Particularly worth noting in this edition are calls for papers or proposals relating to: the International Congress on Vocational and Professional Education and Training (VPET) in Winterthur/Switzerland and UALL 2018 on "Opportunities for lifelong learning in a changing world" in Cambridge UK (see Conferences), the VET Research Award of the European Commission 2017 and the ESREA seminar on pioneers in European adult education in Paris (see Networks and Organisations), the two Winter Schools "Comparative studies in adult education and lifelong learning" in Würzburg/Germany and "International Perspectives on Education Policy (IPEP)" in Verona/Italy (see Programmes) and the CEDEFOP call for tender on the potential of work-based learning (see Projects).

Many thanks to all who contributed information for this edition and who sent helpful feedback. The L&W Newsletter reaches you via a mailing list of about 1500 experts in and beyond Europe. It focuses on transnational research activities in the field of human resource development (HRD) and vocational education and training (VET), centred on major categories: conferences, networks, programmes, projects and publications. The next edition will appear in early October 2017. You are invited to submit short pieces of news (texts of 100 to 200 words, without attachments, but including links to web pages) - please by 30 September 2017 at the latest!

Should you prefer to read the current edition online, you can find it on the L&W website (www.news.wifo-gate.org) under August 2017. Please pass the Newsletter on to your colleagues and networks. Special thanks to our partners CR&DALL, PASCAL International Observatory, UFHRD, UNEVOC, VET&Culture and VETNET for sharing the L&W Newsletter via their mailing lists and web portals!

With best wishes
Sabine Manning
Research Forum WIFO
Editor of the L&W Newsletter

Conferences

VPET Congress: Call for proposals
3rd International Congress on Vocational and Professional Education and Training (VPET) 06/06 to 08/06/2018 Winterthur (Switzerland)
You are invited to take an active part in the congress programme. In this call for proposals we invite all interested parties to submit their presentation on a current topic in VPET, to be given at a congress workshop on Friday 8 June 2018. In general, these workshops address the issue of how VPET can be made fit for the future in the light of structural change and shifts in values (i.a. digitalisation and pluralisation). The focus will be on the adaptability of training content (curricula), ensuring that the systems continue to equip apprentices appropriately for the labour market. The workshops will also look at instruments and approaches to making the system and its training opportunities more flexible in order to respond to the need for individual educational pathways and to foster lifelong learning in VPET. Please submit your proposal on one of the following two topics by 20 August 2017: (1) Training content - agility and quality assurance for employability now and in the future; (2) Training opportunities - increasing flexibility in VPET systems for individualised educational pathways. Further details are available on the website http://vpet-congress.ch/call-for-proposals
(Info received from International Congress on VPET mailing list)

UALL 2018: Call for papers
Opportunities for lifelong learning in a changing world. Research, policy and practice - Annual Conference of the Universities Association for Lifelong Learning (UALL). Downing College, Cambridge UK 21-23 March 2018
The scope of this conference will be local, regional and international. The key themes will include: • Lifelong learning pedagogies: critical, digital and flexible  • Learning cities and regions • Social mobility and inclusion • Learning enrichment and well-being throughout life • Building capability for the workplace: apprenticeships, re-skilling, work-based learning. Proposals are welcome from those working in different countries and learning contexts. Please send your proposal of no more than 300 words by 30 November 2017 to: [email protected] Presenters will have the opportunity to submit papers for consideration for publication. A selection of the conference papers will be published in a special issue of the international journal Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning (Open University). For further details contact [email protected] or visit the UALL website at www.uall.ac.uk/uall-2018-annual-conference
(Information received via Pascal International Observatory Site Digest for 19/07/17)

NOTE: Forthcoming and recent events related to European research in work and learning are listed on the WIFO Conference page [www.conferences.wifo-gate.org].  

Networks and Organisations

Call for proposals: VET Research Award of the European Commission 2017
At the European Vocational Skills Week 2017, taking place in November in Brussels, the European Commission will again award examples of excellence in vocational education and training (VET) (website). The VET Research Award aims to reward an outstanding VET research project or an individual researcher who has made an outstanding contribution to innovative thinking in VET, including initial VET (IVET), career-long professional learning or continuing VET (CVET). The European Research Network in Vocational Education and Training (VETNET) has been appointed to manage the call for proposals and the nomination process. Researchers and other VET professionals are kindly invited to propose a project or a person to be nominated for the VET Research Award. To propose a project or person fill in this form. Deadline: 15 September 2017. Further details can be found on https://vetnetsite.org/2017/07/28/vet-research-2017/. If you have any questions, please contact [email protected], chair of the Evaluation Committee.
(Contributed by Barbara Stalder)

