External quality assurance (EQA) has expanded from the traditional academic sector to the vocational and professional education and training (VPET) sector in Hong Kong since the launch of the Hong Kong Qualifications Framework (HKQF) in 2008. Since then, awareness of VPET by the whole community and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has been rising. Beginning with the Chief Executive’s Policy Address 2011-2012, VPET (rebranded from vocational education and training (VET) in 2016) has continuously been a standard item on the Government’s policy agenda. While the Government has made efforts to promote VPET with the establishment of two task forces which made a series of recommendations to further improve the image of VPET, VPET is still considered by the major stakeholders, including learners and teachers, as an inferior choice for pursuing further study. Although EQA has been playing a crucial role in ensuring the quality of VPET providers and programmes, it is interesting to the researcher that none of the recommendations made by the two task forces are related to the EQA mechanism for VPET being implemented by the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ) through accreditation. Even though the accreditation system has gone through a review during 2015 to 2018, the engagement of stakeholders seemed to be limited in the sense that two major stakeholder groups, namely learners and teachers, were not identified for collection of their views by the HKCAAVQ. With the continuous development of the VPET sector reflected in the rising number of corporate academies established by different industries, such as the railway and aviation industries, seeking HKQF recognition through accreditation conducted by the HKCAAVQ, EQA for VPET in Hong Kong, covering accreditation principles, standards and approaches, deserves a systematic study of whether the major stakeholders in the community consider it effective. This study

This folio is a collection of three separate research papers which includes one theoretical paper and two other empirical studies and each contribution can also be read as a stand-alone article. The overall aims of the folio are to revise the proposed vocational teachers’ workplace learning model and its practical application into teaching and learning in vocational education and training and to illustrate how vocational teachers enact vocational pedagogy developed from classroom-based learning. Moreover, the folio also further addresses vocational students’ learning in the work-based collaborative learning environment. Following the revised theoretical model of workplace learning, the two empirical research studies reflect on occupational pedagogy and teachers’ work-related knowledge and experiences in collaborative learning and adaptive instructions. The second paper mainly focuses on vocational teaching behaviours in facilitating practice-based teaching pedagogy concerning students’ occupational learning, which implied on the practical importance of collaborative instructions in vocational pedagogy and students’ participation in hands-on activities. The contribution of the third paper relates to the findings of the second paper, and the third paper contributes to vocational students’ learning patterns and learning participation concerning collaborative learning environments and adaptive instructions through dialogic analysis of classroom observations. These findings implies on interactive work-based learning in vocational teaching and learning relating to professional education, the vocational curriculum, and knowledge and experience. All rights reserved.

This paper reports the initial findings of a study about the learning process of 17 pre-service kindergarten teachers in a higher diploma programme at a vocational training institute in Hong Kong. The existing literature regards experiential learning as a reflective process that allows student teachers to make new meaning from learning experiences gained during their training. However, these reflective processes lack commonality, and the findings are rarely situated in the context of vocational education. In this regard, empirical data were gathered as evidence of how student teachers develop their ideas of competence in a vocational training programme based on the perspective of Kolb’s experiential learning model. This paper addresses the further implications for programme administrators, institutional fieldwork supervisors and researchers. Copyright © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to offer direct tests of the effectiveness of renaming vocational education and training (VET) in enhancing the image and popularity of the subject. Although many proponents of renaming argue that the word “vocational” is associated with lower levels of skills and knowledge and should therefore be supplemented by better recognised words, empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness of this strategy is scant. Design/methodology/approach: This study exploits a rare policy change in Hong Kong, where VET was renamed as vocational and professional education and training (VPET) and conducted an original survey experiment of 1,004 parents in the city to test if the new name would improve respondents' perceptions of the subject. Findings: The findings reveal a complex picture regarding the effects of renaming. Although renaming does not seem to improve the overall popularity of vocational education, it may widen the support base for vocational education by diluting its class character. Specifically, while attitudes toward VET are significantly and negatively correlated with family income, no such association is found in regard to VPET. Originality/value: This paper offers the first direct and comprehensive test of the effectiveness of renaming vocational education – a popular policy suggestion in many countries. Its findings complicate conventional expectations and contribute to the study of educational preferences in advanced economies. Copyright © 2022 Emerald Publishing Limited.

