Opening and Extending Vocational Education

Vocational education has been opened up and extends to various directions: Higher education tends to take on vocational education models. Vice versa, vocational education development partially follows the structures of higher education. In addition, informal learning and recognition of competences widen the perspectives on vocational education. This book highlights a variety of developments and analyses from countries like Australia, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, South Africa, India, Ukraine and the United States, but also from a more global perspective. It reveals that regardless of national pathways a new shape of vocational education and educational provision with a specific focus on vocations, workplace and learning is emerging.

Philipp Eigenmann is the head of research at the Thurgau University of Teacher Education(Switzerland) and senior teaching and research assistant at the Institute of Education, University of Zurich. His research interests are vocational education and higher education, history of education and (vocational) education and migration.

Philipp Gonon is a professor of vocational education and training at the Institute of Education, Zurich University, where he teaches vocational pedagogy, history and theory of vocational and continuing education. His research also includes quality and education, education policy and digitalization.

Markus Weil is the Head of the Center for Organisational Continuing Education and Counselling at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland. He also works as a lecturer in the field of University Teaching and Learning with a special interest to teaching in English, internationalisation, role taking and peer learning processes.