid forms of work-based higher education that have expanded very rapidly in Germany—a country traditionally considered a key model in both higher education (HE) and vocational education and training (VET). The continued expansion of these hybrid programs increasingly raises questions if, how, and why they may be internationalized. Although comparative research suggests that this could be challenging due to the uniqueness of the German education and training system, strong forces support internationalization. This study examines the current state and the future prospects of internationalization of such innovative dual study programs by focusing on student mobility, a key dimension of internationalization. We find growing interest in but still relatively little mobility related to dual study programs, whether among German (outgoing) or international (incoming) students. Based on expert interviews and document analysis, we extend existing typologies of student mobility regarding specific features of work-based HE programs. Furthermore, we discuss opportunities—at home and abroad—for increasing student mobility in this rapidly expanding sector.