ESREA seminar: Pioneers in European adult education
Call for proposals: Pioneering Women and Men in European Adult Education (19th and early 20th Centuries). European seminar Paris, 4-6 July 2018. ESREA Research Network History of Adult Education and Training in Europe
The aims of this European seminar are: 1. To explore biographical trajectories of theorists, initiators, and activists or of various forms of adult education, and to analyze what led them to become 'pioneers' in adult education. This requires reflection on the meaning of an 'adult education pioneer'. 2. To identify new figures, more particularly women pioneers, who, up to now, have not been recognized to the same extent as men. This may lead to devoting more attention to a wider range of adult education initiatives than has been the case up to now. 3. To provide the basis for a European biographical dictionary, listing or documenting not only biographical notes, but also reflecting on different issues raised by the papers. Please send your proposal by the end of February 2018 to both co-convenors: Kirsi Ahonen <[email protected]> and Françoise F. Laot <[email protected]>  <[email protected]>
(Info received from Anja Heikkinen <[email protected]> via VET&Culture mailing list)

NOTE: References to research networks in the field of European work and learning are available on the WIFO page Networks at a glance [www.networks.wifo-gate.org]. Major online resources related to European research networks include the ECER VETNET Proceedings (www.ecer-vetnet.wifo-gate.org) offering a complete and up-to-date collection of conference papers submitted since 1998, and the Overview of selected HRD conference papers (www.ehrd-papers.wifo-gate.org).

Programmes

Winter School: Comparative studies in adult education and lifelong learning
The COMPALL Project warmly invites Master and doctoral students to the 5th International Winter School on "Comparative Studies in Adult Education and Lifelong Learning" at the University of Würzburg/Germany 05.-16.02.2018. During the Winter School, international policies in adult and lifelong learning are discussed, field visits to adult and continuing education providers are arranged, and comparisons made between selected issues in the field of adult and lifelong learning. Before the two-week intensive programme, all participants receive an on-campus preparation (only by partner universities) and online preparation. Each participant is expected to submit a transnational essay on a selected aspect of adult education and lifelong learning by mid-January. The application deadline is the 30.09.2017 (students from COMPALL Partner Universities by 31.10.2017). For further information please go to: http://www.lifelonglearning.uni-wuerzburg.de/startseite/
(Posted by Monika Staab <[email protected]>)

Winter School on educational policy research
"International Perspectives on Education Policy (IPEP)". Winter School at the University of Verona (Italy), Department of Human Sciences. November 27th - December 1st, 2017
This Winter School will consider theories and methods relevant across the field of educational policy research. It is designed for PhD students, postdoctoral fellows and researchers of policy in all areas of education, but is suitable also for advanced master students. The School will include an explicit focus on policy related to higher and adult education, but the specific content of activities will be developed in the light of the participants' profiles. Who can apply: Advanced master students, PhD students, postdoctoral fellows and researchers of policy in all areas of education. How to apply: Send a brief CV (1 page), accompanied by a letter describing your current area of studies, research or professional activity, and your motivation in participating in IPEP (2 pages) to the following email address: [email protected] by September 15th, 2017. IPEP Faculty will select candidates and confirm acceptance by October 1st, 2017. Approved candidates should register (free of charge) by October 15th, 2017. Expected costs: Enrollment is free of charge. Participants should cover their own travel and accommodation costs, as well as all lunches and dinners. For more information please write to: [email protected]
(Information received via ESREA mailing list)

NOTE: Contributions are welcome for the next edition of the Directory of Doctoral Dissertations (www.ddd.wifo-gate.org), provided as part of the WIFO Gateway, which focuses on European research in the field of vocational education (VET) and human resource development (HRD). Please provide information on expected or newly completed doctoral dissertations investigating issues of HRD, VET or work-related adult education, according to the following pattern: 1*Theme of dissertation (original language AND English); 2*Year of (expected) completion or publication; 3*Author (name and email address); 4*Tutor (name and email address); 5*Institution of tutor (name and home page). Contributions should be posted by email to the editor ([email protected]).

