Locating Vocational Education in Higher Education: Perspectives From the Frontlines of a New “Associate’s” Degree Program

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Abstract

Short cycle higher education (SCHE) vocational programs or Associate's degrees have in recent years seen numerous developments. This study presents a qualitative study of 2019 reforms to SCHE programs in Flanders, Belgium that have redefined what is and what is not higher education and who is able to participate in it. The study asks individuals (n=10) with responsibility for implementing these reforms narrate how this change to the higher education system has changed their mental models. It further probed these mental models by having participants respond to longstanding questions about the capacity of vocationally focused sub-baccalaureate to democratize higher education. This study makes important contributions to ongoing international debates about whether efforts to expand SCHE should receive further investment.

Author

• Jeffrey J. Tinley, Roane State