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| UNESCO International Meeting on Innovation and Excellence in TVET Teacher/Trainer Education |
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Date: November 8-10, 2004
Venue: Hangzhou, Peoples Republic of China
The meeting was organized by the UNESCO Beijing Office and the UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Bonn (Germany), in partnership with the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO. | |
Overall rationale and purpose
All nations in the world are faced with the challenge of improving the capacity of their workforce to respond to their own national development needs and to the demands of a rapidly changing, more globally competitive, world.
The future success not just of nations, but also of individuals, enterprises and communities will increasingly depend on a pool of transferable and renewable skills and knowledge.
Many, both in the developed and developing worlds, are increasing the emphasis they place on improving the capacity of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) systems, in recognition of the important role TVET plays in equipping individuals with relevant skills and knowledge.
TVET has to enable individuals to participate in social, economic and technological innovation processes. Therefore embedding TVET into regional and national innovation structures is of crucial importance to economic performance and societal development of countries.
A pool of skilled and knowledgeable people is as important to the TVET industry itself as it is to the industries TVET serves.
The UNESCO Beijing Office and the UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Bonn (Germany), in partnership with the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO is organising an international conference to develop strategies to increase professionalization in TVET.
Innovation and Excellence in TVET teacher education addressed questions such as the following:
- What are the competencies for a good TVET teacher/trainer?
- How can the professionalism of TVET teachers and trainers be increased?
- How common are the needs for professional development across different countries?
- Can common standards guide institutions in their delivery of teacher training programmes, at both post-graduate and lower levels, for teacher/trainers in TVET?
- How can TVET be integrated into national and/or regional development innovation processes?
- What is the demand for masters-level degrees in TVET education and policy?
- What sort of curriculum should be taught in masters-level degrees?
- How can scholarship be improved?
- How can professional contacts amongst TVET professionals be fostered, internationally?
In the short and medium term, high quality initial teacher training is needed to improve TVET, as well as high quality professional development for teachers already in service. In countries that currently lack formal, university level teacher training, the introduction of specifically targeted short courses, and other strategies, are needed. Even a small rise in teacher quality can yield considerable improvement in outcomes. In the longer term, in order to ensure innovative capacity, which is needed to achieve improvements and to respond to changing internal and external conditions, research and development (R&D) capacities are needed at the national or in bigger countries at the regional level.
Higher-level degrees could be considered as a way of improving teaching and scholarship and fostering innovation and excellence. The graduates of higher-level programmes in TVET can themselves play an important role in further research and development for the field, linking theory and practice and contributing scholarship. Discussion on parameters for such programmes may assist the overall quality of education offered and widens potential for cooperation between institutions on an international scale.
Given the importance of TVET in the twenty-first century, the fragmented, isolated and uneven situation that currently exists is not sustainable. At this conference, individuals from many countries will work together to share knowledge and strategies to increase the professionalization of TVET. | |
Agenda
The agenda of the meeting can be downloaded here or in the download section. | |
Outcomes
The participants agreed on a draft Hangzhou Declaration. The final Hangzhou Declaration is available on the UNEVOC Website under the topic Assuring Quality.
The participants agreed on an International Framework Curriculum for a Master Degree
for TVET Teachers and Lecturers.
The participants agreed on the installation of an international network on innovation and professional development in TVET.
The final conference report can be downloaded here or from the UNESCO-UNEVOC website.
The relevant documents can be found in the download section. |
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Updated Thursday, January 01, 2004 |
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