3. HISTORIA DEL MICRORRELATO
3.1. Antecedentes y géneros afines
This chapter has highlighted some impediments for effective VET system reform. A better understanding of VET as a system should look almost exclusively at the context for VET reforms and innovations and at how VET systems and their elements should be connected to their environment as encouraged through the Torino Process. Research has defined ‘reform’ in VET as substantial changes to the institutional setting, performance and the instruments of governance. This goes far beyond new regulations and innovations that focus on already existing parts of the system (Rauner, 2009, p. 40).
It is important to distinguish inner systemic elements from external drivers, because reform that seeks more involvement of social partners and new forms of (multi-level) governance concentrates largely on these external drivers of VET in its search for a new division of tasks in the management of vocational education according to the principle of subsidiary: strengthening and concentrating strategic competences at the national level, and strengthening and concentrating operative
management tasks at the regional and local levels (Rauner and Wittig, 2010).
The problem in the Western Balkans is, however, that such reforms require a culture shift that takes time to develop. It can hardly be influenced by short-term technical assistance projects which focus on improving inner systemic elements, such as new professional standards or curricula, teacher training, etc. The following table illustrates what time perspective we are looking at, although may differ in different country contexts.
Components, which are more or less easily changeable (sometimes with technical assistance from donors), require the shortest time horizon. Relatively rapid progress in innovating different VET system elements, such as curricula, widely created the misunderstanding that technical intervention and copying solutions from elsewhere could solve problems in an uncharted and unfavourable environment. The term ‘technical cooperation’ still contains the misunderstanding that problems could be solved inherently in the system while ignoring complex but fairly unknown socio-cultural environments (Easterly, 2006) which determine the extent to which external drivers can influence VET system development.
Adams (2010) explained the relative success of the Mubarak-Kohl Initiative for the creation of an adapted Egyptian dual system by the fact that Egyptian-German cooperation went back 15 years. Here too, inner systemic adaption (curricular innovation, professional standards) was the easiest element, tackled through technical assistance. But the initiative became a success of its work on external drivers of the system, such as an enabling environment, support from top leaders (Mubarak and Kohl), the emergence of a vibrant private sector with new skills needs, strong leadership of the education
authorities, win-win situations for all involved including employers organisations, learners, schools, teachers and enterprises.
Future research on VET systems and education policies must better recognise the influence of external drivers on systemic developments. As the history of VET in the transition countries clearly reveals, reform initiatives rarely originate in the system itself. In the early 1990s, the pressure on the political systems in these countries came
from outside these political systems, and their internal systemic structures were no longer able to cope with these challenges. By the same token, VET systems must successfully integrate external pressure in internal operations if they want to survive their consequences.
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