Examinations in the dual vocational training system
Barbara Lorig, Markus Bretschneider
The debate on learning-outcome-orientedness and competence-orientedness has also been conducted to an increasing degree in the vocational training field in recent years. What repercussions will this have for examinations in Germany's 'dual' vocational training system (which combines part-time vocational schooling with practical work experience)? And how can examinations be designed to be competence-based? These questions will be investigated by the research project "Competence-based Examinations in the Dual Vocational Training System - Baseline Assessment and Design Possibilities" which will run from July 2010 through December 2012.
Using a framework which describes the essential elements and criteria for gearing examinations to competences, this project will look at examination practice on the basis of the examples provided by three recognised 'training occupations' (occupations that require completion of formal vocational training) and, based on the information gained from this, draft recommendations for the progressive development of examinations conducted in the dual vocational training system. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods will be used so that it is possible to cover and assess this subject in sufficient breadth and depth.
When doing this, account will have to be taken of the fact that there has been little theory-level consideration given to date to what constitutes a competence-based examination in dual vocational training and what elements a competence-based examination would encompass. For this reason, the first phase of this project will focus on generating hypotheses and, in addition to exploring examination practice, will additionally draw on ideas from the vocational and business studies pedagogics discussion which can be applied to the area of examinations.
Secondly, the fact that the examination part of the dual vocational training system has changed substantially in the last ten years will have to be taken into consideration: The guiding concept of 'vocational competence' was introduced with the amendment of the Vocational Training Act in 2005; the extended final examination and the extended journeyman's examination introduced examination structures in which assessments are conducted at two different points in time; the numerous examination methods used in the past were reduced to a limited number of examination instruments nationwide; and examinations were organised in a way that also takes into account the activity-based and process-based structures used in vocational training. This project ties in with these changes.
A transparent understanding of competences that has been coordinated by the players in the vocational training field and is reflected in training regulations provides the foundation for competence-based examinations. This understanding constitutes the platform for developing examination requirements and codifying them in training regulations. Such an understanding exists only implicitly at present.
What other criteria - in addition to a uniform understanding of competences and the examination requirements that are developed on the basis of this understanding - are there for competence-based examinations? Which examination instruments and assessment methods should be used in constructive ways? How often should competence levels be assessed and recorded in the course of the individual's vocational training and at what points in time? And what conditions are generally needed in order to conduct competence-based examinations?
This research project will identify starting points for systematically and progressively developing the examinations used in the dual vocational training system to be competence-based. In doing so, the project will contribute to systematically gearing vocational training to be competence-oriented and to increasing the compatibility of German dual vocational training with other systems throughout the entire European Education Area and European employment area.
