How do standards contribute to assuring quality? In the current issue of BWP this question is discussed not only with regard to the vocational education and training system but also in view of standards, quality concepts and procedures in the general school system, the higher education sphere and the training of vocational school teachers. In addition, the importance of European standards and instruments and their implementation at the national levels are examined. Among the topics discussed in this context is the question of which impulses the GQF is expected to provide for systemic quality development. At the level of learning venues, the contributions deal with the question of how quality standards can be put into practice in in-company training and provide examples of best practice. In his editorial, BIBB President Esser stresses that quality standards are important building blocks for reliably valuating vocational qualifications and thus establish trust in the context of questions of the equivalence of educational qualifications and increased permeability in the education system. Other contributions in this issue deal with national qualifications frameworks and their history, with measures which make it easier to start training in the companies, with evaluation results after testing the recognised occupation of ice cream maker and with an initial assessment one year after the Recognition Act came into force.
Despite the changing situation in the training place market there are still many young people entering measures in the transition area. The educational background of these young people is assumed to be the reason. However, one quarter of the beginners in the transition area have an intermediate school or higher school leaving certificate.
Comparability, transparency and mobility - this triad stands for one decade of extensive developments that were launched as part of the systematic efforts towards establishing a European education area. The establishment of a European quality assurance reference framework for initial and continuing vocational education and training is an important milestone in this process. The article enumerates the goals of the European process of quality assurance in vocational education and shows what relevance the European standards developed have for quality assurance in the German context. It also refers to the opportunities now open to Germany for having a say in the European discourse. The role of the German Reference Point for Quality Assurance in Vocational Education and Training is dealt with against that background.
The decision to develop and implement a German Qualifications Framework (GQF) has increased the importance of questions of quality development in vocational education and training. One of the key requirements of a quality development model is to ensure that the graduates of the various training programmes at all levels do indeed dispose of the skills described in the curricula for those programmes. The focus here is on output orientation, that is, what a person can do after completing a training programme. The article takes up aspects of quality development in the areas important for vocational education and training on the basis of the quality principles formulated in the European Qualifications Framework and describes current practice. It then outlines steps to be taken to develop a systemic quality development model for vocational education and training.
On 1 April 2013, the Federal Government Recognition Act will have been in force for a year. Against the background of the objectives of the Act and the experiences gained from the implementation and application of the new law, the specialist ministry responsible believes that the initial conclusions which can be drawn are positive. The present article sets out the main benchmarks and presents current data on take-up of the law.