Vocational Education versus General Education in Hungary and Hong Kong: A Cross-Case Analysis

• In Event: Exploring and Testing More Comprehensive Policy Frameworks for Career and Technical Education

Abstract

This qualitative cross-case analysis of curricular policy in Hungary and Hong Kong, examines how political transformation influenced changes in policy, curricula and practice from 1985 to 2011. These two cases were chosen because of political transformations in 1989 and 1997 respectively. Analysis of government and world body documents were compared to semi-structured interview data at three levels of those who worked, studied and lived with political and policy changes. Several themes emerged, including decreasing encouragement of vocational education, increasing emphasis on general education and computer technology curricula. The themes, congruent with the literature and documents, revealed a movement away from vocational education towards an expansion of general education and computer technology. Implications are discussed.

Authors

• Lydia Pungur, University of Alberta

• George H. Buck, University of Alberta