Projects

Cedefop calls for tender:

(1) The potential of work-based learning
Cedefop has launched a call for tender on "The potential of work-based learning in developing Upskilling Pathways for adults". This call has been published in the Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union 2017/S 130-265065 of 11/07/2017. Deadline for submitting tenders: 07/09/2017 (17h00 for hand-delivered tenders). Requests for additional information/clarification should be received by 29/08/2017. The answers to such requests will be published on the call page, therefore please visit Cedefop's website frequently for updates. You can find all related tender documents under the following link.
(2) Labour market integration and social inclusion
Cedefop has published a new call for tender in order to conduct research and develop tools on "VET for labour market integration and social inclusion". This call has been published in the Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union 2017/S 140-286793 of 25/07/2017. Deadline for submitting tenders: 14/09/2017 (17h00 for hand-delivered tenders). Requests for additional information/clarification should be received by 05/09/2017. The answers to such requests will be published on the call page, therefore please visit Cedefop's website frequently for updates. You can find all related tender documents under the following link. 
(Received from 1. Alessia De Martino <[email protected]>  and 2. Roula Panagiotou <[email protected]>)

PDW 2017: Project ideas for professional development
Project Development Workshop (PDW) in Brussels 30 November and 1 December 2017
Do you have a great idea for an innovative European project on tackling challenges related to the professional development of teachers and trainers? Does it align with the recent EU communication on "School Development and Excellent Teaching for a Great Start in Life"? Whether it is in higher education, school or vocational education and training, adult education, youth or sports, get ready to develop your Erasmus+ project proposal and benefit from EU funding. Let's prepare the teachers and trainers of tomorrow! Pin down Thursday 30 November and Friday 1 December 2017 in your calendar! You will get a unique insight into the Commission's new priority on professional development in the 2018 Erasmus+ programme and meet European partners for your project idea. Build your European consortium for the upcoming calls for proposals related to the professional development of teachers and trainers. Find out more about the PDW on the LLLPlatform.
(Received from LLLPlatform via mailing list <[email protected]>)

NOTE: Contributions are invited to update the Overview of European research projects [www.projects.wifo-gate.org], provided as part of the WIFO Gateway. The overview focuses on transnational research projects, mainly supported by EU programmes, in the areas of human resource development, vocational education, work and learning. Please send the following information to the editor ([email protected]):  (A) exact title and acronym (short name) of the project; (B) name and email address of the coordinator or main contact; (C) address of the website (or info page/ flyer) of the project. Contact: Sabine Manning

Publications

Vocational education beyond skill formation
Fernando Marhuenda (ed). Vocational Education beyond Skill Formation: VET between Civic, Industrial and Market Tensions. Peter Lang 2017 [Details]
Vocational education and training has played an important role in the struggles between work and capital throughout history and today; there are examples of such tensions worldwide. The first section of this book provides illustrations of different countries from the 18^th to the early 20^th centuries. The authors explain and exemplify the education of the workforce and its political engagement, contributing to the formation of the working class. The chapters provide relevant approaches to how young apprentices and adult workers developed a class consciousness through vocational education. The second section illustrates practices of resistance and transformation within policies and practices of vocational education nowadays in Central and Southern Europe and South America, addressing the needs of people with disabilities and dispossessed populations. The final section analyses how theories and policies intertwine resulting in the idiosyncrasy of vocational education practices across the world, through tensions between logics and institutional actors. The book addresses the political dimensions of vocational education and problematizes its mere consideration as an instrumental tool in skill formation.
(Info received from Fernando Marhuenda <[email protected]>)

Adult learning and education in international contexts
Egetenmeyer, R., Schmidt-Lauff, S. & Boffo, V. (eds). Adult Learning and Education in International Contexts: Future Challenges for its Professionalization. Comparative Perspectives from the 2016 Würzburg Winter School. Frankfurt: Peter Lang 2017 [Details]
This volume analyses adult education and lifelong learning as international phenomena, which have a strong influence on professionals working in this field. Based on the 2016 Würzburg Winter School, the book identifies influences on policy at local, national and international levels. It examines the internationalization of adult education and emphasizes the emergence of different dimensions of professionalism in adult education. You are very welcome to purchase the book from Peter Lang Publisher: www.peterlang.com/view/product/26178
(Posted by Monika Staab <[email protected]>)

Basics of vocational education - shaping the world of work
Felix Rauner. Grundlagen beruflicher Bildung: Mitgestalten der Arbeitswelt. E-Book at W. Bertelsmann Publishers 2017 [Details]
Up to now a holistic research and development concept within dual oriented vocational education and training systems has been missing. This publication on the fundamentals of vocational education promotes a broad reception of research and developmental projects undertaken in theoretical and empirical perspective. Felix Rauner outlines his conception of 'co-shaping the world of work' and delivers research elements of this. The handbook is not only interesting for VET researchers but also for trainers, personnel developers and educational planners and those who wish to enhance the attractiveness and quality of advanced vocational education.
(Contributed by Ludger Deitmer <[email protected]>)

