Evolving VET: Navigating traditions and transformations
The theme of the NORDYRK conference highlights inescapable tensions embedded in evolving vocational education and training (VET). These tensions stem from navigating the history of the field and its mission as well as addressing the ever-changing needs and challenges of society. The long history of vocational education in the Nordic countries inevitably leaves its mark on the field, as societal and institutional traditions often determine the parameters of change. At the same time VET must respond to rapid changes in society and working life brought about by dynamic forces such as technological developments, changing demographics, academic drift, climate change and other global challenges.
The theme brings attention to the different demands placed on VET and professional higher education – on what it should be and whom it should serve – and how changing demographics, societal challenges, and technological innovations create new expectations. It also raises the question of how to establish a democratic discussion on the goals and purpose of VET and include different voices in the decision-making process, as stakeholders such as policy makers and those teaching and studying VET have differing views and shape VET in different ways. Deciding how to transform structures and practices in VET and determining what is sustainable in the traditions of education and pedagogy, requires insight and rethinking by practitioners in the field.
The theme explores the question of how VET is currently evolving as well as how it relates to what came before and what is yet to be: In other words, what it has evolved from and what it is evolving towards. The theme is therefore centered on thinking about where VET currently stands alongside the challenge of maneuvering both the pull towards traditions and the push towards transformations. This push and pull can be seen in different aspects of VET, in everything from its structure and mandate to content and pedagogical practices.
The Nordyrk steering committee hopes the theme will encourage active discussions and an exchange of ideas at the 2024 conference. Contributions related to different aspects of the theme as well as the overall aims of the Nordyrk network are welcomed.
