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Comparative Vocational Education Research pp 259–274Cite as

Reflections on typologies of comparison studies and the necessity of cultural-historical views illustrated by the analysis of the Swedish vocational education system from abroad

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Part of the book series: Internationale Berufsbildungsforschung ((INBER))

Abstract

Like the other so-called Nordic states Finland, Denmark and Norway, Sweden is a country with a long tradition of a welfare regime. The Swedish vocational education and training (VET) system is internationally known as a school-based system with a strong link to the integrated comprehensive upper secondary school. This educational system has the cultural embedded aim to give every adolescent the opportunity to make and change career at any point along their educational path. In order to make university education as well as continuous VET accessible at any point in their career, both educational routes have been traditionally free of charge.

This article aims to reconstruct the discussion on classifications and typologies of VET systems in a critical perspective and then seeks to outline the linkage between the Swedish culture and history with its current educational system. The analysis focusses on VET and the current changes, based on some interviews with stakeholders in politics, companies and visits to schools as well as the findings of current and historical research in Sweden in addition to comparative data on Europe and Germany. The tension between inclusive approaches on the one hand and ways to put more emphasis on work based learning (WBL) during the educational phase on the other, will be particularly highlighted in this analysis. The latter is at the heart of recent reforms in Sweden and is a sign of the specific tensions of the political debate and practice in Sweden between ‘folkhem’ and global marketisation.

The overall argument seeks to highlight, that whilst typologies can be a helpful tool in VET comparison, but risks being too reductive. The socio-historic analysis highlights the necessity to understand educational systems within the sociocultural and historical context out of which they have grown.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Vocational Education and Training, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany

    Franz Kaiser

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  1. Franz Kaiser
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  1. Chair of Economics and Business Education, University of Cologne, Köln, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

    Matthias Pilz

  2. Chair of Economics and Business Education, University of Cologne, Köln, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

    Junmin Li

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Kaiser, F. (2020). Reflections on typologies of comparison studies and the necessity of cultural-historical views illustrated by the analysis of the Swedish vocational education system from abroad. In: Pilz, M., Li, J. (eds) Comparative Vocational Education Research. Internationale Berufsbildungsforschung. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-29924-8_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-29924-8_15

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