BEST Institute for vocational training and personal training GmbH

Gender & Diversity in VET

Materialising gender mainstreaming and diversity issues from theory into educational practice. A transfer system into three different European societies

The need for introducing gender equality and key elements of managing diversity into educational practice has been recognised on a European-wide scale and explicitly confirmed by statements of various educational organisations and labour market administrations. Whereas gender and equality issues are being officially acknowledged in all EU member states, their realisation in every day’s practice lags behind. This is especially true for the target countries of this project, Romania, Slovenia and, particularly, for Turkey.

“Gender & Diversity in Vocational Education and Training (VET)”

addresses an urgent need that has been expressed in these countries. It will contribute an attractive alternative to combat this situation, especially because the project will not only deliver “materials”, “contents” and “methodologies”, but will also – and foremost – prepare the grounds at the political level, by including key organisations and stakeholders into the Strategic Advisory Committee and Strategic Advisory Group.

The overall objectives of the project are

  • to transfer innovative practice for personal development of female and male learners by introducing gender equality into the vocational education, training and counselling service in Romania, Slovenia and in Turkey
  • to sensitise VET teachers, trainers and counsellors, their organisations and key actors of VET funding policy in Romania, Slovenia and Turkey about the importance of gender sensitive approach in daily VET practice
  • to provide relevant didactic concepts and innovative practical materials in order to respectively improve the quality of VET systems and practices for continuous training in European countries
  • to spread the project contents and results through a variety of dissemination activities, including third parties such as, e.g., labour market policy organisations and social partners.

The transfer of innovative of practice

will be based on the adaption and dissemination of the following products:

  • Guidelines for gender sensitive education as well as exercises and training materials necessary to introduce gender mainstreaming and diversity issues in the Slovenian, Romanian and Turkish languages. They will be adapted to the specific learning cultures of the countries mentioned above and to the requirements of vocational training providers.
  • Didactic guidelines and recommendations how to introduce these materials within the framework of existing teaching schemes, with relation to the specific demand and need of individual users and to the specific learning cultures of the countries mentioned above and to the requirements of vocational training providers
  • An implementation concept to show how to put these materials into the learning practice, i.e. raising the interest of educational policy makers and the respective organisations
EU-Program: Leonardo da Vinci
Coordination: BEST Institut für berufsbezogene Weiterbildung und Personaltraining GmbH
Contact: Karin Kronika, Helmut Kronika
Duration: December 2007 - November 2009
Website: www.gender-and-diversity.eu
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.