Social and Communicational Skills in Upper Secondary Vocational Education and Training

This article presents the methodology used by the Finnish Education Evaluation Council in the national evaluation of social and communication skills in vocational education and training. The evaluation concentrates on key competences such as learning-to-learn skills, communication skills, social skills and entrepreneurship (Implementation of Education and Training 2010, 2004; Winterton, Delemare-Le Deist & Stringfellow, 2005; Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of December 18, 2006 on key competencies for lifelong learning, 2006). The evaluation focuses particularly on skills required in the labour market. These competences are included in all vocational study programmes as a part of accompanying with other key competences. The authors' approach follows the principles of developmental and participative evaluation, applying the Common Quality Assurance Framework (CQAF) model, which has been accepted by the European Commission for the quality management and quality assurance framework for vocational education and training in Europe. Additional methods such as interview and statistical data gathering were used to acquire comprehensive data and ensure extensive participation of each partner involved has key competences. The evaluation material was collected from vocational education and training providers by sector (n=8) and by qualification (n=53). Every sector and type of examination was included in the evaluation. The evaluation was based on a sample (n=130). The evaluation data were collected from multiple sources by using multiple methods. The material included written self-evaluation reports by vocational education and training providers (n=130 which equals 95% of VET providers), quantitative information, interviews organized by the National Board of Education and an evaluation seminar for providers as focus groups. Educational administrators, teachers, students, employers and workplace instructors participated in the self-evaluation of the vocational education and training establishments (multi-professional evaluation). (Contains 4 figures and 2 tables.)