Vocational Pedagogy: What it is, why it matters and how to put it into practice

The 2014 Education for All Global Monitoring Report on teaching and learning reminded us that there is a global learning crisis and that the quality of education is at the centre of it. The quality of education largely depends on good teachers. This is particularly evident in technical and vocational education and training, where TVET teachers have a distinctive role to play in improving the quality of education. Quality TVET teachers are those with both expert knowledge in their field and who have the ability to transfer this knowledge to their students. However, we too often forget to discuss this important question: how to teach TVET? To further our understanding of vocational pedagogy, UNESCO-UNEVOC organized a virtual conference from 12 to 26 May 2014 on the UNEVOC e-Forum. Moderated by Professor Bill Lucas, Director of the Centre for Real- World Learning, Professor of Learning at the University of Winchester (United Kingdom) and co-creator of the Expansive Education Network, this virtual conference explored what vocational pedagogy is, why it matters and how teachers can put it into practice.