The quality of teachers is an essential element of a strong vocational education and training (VET) system. VET performs many important functions in society, including responding to a constantly changing labour market as a result of rapid changes to the economy and society. Recent changes in VET have focused specifically on meeting the needs of the world of work in order to support countries’ development agendas. These improvements, which target the efficiency and effectiveness of VET systems, also need to be reflected in VET teacher training. This has become a priority for governments and other stakeholders, however, there are numerous challenges related to different aspects of VET teacher training, including curriculum design. This chapter provides an overview of VET teacher training in Mainland China (with some reference to Hong Kong SAR), and highlights the approaches/models used for teacher training, as well as the challenges encountered in improving the effectiveness of teacher training in response to the various development trends in VET. The overview is based on a review of literature, curriculum and policy documents. Copyright © 2022 selection and editorial matter, John Chi-Kin Lee and Timo Ehmke; individual chapters, the contributors.

In Hong Kong, the revitalization of vocational education and training (VET) was best marked by the advocacy of vocational and professional education and training (VPET) starting from 2015. VPET hence is a key element in the vocationalization of secondary curriculum, which provide students with a diversified post-secondary articulation and to enhance the school-to-work transition for better employability in the future. In 2018, the Education Bureau (EDB) also launched the Vocational English Programme (VEP) Grant (EDB, 2018) at the senior secondary level to support English learning of students who might opt for a VPET development pathway, in addition to the NSS English language curriculum. Under this background, there are two main research focuses in this paper. Firstly, this paper will explore the relationship between VEP and the NSS English language curriculum and discuss the potential impact to students. Secondly, this paper will also survey other related available initiatives similar to VEP, such as the Workplace English Campaign (WEC) under the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research (SCOLAR), to better illustrate the landscape of vocationalization of English learning in Hong Kong throughout the years. In the current body of literature, more attention has been dedicated to the use of English and the specialized genre in the professional settings from the English for specific purposes (ESP) perspective, with relatively less focus on a vocational context. Therefore, we consider it is essential to fulfill this gap considering the continuous development of VPET. This paper will report findings from interviews and focus groups with key stakeholders (e.g. teachers and students) to generate a more holistic understanding to the research focuses. We hope that the conclusion and suggestion in this paper could provide inspirations to map out the future development directions of English learning in the (pre-)vocational context. Copyright © 2019 Inaugural Conference

In 2017, the Curriculum Development Council (CDC) issued the latest secondary education curriculum guide with the highlighted theme “Learning to Learn 2+”, which introduced “Vocational English” for senior secondary level in the “Progression of VPET with Diversification” section, along with “Applied Learning as elective subject(s)” (ApL) and “Career-related Experiences in OLE”. To support this new initiative, the Education Bureau (EDB) launched a new Language Fund Project “Vocational English Programme” (VEP) Grant for schools to enrol senior secondary students on related vocational English courses, which commenced in the 2018–2019 school year. The programme aims to boost students’ confidence and interest in English learning and prepare them better for vocational education and jobs / occupations. In this new programme, each participating school can nominate about 20 students to attend courses administered by third-party course providers. From a macro-perspective, the introduction of the VEP is a step to implement vocationalization of English which complements the advocacy of Vocational and Professional Education and Training (VPET) outlined in the latest curriculum guide. However, from a micro-perspective, the impact of VEP on the senior secondary and post-secondary level does raise some questions and concerns worth further investigation – for instance, the connection of the VEP to other VPET-related components in the “Learning to Learn 2+” curriculum; the influence of the VEP on the current senior English curriculum; and the curriculum design, accreditation and articulation of the courses. This paper discusses the potential impact of the VEP based on a thorough review of relevant policy documents and literature, together with the analysis of data from interviews with students and teachers from both secondary schools and post-secondary level institutions to triangulate their views on the VEP. The paper ends with feasible suggestions and possible implications for the vocationalization