VET Excellence and inclusion at the crossroads

In recent years, Cedefop’s research has been exploring how the concepts of ‘excellence’ and ‘inclusion’ are understood at both European and national levels, and how they have been addressed in national policy documents over the past 25 years.

As part of Cedefop’s ongoing effort to connect practitioners and improve practices, a recent workshop brought together policymakers, stakeholders, experts, and researchers to discuss the initial findings of its project on VET excellence and inclusion. Participants examined how these concepts are reflected in national policy documents and standards, as well as their connection to the ongoing political discussions on the future of European VET, outlined in the 2020 Council Recommendation on vocational education and training (VET).

Key findings:

• Researchers and experts often highlight (in line with the EU definition of vocational excellence) that for VET to be excellent it needs to be inclusive.
• Most of the policies identified in the study promote both excellence and inclusion (at least to some extent). Only 27% of the identified policies promote solely one of these objectives.
• Research shows that policies with a strong focus on both objectives tend to be broader (e.g. strategies for the entire VET system). These policies address all levels of VET and consider diverse groups of learners, including all age groups, and have increasingly emerged over the past decade.

Policies most frequently aim to promote excellence and inclusion by:

• introducing flexible learning pathways and new programmes, 
• facilitating access to VET programmes, 
• strengthening key competences and general education components within VET programmes, and 
• introducing innovative pedagogical and didactical approaches.   

The ongoing research seeks to co-shape the evolving framework for EU cooperation in VET, with a strong emphasis on both excellence and inclusion. Meanwhile, discussions on VET Excellence and inclusion have extended beyond national and European borders, exploring the global dimension of excellence and inclusion, and the role of international cooperation in VET to foster inclusive excellence in VET.