Introduction

This guide is intended to serve a dual purpose:

1. To establish a generally acceptable international terminology in five of the working languages of Unesco - Arabic, English, French, Russian, and Spanish - in order to facilitate international communication in the field of technical education.

2. To promote and facilitate a more precise understanding of the Unesco Revised Recommendation concerning Technical and Vocational Education adopted by the General Conference at its eighteenth session, November 1974, in Paris.

The lack of a commonly accepted terminology is a serious obstacle to international communication and, therefore, to international co-operation in all fields; technical and vocational education provides no exception. Educational terms are often linked to particular systems of education which are based on the philosophies of the societies they serve and are therefore not applicable outside these systems. As a result, different terms may be used to describe the same phenomenon in two countries which use the same language. Furthermore, it is evident that establishing equivalent terms for the same or similar phenomenon in countries with different languages is not an easy task.

The present terminology is not based on the experience of or system prevailing in any one country. In this sense it is an artificial construction. An international English, which does not correspond to prevailing usage in any one English-speaking country, served as the base language to which the other four terminologies and definitions were adapted. An attempt was made to choose terms which are clearly equivalent in English and the other four languages, and to define them in such a way that they can be applied to the phenomena generally existing in all countries. Many of the terms chosen as well as their definitions reflect pragmatic usage which was developed out of international meetings and is often found in international documents. All of the terms reflect an international philosophy with regard to technical and vocational education as expressed in the Revised Recommendation. The content of this book does not form an esoteric vocabulary. The two major criteria used in establishing it were general applicability of the definition and common sense. The terminology is then intended as a vehicle of international communication allowing all to arrive at common ground in order to compare experience and discuss common problems in the field of technical and vocational education.

The term ‘technical and vocational aspects of general education’ (initiation technique et professionnelle dans l’enseignement général) is possibly one of the best illustrations of the approach taken. As may be seen from the definition of term No. 10, it refers to those elements in the required general curriculum which introduce young people to the world of technology and/or to practical skills used in some occupations. These elements often serve a guidance or orientation function as well. From this definition a Frenchman would say ‘that’s what we call technology in the orientation cycle’; a Russian’ that’s what we call polytechnical education’; an American ‘that’s what we call industrial arts’. The approach, organization and emphasis will certainly vary from country to country, but the international term would allow discussion of common elements and better comparison of differences. It would, in fact, provide a common frame of reference.

Many of the terms included in this book are found in the Revised Recommendation concerning Technical and Vocational Education. Indeed, it was conceived in large part as a companion document to the Revised Recommendation, to facilitate comprehension of the international terms used in it and therefore its application. The major terms used in the Revised Recommendation thus appear in the guide, and the Index is cross-referenced to the Revised Recommendation. In this way the Revised Recommendation may be more easily and precisely compared to national experience, and guidance for the establishment and development of national policy more easily obtained from its provisions.

ORGANIZATION OF THE GUIDE

The terms defined in the guide are grouped from the more general to the more particular under the following major headings:

I. General terms relating to education.
II. Terms relating to systems and structures of education.
III. Terms relating to the content of technical and vocational education.
IV. Terms relating to the teaching and learning process.
V. Terms relating to guidance.
VI. Terms relating to teaching staff, their qualifications and training.
VII. Terms relating to training.
VIII. Terms relating to employment.

Finally, there is an alphabetical index to the guide which contains appropriate paragraph references to the Revised Recommendation.

USE OF THE GUIDE

The terms included in this book are numbered from 1 to 124. Synonyms are assigned the number of the major term followed by a decimal number, as follows:

1. Major term

1.1 Synonym
1.2 Synonym

When synonyms are equivalent in French and English, they are assigned the same number. If they are not equivalent they are given decimal numbers, as follows:

Thus 1.2 corresponds only to a French term and 1.3 only to an English one. In some cases synonyms are equivalent terms in one language but not in the other, as follows:

In this case also, the decimal number corresponds to a term in one language only.

The alphabetical index following the guide is designed to facilitate its use. The number assigned in the glossary appears beside each term in the index. As the book is especially intended to lead to a more detailed understanding of the Revised Recommendation, each term which appears in the Revised Recommendation or refers to a concept contained in it, is followed by references indicating the appropriate paragraph number.

On reading the guide a user may wish to see how a particular matter corresponding to a term was treated in the Revised Recommendation. He will refer to the alphabetical index and there find the paragraph references. On the other hand, if he begins with the Revised Recommendation and wishes to consult the guide for the definition of a particular term, he will refer to the index to find the reference number in the guide.

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

It should be noted that a number of terms concerning training and employment which appear in this guide refer to matters coming within the competence of the International Labour Organisation and therefore have already been established and defined by that organization. In these cases the terms and their definition are noted by an asterisk (*).

The definitions of ‘special education’ and ‘handicapped’ have been taken from Terminology of special education (available from Commercial Services, Unesco, 7 Place de Fontenoy, 75700 Paris, France) published by the International Bureau of Education.

A provisional ‘Glossary of terms used in technical and vocational education’, established by the Committee for General and Technical Education of the Council of Europe (DECS/EGT (75)35, Strasbourg, 1975), has also been consulted.

The present guide is an attempt to establish a practical terminology in the field of technical and vocational education for the purposes of international communication. After use of the original English/French version for over five years in numerous regional and international meetings, conferences, seminars and workshops held in those two languages, it was felt that publication of the guide in additional international languages would permit Unesco to contribute further to a better understanding in Member States of the Revised Recommendation concerning Technical and Vocational Education (1974), would facilitate the implementation of this instrument and would foster a more effective exchange of information in the field of technical and vocational education. This guide has, undoubtedly, many shortcomings. It is hoped that in the future improvements may be made in terms of precision of definition and, furthermore, that it may be adapted into various national languages.