Title: Innovation and structural change in German vocational education and training

Authors: Christian Schmidt

Addresses: Universität Duisburg-Essen, Institut für Berufs- und Weiterbildung, Berliner Platz 6-8, 45127 Essen, Germany

Abstract: Like other institutions within the German educational system, vocational education and training (VET) appears to be resilient towards structural innovation. On the basis of the concepts of neoinstitutionalism and path dependency, this article discusses the lacking openness of educational institutions to innovation. It retraces the adaption of important structural, didactical and methodological innovations in German VET during the last 25 years and develops alternative approaches concerning the flexibility and adaptiveness of this institution.

Keywords: Germany; vocational education and training; VET; innovation; labour process knowledge; neoinstitutionalism; path dependence; educational reform; structural change; structural flexibility; adaptability.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIIE.2015.074703

International Journal of Innovation in Education, 2015 Vol.3 No.1, pp.34 - 44

Received: 31 Dec 2014
Accepted: 22 Sep 2015

Published online: 14 Feb 2016 *

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