Permeability as the key to an education system that meets future needs

“Permeability” is a constant topic in vocational education and training, and is primarily associated with the idea of encouraging the depillarisation of the education system and thereby opening up more options for creating and implementing barrier-free educational pathways. Apart from this educational facet, an aspect that merits equal emphasis is the sociological connotation of “permeability” as a means of enabling access from the lower to the upper levels of the system. This is a significant prerequisite which allows individuals to develop educational and employment careers and hence to strive for upward social mobility. In view of the prevailing trend towards academicisation, it also ties in with the hope of making education and training provision at the lower and middle levels of the German national qualifications framework (DQR) more attractive by establishing linkages through to higher-level offerings.

Permeability requirements

A permeable education system is characterised by the fact that the “golden standard” is not the only pathway; instead, previously non-standard educational pathways become just as much the rule – for example, if access to higher education from the starting point of an intermediate secondary school-leaving certificate via initial vocational training in a recognised occupation can be planned and put into practice. Equally, students in a permeable education system should be well informed as to which initial and advanced vocational programmes they can access laterally from their degree programme, taking account of regulated recognition modalities. In future, it will also attest to the quality of a permeable education system if it allows individuals the latitude to change their minds and revise their previous educational choices. Of course, in that case those who make use of this option must not be discriminated against as educational losers, quitters or dropouts.

Action needed on different levels

From the viewpoint of vocational education and training, the implementation of a permeable education system requires action on different levels:

Degree-programme and vocational orientation at grammar schools: Alongside degree-programme orientation, vocational orientation must become standard at university-track grammar schools. A start has been made and a foundation laid with the vocational orientation programme that has been running since 2008. Two important questions now are how to go about extending this on a broad scale to all lower and intermediate secondary schools, and how to incorporate the upper secondary level at grammar schools step by step.

Linkage of initial vocational training and upgrading training with vocational career-progression models: On the basis of the quality assurance concept for upgrading training passed by the Board of BIBB, dedicated work is now needed to continually improve the standardisation of upgrading training. The aim must be as far as possible to offer career progression models in all popular initial and advanced vocational training occupations, so as to provide a full spectrum of qualifications up to DQR Level 7.

Lateral access to vocational education and training from higher education: In line with the principle of reciprocally organised permeability between education systems, it is necessary to offer definite crossover opportunities into vocational education and training for students who break off their studies early.

Improving framework conditions for the recognition of educational attainment: A BMBF-funded project was recently launched at BIBB to foster better linkages and permeability between education and training programmes. It focuses on the development of qualification offers which meet the criteria for EQF/DQR Level 5 and which can be offered not only as modules in the framework of vocational upgrading training but also within the framework of a Bachelor’s degree programme with similar content or broad equivalence.

 

FRIEDRICH HUBERT ESSER
Professor Dr., President of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training, Bonn

Translation from the German original (published in BWP 4/2014): Deborah Shannon, Academic Text & Translation, Berlin