Improving Learning Strategies in Technical and Vocational Education and Training: Comparing the Voices of Teachers and Students in Six Countries

• In Event: Global Findings on Technical and Vocational Education and Training

Abstract

The main objective of this comparative study is to investigate teachers’ and students’ perceptions of how teachers in six countries are implementing technical and vocational education and training (TVET) subjects. Areas of interest include curriculum, teaching strategies, student evaluation methods, and integration of technology. Reforms in all six countries focused on activity-based learning. Results indicate that teachers in all six countries have made the necessary changes to adopt most of the reforms. Some sample teachers are struggling with transitioning. Teachers in the Caribbean indicated that there was an inadequate support in terms of resources. Most teachers and students claimed that teachers were using a variety of teaching methods, although teacher-directed strategies still dominated. This was evident in our classroom observations.

Authors

• Disraeli M. Hutton, University of the West Indies

• Peter Yee Han Joong, University of Toronto

• Nalini Ramsawak-Jodha, The University of the West Indies

• Peter Francis Wintz, University of Guyana

• Ying Xiong, Guangxi University

• Ming-Dih Lin, National Chung Cheng University