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This paper addresses the increasingly important economy of China and its associated higher vocational education and training (HVE) system. More specifically, the paper aims to present the findings of a critical review of recent developments in the HVE system in Liaoning province.

As part of this review, specific problems faced by Liaoning provincial and central government agencies in meeting the labour market needs of an economy in transition are explicated, as are current constraints in the implementation of the ongoing reform of the HVE system vis‐à‐vis economic reform. Predominantly secondary data sources were used to conduct the review and one of the authors was directly involved in their compilation. The review period was 1997‐2003, which represented the time span between the enactment of the central government's vocational education law and the most current point in time for which statistics on HVE were then available.

Preliminary findings provide evidence to support the view that the Liaoning HVE system has made a small but significant positive contribution to the growth and development of the provincial economy over the period. Equally, however, the findings identified a number of constraints to the effective operation of the HVE system which could serve to limit continued economic growth. These constraints exist in the form of a low degree of market orientation; an insufficiency of resources both intellectual and physical, stemming from a chronic lack of financial investment; a relatively low level of overall cost effectiveness and a poor image in terms of the perceptions of the population at large as to the value of HVE as a tertiary education pathway. It is the authors' view that the constraints identified within the Liaoning HVE system exist as a general set of constraints within the overall Chinese HVE system.

Understanding the nature of any labour market is a challenging and complex process and the authors are conscious that their preliminary review is deficient in a number of key areas. Firstly, further work is required to better understand the range and relative importance of the strategic drivers of economic and HVE reform in Liaoning province and China generally. Secondly, little has been said regarding the impact of the on‐going state owned enterprises reforms on the performance of the Liaoning HVE system, notwithstanding the fact that the underlying cost effectiveness imperative is greatly affected by these reforms.

Internationally, the Chinese economy is seen as a major driver of growth in the global economy. In light of this it is the authors' view that the findings of this preliminary review provide a better understanding of the issues relating to its continued development, specifically as they relate to reform of the labour market and associated HVE system.

In the Netherlands, the route to higher education is not equally accessible for all (ethnic) groups. In this chapter, we focus on the transition from senior vocational education (MBO) to higher vocational education (HBO). Four focus group sessions of professional representatives from both MBO and HBO in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague (a total of 53 people) were held to examine the transfer policy measures and possibilities for improvements. The focus groups showed that most transfer projects are related to students themselves (the academic/utilitarian approach). More projects need to focus on the education itself (the transformative approach). It also is recommended to establish a transfer-infrastructure in each region, both to improve the quality of transfer and to promote study success of all (ethnic) groups.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate vocational teaching behaviours in facilitating pedagogical practice concerning students' classroom engagement.

A mixed-method approach with quantitative classroom observations and qualitative field notes was conducted at two higher vocational institutions in Guangdong province, south of China. Sixty lesson observations were rated combining with supplementary field notes from 20 teacher participants analysed through a comparative coding process.

Means of dimensions of teaching behaviours and student engagement were calculated based on taking the averages of the means of items theoretically associated with each dimension. Through thematic analysis of observational notes, vocational instructions and students' engagement in vocational learning environment were more diversified in terms of vocational teaching practice, which manifested that vocational teaching behaviours focused more on adjusting students' practical learning.

The limitation is shown that the quantitative sample is small, yet affords greater depth of data for further discussion.

This study develops its setting and orientation by applying the classroom observation instrument into the Chinese high vocational context and offers more in-depth insights and exploration of the characteristics of teaching practice in vocational classrooms.

Over the past years a number of studies have appeared on the incidence and returns to overeducation in the labor market. In these studies various definitions of educational mismatches have been used. In this paper we analyze the validity and reliability of three of these definitions. It is found that the definitions differ widely in the workers who are identified as over‐ or undereducated. Further, the methods yield different estimates of the returns to over‐ and undereducation.

This study considers the recently established higher vocational education reforms with Swedish advanced vocational education (AVE) and Finnish polytechnics in terms of organisational structure, the design of workplace learning, and furthermore, what kind of practical implications these new models of learning at work have resulted in.

The research strategy includes three main steps. First, a number of domestic research studies, government reports and other policy documents were examined. Secondly, this study brings the most recent national data available. Thirdly, a conceptual framework for cross‐national analysis was developed.

The results suggest that despite differences which stem from the nations' political, economical and socio‐cultural background, the formal methods engaging educators and representatives of working life are rather similar. However, the general implications are different. While the Swedish AVE has focused more on a principally demand‐led system with de‐centralised planning and design of programmes to fit the specific needs of regional labour markets, the Finnish polytechnics have instead maintained a strong institutional framework, focusing more on research and development issues.

