Vocational Education in the Nordic Countries: The Historical Evolution

Vocational Education in the Nordic Countries: The Historical Evolution is the first of two books that disseminate new and systematic knowledge on the strengths and weaknesses of the different models of vocational education and training (VET) in four Nordic countries. Vocational education in Europe has resisted standardisation to a higher degree than other fields of education, and during the last decade, there has been a growth in international, comparative VET research. While the Nordic countries provide an ideal case for comparative education studies, the literature in English on the Nordic VET systems is at present very limited.

This first book provides thorough examinations of VET in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland over 150 years. Each section examines the historical evolution of VET at upper secondary level in one of the four Nordic countries. Contributors also analyse how each country have tried to reform their respective VET systems, and compare the paths which each nation has taken. The book explores what can be learned from the diversity of the VET-systems in the Nordic countries, which otherwise have many similarities and share a common heritage in education policy.

This volume will help strengthen the knowledge base required for transnational policy learning, and for developing vocational education internationally for the future. It will be of interest to researchers, academics and postgraduate students involved in the study of vocational education, educational studies and educational policy, education planners and teachers educators.