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The joint project "Analysis of learning tasks in vocational training in nursing under the focus on cognitive activation," funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), was successfully completed in September 2023 in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Bärbel Wesselborg (Fliedner University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf) and Prof. Dr. Marc Kleinknecht (Leuphana University Lüneburg). Initial findings were presented at the Research Congress (25th/26th May 2023) "Shaping Education and Care in Nursing Together" by the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) and at the European Conference on Educational Research (ECER) (22nd to 25th August 2023) "The Value of Diversity in Education and Educational Research." Further information on the results can be found in the following contribution.

• Detailed results

From 6th to 8th September 2023, the Annual Conference 2023 of the Vocational and Economic Education Section of the DGfE took place at European University of Flensburg. The overarching theme of the conference was: Freedom - Vocational Education - Responsibility. The Vocational-Education Workgroup, led by Prof. Dr. Ulrike Weyland, took part with a symposium titled "Research on Vocational Education in the Health and Care Sector and its Education Staff – Current Approaches and Empirical Findings." As part of the symposium, projects were presented in which the Vocational Pedagogy Working Group is currently involved. Meike Nienkötter delivered a presentation on the topic "Development of a science-based concept for a web-based training programme for the online recruitment of trainees in nursing professions." Additionally, Kristin Klar presented the project "Vocational Nursing Education with a Focus on Cognitive Activation – a qualitative survey of school education staff and analysis of learning tasks." Dr. Wilhelm Koschel presented initial results of the LimCare project.

The Vocational Education Working Group is part of a collaborative project to attract young academics in educational research.

Together with Leibniz University Hannover (overall project management), Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, and Dresden University of Technology, the University of Münster, is participating in the project "Inspiring Young Researchers from Teaching" (WiNaLehramt!) along with the Vocational-Education Workgroup and the Developmental Psychological Requirements for Education and Teaching unit. This collaborative project aims to support and motivate student teachers and teaching staff in their decision to pursue a doctorate and in the transition to doctoral studies. Over the course of two years (2023-2025), four sub-sections will be developed and implemented: (1) Development of a core curriculum, (2) digital basic and in-depth lectures, (3) a mentoring program, and (4) cross-location networking meetings. The Vocational-Education Workgroup (Prof. Dr. Ulrike Weyland and Dr. Wilhelm Koschel) and the Developmental Psychology Unit (Prof. Dr. Manfred Holodynski) are involved in the project with a subcontract. In this subcontract, in-depth lectures on the topics of digitalisation, professional teaching perception, practical phases and teaching quality are being designed at the University of Münster. In addition, a network meeting will take place at the Münster location in spring 2025, at which the mentors and mentees will discuss the topics and potential doctoral projects.

• Further information

The Vocational-Education Workgroup is also involved in the second season of the online event series "Fachgespräche Lehrerinnen- und Lehrerbildung. Forschung. Diskurs. Perspektiven."
Prof. Dr. Ulrike Weyland is responsible for the following two events together with Prof. Dr. Manfred Holodynski: Teacher Training in a Digitised World (01/02/23), Practical Phases in Teacher training: Approaches and Research Findings (07/06/23).
 

In spring 2023, the University of Münster and the Institute for Vocational Teacher Training (IBL) at the University of Applied Sciences Münster honoured the graduates of the cooperative degree programme in teaching at vocational colleges in the auditorium of Münster Castle. On this evening, Prof. Dr. Ulrike Weyland (UM), Prof. Dr. Katja Driesel-Lange (UM), and Prof. Dr. Julia Kastrup (IBL), along with approximately 150 companions congratulated the 30 graduates on their successful completion of a bachelor's or master's degree. The graduates were welcomed by the Dean Prof. Dr. Thorsten Quandt (Department of Education and Social Sciences, UM) and Naemi Baade, representative of the Student Council for Teaching at Vocational Colleges.
Before all graduates were individually recognised for their achievements, the programme included a keynote speech by Prof. Dr. Katja Driesel-Lange on the topic "Professional Orientation as a Subject in Teacher Education" and a panel discussion. Organisers from the various stages of teacher training discussed the current challenges and perspectives of teacher training at vocational colleges. Anna-Sophie Brosig and Sebastian Kurz provided a worthy musical backdrop, showcasing their remarkable skills through a selection of songs from various musical genres.
Once again, we wish our graduates all the best for their future professional and personal endeavours!

• https://www.uni-muenster.de/EW/forschung/projekte/EKGe.html

Consulting service at the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) prolonged

After two years, the project "Development of a science-based concept for a web-based training programme and implementation of training courses for the online recruitment of trainees in nursing professions" was successfully completed at the end of March. In this internal joint project of the Institute of Education (Vocational-Education Workgroup and Career Guidance Research Group) and the Institute of Communication Science (Chair of Empirical communication research), a digitally supported training programme was developed and tested for personnel managers in nursing facilities and schools, as well as those responsible for cooperation in nursing education. The aim of the programme is to enable the target group of personnel managers to effectively engage potential trainees in a differentiated manner via the homepage.
At the end of the project, the training concept was handed over to the project sponsor, the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB), on whose website the concept is available free of charge in the form of a counselling service.

• To the project

At the invitation of the Ministry of Labour, Health, and Social Affairs (MSB) of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Prof. Dr. Ulrike Weyland and Dr. Wilhelm Koschel presented selected research findings on digitalisation in vocational education and training. The strategy workshop on March 24, 2023, was entitled: "Digital Transformation in Vocational Education and training – tasks of the Dual Partners in the Context of Learning Venue Cooperation: Digital Infrastructure, Learning Venue Organisation, and Pedagogical-Didactic Concepts". The NRW State Committee for Vocational Education was invited to this strategy workshop. The specific focus of this keynote speech was on the reinterpretation of so-called "boundary objects" in the context of AI-supported learning venue cooperation. Taking constructivist and connectivist references into account, this presentation analysed the opportunities and risks for vocational education and training. The keynote speech marked the beginning of further collaboration between the MSB and the Vocational-Education Workgroup. In future, joint research and development projects will be used to gain insights into the extent to which digitalisation can be implemented in vocational education and training in a targeted manner.

Prof. Dr. Ulrike Weyland and Prof. Dr. Marisa Kaufhold held a symposium entitled "Skilled labour requirements in the healthcare sector – stocktaking, approaches and perspectives" at this year's Higher Education Days for Vocational Education and Training. The general topic of the Higher Education Days for Vocational Education 2023 "Securing skilled labour future-orientated qualification, social participation and integration through vocational education and training" was examined in the health conference from the domain-related perspective of various healthcare professions and possible approaches to dealing with specific needs. Attention was also given to the situation of school education staff, for whom staff shortages are also becoming apparent. After a thematic introduction on the first day of the conference, which also incorporated the perspectives and experiences of the conference participants, a profession-specific look was taken at the medical and therapeutic healthcare professions, highlighting the particular problems and challenges in each case. The perspective on the need for skilled labour was broadened to include the situation of school education staff in the healthcare professions. On the second day of the conference, approaches from both science and practice were taken up to show possible ways of dealing with the existing need for skilled labour. This included discussions on the role of company career guidance in the recruitment and retention of skilled workers, as well as insights into project-specific approaches. In addition, vocational/company training and its role and importance in the context of increasing demand for skilled labour was also discussed.

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