This study has some methodological considerations that need to be addressed. First, there are differences on the curricular level between the two systems. Secondly, although Swedish and Finnish labour markets have developed along similar patterns in terms of industrial sectors and the emergence of labour unions, and employer associations, differences do exist on how these various representatives view the role of training, as well as their requirements for granting work licences and certificates.

Provides evidence that workplace learning can be decided by the complex relationship among the state, labour and capital.

The purpose of this paper is to review three international frameworks, including the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED), in relation to one country’s higher professional and vocational education system.

The frameworks were examined in the context of English higher work-related education, and areas of mismatch identified. These were investigated to identify the extent to which they were due to weaknesses in the national system or to limiting assumptions contained in the frameworks.

Assumptions based on stages of education are problematic in the context of lifelong higher and professional education, while more open, lifelong-learning oriented assumptions can be too skeletal to aid comparisons between systems of initial vocational education and training. Particular problems are identified with assumptions contained in the ISCED that do not reflect the reality of professional education.

International frameworks need to take account of patterns of learning that take place outside of formal institutions and throughout life, but which lead to equivalent outcomes. Nevertheless, it is not adequate to substitute assumptions based only on the level of achievement.

The assumptions underpinning the ISCED in particular mean that equivalent achievements in different systems can be classified differently, leading to under-reporting of individual achievements, a lack of comparability in international statistics, and potential for policy distortion.

The paper builds on the work of Hippach-Schneider et al. by providing additional evidence, from a different national context, for issues relating to the ISCED in the context of higher professional and vocational education, and extends this analysis to the two major European frameworks.

In this article, the outcomes of a survey aimed to investigate how aware of and how capable coaches in higher vocational Dutch education perceive themselves to assist students displaying mental health and well-being issues are presented. Additionally, the article explores coaches’ perceptions regarding the frequency, form of help offered, topics to be tackled and the preferred form in which this help should be provided.

The author conducted a survey that gathered qualitative and quantitative data from coaches (N = 82) at a Dutch University of Applied Sciences in the north of the Netherlands. A differentiation in coaches’ number of years of teaching and coaching experience was considered.

The outcomes of the data analyses showed that overall, coaches claimed to be very aware of students’ mental health and well-being-related issues and that female coaches tend to be more aware of these than male coaches. The group of coaches with 5–25 years of coaching experience resulted in being less trained to notice when students struggle with mental health and well-being issues. Overall, coaches indicated to be tentatively willing to assist such students and reported to have a rather low ability and capability to assist students who displayed mental health and well-being issues. More than half of the respondents declared that “face to-face” was the most appropriate approach to address mental health and well-being topics, and most of the respondents (43%) answered that it should be “offered at student’s request.” Some suggested topics to be offered were stress, depression, anxiety, study-related issues, study motivation, persistence, emotional intelligence and emotional resilience. Coaches proposed to be provided with trainings that equip them with the necessary knowledge, tools, and concrete mental health and well-being topics that could be addressed during coaching. Additionally, there should be a clear distinction between professional mental health help and coaching for mental health and well-being in universities.

There were very few studies that reported on coaching for mental health and well-being in higher education after the Covid-19 pandemic in the Netherlands to compare the results with; the sample size of this survey was small; the survey was designed to capture only the coaches’ perceptions on students’ mental health-related issues.

By performing this survey, more empirical knowledge is added regarding higher education coaches’ perception of their awareness, willingness, capability and ability to assist students who display mental health and well-being issues in general, and students affected by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in particular. Furthermore, insights regarding higher education coaches’ perception on the frequency, form of the help offered, topics to be tackled and form in which this help to be offered were gathered.

By performing this survey, more empirical knowledge is added regarding higher education coaches’ perception of their awareness, willingness, capability and ability to assist students who display mental health and well-being issues in general, and students affected by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in particular. Furthermore, insights regarding higher education coaches’ perception of the frequency, form of the help offered, topics to be tackled and the preferred form in which this help should be offered were gathered.

During a period of significant crisis within HE on a global scale, there is a clear need for colleges to clearly articulate the distinct nature of their higher vocational education provision. This need is particularly acute given the current financial and political pressures impacting on a diverse HE landscape. The purpose of this paper is to argue that colleges are well placed to develop and implement an approach to scholarly activity which revitalises links with local communities.

