MoVE - International

How to achieve peak performance (890.45 kB)Start 2011

MoVE International, a Survey of Competitors and Experts at the WorldSkills International Competition in London, 2011 aims to provide an evidence base for all WorldSkills Members on the benefits of Competition and ideas for improving the WorldSkills Experience for everyone.

A partnership project between WorldSkills Foundation and University of Tampere, University of Oxford and RMIT University with support from Dusseldorp Skills Forum, Skills Finland, WorldSkills Australia and UK Skills.

Research Project

Wouldn't it be good if...

• ...we knew how to motivate young people to take up a trade;
• ...we could inspire vocational learners to reach for the stars;
• ...we could alert policy makers to the benefits of investing in vocational learning;
• ...we could get more employers engaged in WorldSkills;
• ...we could centre-stage vocational role models;
• ...we knew more about what it takes to produce high levels of vocational competence?

To address these questions we need:

• to be able to tell young people positive stories about vocational careers;
• ways of demonstrating the benefits of vocational learning;
• evidence for employers about the benefits to their workplaces through participation in a community of excellence;
• to track the processes of skill formation.

In short, we need valid reliable data – which is what the MoVE research project sets out to achieve.

Modelling Vocational Excellence (MoVE) is a WorldSkills member research initiative supporting:

• skills improvement and competition best practice;
• international skills benchmarking;
• promotion of vocational excellence to young people, employers and policy makers;

Background

The original MoVE research project was initiated in 2007 by Dr. Petri Nokelainen from the Research Centre on Vocational Education at University of Tampere Finland with the support of Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture. In 2009 Dr. Nokelainen presented his findings at the Calgary WorldSkills Competition seminar series. Since then, through the establishment of the present partnership, the research program has expanded to include the collection of narrative data to give voice of WorldSkills participants and the exploration of the benefits of competition on skills formation and the influence of workplaces on competition outcomes.

MoVE International Methodology

The MoVE International research program will address the question of quality vocational practice. It asks 'What is involved in the development of vocational expertise and the pursuit of excellence?'.

Using an adaptation of the survey instrument developed by Dr Nokelainen, data will be collected from WorldSkills Competitors and Experts to produce two data sets:

• Statistics on the cross cultural characteristics of vocational excellence, and the key factors which influence its formation
• Competitor and Expert stories about the journey towards vocational excellence and how WorldSkills contributes to this process.

This rigorous research evidence will support the promotion of quality vocational education and training to young people, their families and employers, and facilitate improved vocational practice

MoVE implementation and timeline

MoVE International will involve the administration of two online surveys during the London 2011 WorldSkills Competition, to WorldSkills Competitors and Experts. Each group will be asked to contribute a narrative about their WorldSkills experience, answer a set of related multiple choice questions, and to provide basic demographic data. Respondents will not be identified by name, nor will data be released which enables individuals to be identified by association.

The existing WorldSkills organisational structure and methods of communication will be utilised to inform and provide a programme of influence in the lead up to the Competition. A Seminar will be held on the third day of the competition (C+3), to promote the project and raise awareness of its benefits amongst WorldSkills member organisations.

Outcomes and benefits

MoVE International will be the first global project addressing vocational excellence.

By focusing on quality vocational practice MoVE departs from the mainstream of vocational research which has followed a deficit pathway, primarily concentrating on structural, economic and policy barriers to vocational participation and completion, rather than on strategies to improve vocational performance through quality experience.

By producing data on the characteristics of vocational excellence and the WorldSkills experience, MoVE International offers a framework for international benchmarking and a global discourse on quality and productivity and a new way of looking at vocational practice.

The project offers benefits for all major stakeholder groups. WorldSkills member organisations will gain access to data which can be used for benchmarking and continuous improvement such as influencing the content of training and professional development. Young people are afforded a global voice – able to tell their own story and to share their experiences with their peers. For WorldSkills International the data is a source of promotional material, and may contribute to event and organisational evaluation.

For the WorldSkills Foundation the MoVE research project will launch and underpin its program of research, engagement and advocacy. MoVE offers the Foundation an opportunity to influence the global debate on vocational education and training, and to shift the focus from a deficit to benefit framework.

Resources

• Characteristics That Typify Successful Finnish WorldSkills Competition Participants (613.23 kB)
  
• MoVE - WorldSkills Australia (699.51 kB)
  
• MoVE - Lisbon Presentation (1.27 MB)
  
• Proposal to the WorldSkills Foundation (500.85 kB)
  
• How to achieve peak performance (890.45 kB)
  

Further information

Dr Petri Nokelainen
Ph.D., senior researcher, School of Education, University of Tampere, Finland.
Adjunct professor in Education (methodology), University of Helsinki, Finland.
Adjunct professor in Vocational Education (modern statistical modeling methods), University of Tampere, Finland.
Adjunct professor in Education, Tallinn University, Estonia.
petri.nokelainen@uta.fi

Judy Turnbull
Project Partnerships
Dusseldorp Skills Forum
judy@dsf.org.au
Ph: +61 2 8007 6303