Faktoren beruflicher Kompetenzenwicklung südafrikanischer Auszubildender in ausgewählten technischen Berufen

Abstract

Measuring professional competence on the basis of a large-scale assessment is still a comparatively young discipline, especially in an international context. Only since 2005 with the so-called "Feasibility Study" for a VET-PISA as an initiative of the German BMBF and - almost simultaneously - in 2006, with the development of a competence model within the frame of the first KOMET project funded by the Hessian Ministry of Culture, and a subsequent Chinese comparison project in 2009, one can speak of relevant preliminary work and first experiences in this area. So far, it is only the experience of the COMET network, which can be referred to for the area of actually conducted international surveys. This dissertation is based on data collected within the South African COMET project, which was carried out between 2013 and 2016 as an integral part of the research project "VET Research and Development in South Africa" on behalf of and in close cooperation with South African Sector Education and Training Authority merSETA. In an international context, the South African COMET project is the third largest project after those in Germany and China: more than 1400 persons took part in the competence tests, including some TVET college teachers and trainers involved in the project. The research method used within the course of this project is described in chapter 1 that sets out the categorical framework of this study and further in chapter 4, which explains the COMET methodology in more depth before presenting the actual analysis. The extensive data collected as part of this project relates to competence tests and surveys on the vocational identity and commitment of South African apprentices in the occupations of electrician, mechatronics, motor mechanic and welder. At the same time, data on test motivation and the general context of vocational learning were collected at a total of 23 test sites that participated in the tests. This made it possible to examine and to compare competence development under the various conditions of learning, with regard to the various types of training providers and, in principle, to review preliminary findings from a pilot project in 2011-2012 (which only offered some limited insights into competence development in one occupation). At the same time the data allows for an in-depth analysis of the connection between test motivation and competence development, an investigation for which, to date, corresponding knowledge has only been available in the German-speaking context. Vocational (and organisational) identity, occupational (and organisational) commitment which are regarded as a dimension of the professional competence development have as well been measured and analysed in view of the different occupations and training providers. Where possible, correlations have been calculated that helped to recognize the factors that determine training quality. The South African COMET project also provided an opportunity to review and to contribute so some general findings of the preceding international COMET studies, among others on the stagnation of vocational competence development in the course of training and to show how such stagnation can be overcome, also in the South African case. Finally, due to the voluntary participation of company trainers and subject teachers from participating TVET colleges it was possible to draw preliminary, albeit limited conclusions about the interesting question to which extent teachers and trainers transfer their own problem-solving horizon onto their students.