This paper provides a synthesis of recent research on scholarly activity within college-based higher education (CBHE) and the concept of a “civic university”. It also provides a brief case study of how scholarship within the college context can be utilised to promote meaningful community engagement.

Working productively with community organisations, groups and individuals, colleges will be provoked to recast the complex relationship between teaching, research and community engagement in a manner appropriate to their immediate context rather than a national agenda. Moreover, a strengthened relationship between colleges and their local communities will recapture the rich heritage of vocational education in widening participation and raising aspirations towards education in general.

This paper attempts to relocate current discussions of CBHE scholarly activity within the context of civic engagement. It will be of interest to colleagues across the higher vocational education sector, both nationally and internationally, in situating their institutional and departmental scholarly activity strategies within the context of the communities which they serve.

This paper attempts to study the relationship between the level of urban innovation and subjective well-being (SWB). The following questions are discussed: (1) Does improving the level of innovation in cities affect the SWB of residents? (2) If urban innovation levels affect residents' SWB, can improving urban innovation level improve residents' SWB? (2) If urban innovation level improves residents' SWB, what is the possible mechanism? (3) Is there any difference in the effect of urban innovation level on the SWB of different groups?

This paper chooses the ordinary least squares (OLS) regression method for baseline regression with robust standard errors, and the regression results of Oprobit will be presented in detail in the robustness test section. The model is constructed by matching the micro data and the macro data. Meanwhile, the instrumental variable (IV) method is also used to deal with the possible endogeneity problem.

This paper finds that urban innovation has significantly improved the SWB of residents. This finding still holds after considering the endogeneity issue and conducting a series of robustness tests. Moreover, the level of innovation positively influences residents' SWB mainly through the paths of increasing income levels, improving environmental quality and promoting convenience in life. What's more, urban innovation has a more significant effect on the SWB of low-income groups and those with low education levels. Finally, based on the findings, this paper also proposes some policy recommendations to further improve the SWB of residents.

Given the limitations of the data, the above study deals with China. In the future, international data can be further used to further explore the impact of the innovation level of international cities on the SWB of residents and then the research conclusions can be applied to the international community to provide theoretical basis and empirical support for policy makers of various countries, which will help improve the SWB of residents of various countries and enrich the theoretical and empirical research on the impact of innovation on the SWB of residents.

Well-being is a goal constantly pursued by human beings. This paper shows that urban innovation has significantly improved the SWB of residents. The findings provide guides to improve the SWB of residents and provide a certain theoretical basis and empirical reference for policy makers.

The possible innovations or contributions of this paper include: (1) based on the China Household Income Survey (CHIP) and the “Report on Innovation of Chinese Cities and Industries”, this paper studies the impact of urban innovation levels on residents' SWB, supplementing the gaps in existing literature; (2) through group analysis, the heterogeneity of the impact of urban innovation level on groups with different incomes and education levels was discussed and (3) the mechanism of urban innovation level on residents' SWB was identified. These studies and discussions provide a basis for more effective improvement of residents' SWB and provide a valuable reference for promoting people's pursuit of a better life.

This study aims to consider the complexities of planning and implementation of a reform in the Swedish system of higher vocational education and training (VET). The study object of this article is the Swedish reform with advanced vocational education (AVE). The two main questions the study aims to address are: “What are the main driving forces behind the formulation of AVE?” and “How is AVE implemented into the system of continuing vocational training?”.

This study is designed as a multiple case study, exploring different issues in the reform of AVE. These issues comprise organisation and structure, workplace learning and transition from AVE into working life. From a theoretical perspective, this study uses the analytical model of educational reform development by Lindensjö and Lundgren where reforms are perceived to take place at two different contexts in society.

The findings of this study suggest that with AVE a number of educational innovative features were introduced which generally had a positive impact. From the context of formulation, findings suggest that consensus among the central level stakeholders for how AVE should be designed was reached through the joint work of organising programmes during the three‐year pilot project, in combination with the concurrent restructuring of working life. From the context of realisation both educationalists and employers perceived the possibility of designing AVE programmes in co‐operation based on local level requirements as positive.

To achieve demands for validity and trustworthiness, this study uses multiple sources of data gathering, applying data‐triangulation. Nonetheless, this study has some methodological limitations that need to be addressed. In terms of theoretical perspective, the analytical model could appear as simplifying the complex social processes that take place when reforms are being implemented in educational institutions and within working life.

This study provides evidence that developments in Swedish society and working life have together created conflicting demands among the stakeholders about how VET should be organised, the mode of delivery and relations towards the labour market.