Current Problems in Vocational Education in Switzerland: Report on a National Research Program. Occasional Paper No. 93.

Overview & Synopsis

Vocational education in Switzerland takes place mainly in three kinds of institutions. Apprentices receive training in small laboratories or workshops from a master, in larger companies from a special trainer, or in state or private workshops. Besides this job-oriented education, apprentices attend courses in vocational schools. Research in vocational education and work life in Switzerland is addressing these topics: vocational/professional education, adult education, education for special groups, humanization of work, technological change, unemployment, and new models for vocational education. The Swiss National Research Program focuses on three broad areas in vocational education. Research on personality development includes a learning-to-learn project for apprentices with learning problems or disabilities, a longitudinal study of apprentices, and projects to develop methods to help apprentices cope with transition from school to apprenticeship. Research projects on the organization of vocational/professional education seek to improve teachers' training, to characterize the needs of individuals who try to change their professional activities, and to elaborate and evaluate a curriculum for education in elementary economics. Research on transitions includes projects on homemakers' reentry, technological and organizational changes that influence work, and counseling for farm families. (Questions and answers about vocational education programs in Switzerland are appended.) (YLB)