Preface

The promotion of democratization in education and the reorientation of education for the world of work is one of the essential elements in Unesco’s programme.

In diversified systems pupils are obliged to make choices at too early a stage; this process may contain elements of discrimination. Unesco’s interest in the integration of general and technical and vocational education is therefore both logical and necessary.

This book contains a number of national case-studies on the integration of general and technical and vocational education. Authors, selected in each instance by the Unesco National Commission, worked according to guidelines provided by the Secretariat. Although strict comparisons among countries are difficult to establish, the introduction and the concluding chapter, provided by the Secretariat, should be helpful in highlighting trends. The guidelines on which the case-studies were based will be found in the appendix. Although the range of countries covered by the case-studies may not cover the entire scope of systems, the diversity of the material should provide readers with some insight into the kinds of choices countries have made in this field.

The present study is the third in the series Trends and Issues in Technical and Vocational Education’. It is addressed to teacher educators, administrators, planners and all persons interested in the current and future status of technical and vocational education at international level. The long-term aim of the series is to promote the objectives and provisions of Unesco’s Revised Recommendation concerning Technical and Vocational Education, which was adopted by the General Conference of Unesco at its eighteenth session in 1974.

We wish to express our appreciation to the authors of the case-studies, who as far as possible followed the guidelines set down and supported their reports with detailed statistical data. Contributions were received from: Australia (J. A. Leech), Austria (F. H. Plank), Brazil (C. A. Tavares), Finland (A. Sarjala), Hungary (J. Földi), Pakistan (M. Popalzai and K. Hashmi), Spain (V. de Miguel Muñoz), and the United States of America (T. Buila).

The views expressed in this book are those of the individuals concerned and do not necessarily reflect those of Unesco. The designations employed and the presentation of the material do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Unesco Secretariat concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.