Compendium of adult and continuing education
Mapping the Field of Adult and Continuing Education - An International Compendium. Edited by Alan B. Knox, Simone C. O. Conceição, and Larry G. Martin. Stylus Publishing 2017 [Details]
The field of Adult and Continuing Education (ACE) has long been influential beyond its already porous borders and continues to be a source of important ideas, inspiration, and innovative practices for those in disciplines such as educational administration, social work, nursing, and counseling. This four-volume Compendium (also available as a combined e-book) brings together a host of national and international contributors to map the field of ACE in a series of brief articles addressing key theories and practices across its many domains and settings. These are arranged in four volumes, available either individually or as a set: (1) Adult Learners, (2) Teaching and Learning, (3) Leadership and Administration, (4) Inquiry and Influences.
(Information received via CR&DALL Site Digest for 20/07/17)

Being an economic-civic competent citizen
Stephan Schumann*, Esther Kaufmann*, Franz Eberle, Andreas Jüttler and Nicole Ackermann (2017). Being an economic-civic competent citizen: A technology-based assessment of commercial apprentices in Germany and Switzerland. Empirical Research in Vocational Education and Training (ERVET). Volume 9, Issue 13. *Shared first authorship. Doi: 10.1186/s40461-017-0056-1 [Further information]
Citizens in modern democratic societies are confronted with complex demands, challenges, and economic problems, and they act as consumers, savers, voters, and employees. It is highly desirable for citizens to be able to competently manage these various demands. We call this ability 'economic-civic competence'. Given the lack of empirical findings and adequate instruments on this issue, we developed a techology-based assessment on economic-civic competence and analyzed the economic-civic competence of 1,255 commercial apprentices (industrial clerk and logistic clerk) in Germany and Switzerland. We checked differences in the apprentices' characteristics, occupational affilation and country differences regarding economic-civic competence. In general, the Swiss trainees scored higher than their German counterparts did within a comparable occupation. This expected advantage was significant and notably stronger among the trainees without a University Entry Degree. One explanation is the broader and more explicit promotion of economic-civic competence in Swiss vocational schools for commercial apprenticeships. Our study can also be seen in the broader context of contemporary interest and challenges in developing technology-based assessment within the field of education and contributes to further research on the characteristics and genesis of economic-civic competence as well as on technology-based assessments.
(Contributed by Esther Kaufmann <[email protected]> and Stephan Schumann <[email protected]>)

Qualifications frameworks in Europe
Borut Mikulec (2017). Impact of the Europeanisation of education: Qualifications frameworks in Europe. European Educational Research Journal. Volume 16, Issue 4 [Details]
This article examines the influence of the European qualifications framework - a key European lifelong learning policy instrument for improving employability, comparability and mobility in the European educational space - on the establishment of national qualifications frameworks in Europe. The European qualifications framework and national qualifications frameworks are analysed through the lens of the process of the Europeanisation of education, and they are embedded in the broader context of the development of national qualifications frameworks in Anglo-Saxon and developing countries around the world. Against this background and through an analysis of established national qualifications frameworks in four European countries - Denmark, Germany, Portugal and Slovenia, we argue that the national qualifications frameworks in these countries cannot be understood to be tools for the deregulation, marketisation and commodification of education and knowledge, although this could be interpreted as one of the underlying hidden assumptions of the European qualifications framework recommendation.
(Contributed by Borut Mikulec <[email protected]>)

NOTE: Updates on publications provided by the WIFO Gateway include the WIFO Bookshelf [www.books.wifo-gate.org], a collection of references to publications focusing on cross-European issues of work and learning, and "From the Journals" - Overview of articles on cross-European issues in VET and HRD research [www.articles.wifo-gate.org], selected from European and international Journals related to education research [www.journals.wifo-gate.org].

Impressum

Editor of the L&W Newsletter: Dr Sabine Manning, Research Forum WIFO ([email protected]);
Address: Neue Blumenstr. 1, D-10179 Berlin, Germany;
Editions of the L&W Newsletter: six times a year, every two months (at the beginning of February, April, June, August, October, December);
Deadline for contributions to the L&W Newsletter: end of January, March, May, July, September, November;
Circulation of the current L&W Newsletter: about 1500 experts in 40 countries (mostly Europe);
Details and Archive of the L&W Newsletter [www.news.wifo-gate.org].