The Current Status and Assessment of Industry-academic Cooperation
2. Accomplishments and Limitations of Industry-academic Cooperation
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was preferentially intended for teachers in charge of curriculum directly connected to practical skills among those who teach in industrial specialized high schools. The trial work-site training course was composed of two parts: eight short-term courses for two weeks or 50 hours, and two mid-term courses for one month, or 120 hours. More specifically, the contents of the curriculum comprised CNC lathe and machining, semiconductors, system controls, LEDs, etc. Each teacher in the training course was required to complete a certain amount of work-site training. To do this, the work-site training program was supported by industries, including NST Co. Ltd., LS Industrial System, Korea Photonics Technology Institute, and Force10Networks. In general, the theory class accounted for about 10~20% of the total training course, practical training represented 30~40%, and work experience classes 40~50%.
in the work-site training of teachers in specialized high schools turned out to be significantly effective in strengthening the professionalism of teachers (Kang et al., 2011). Nonetheless, given the characteristics of the industrial settings, there were significant personal/material limitations in providing a small number of teachers with long-term in-service training. So, it was found that the government’s full support was needed.
(1) Industries’ participation in the whole process of curriculum development- operation-labor market transition
In secondary vocational education, Meister high schools represented a new model for industry-academic cooperation. Meister high schools are closely linked with industries from the stage of preparing the opening a school. Rather than the Offices of Education or school teachers, personnel in industries mainly develop the curriculum. Furthermore, as for the operation of the curriculum, experts in industrial settings are invited as instructors to participate in education. As there is industry- academic cooperation in the whole process of vocational education, the transition to the labor market as well as the level of satisfaction displays excellent results.
(2) The operation of industry-tailored education using afterschool activities
Along with Meister high schools, specialized high schools provide tailored education in which companies directly participate, which is another major accomplishment. It is remarkable that schools have shown a flexible response to industrial demands through afterschool activities and major-related club activities, rather than a rigid curriculum.
(3) The establishment of a support system at the local and national levels
In Korea, the innovation of vocational education institutes was promoted through support systems at the local (the Offices of Education) and national level. In particular, each school has had many difficulties in seeking industry-academic cooperation. The Offices of Education played a pivotal role in coming up with job support centers, etc., and the government provided related finances in order to contribute to schools’
expansion/development of industry-academic cooperation.
(4) The securing of governance in cooperation with relevant departments/agencies An excellent example is that relevant ministries/agencies, as well as the Ministry of Education, make concerted efforts to support industry-academia cooperation. In particular, it is regarded that the active participation of corporate sector-related ministries, including the Small and Medium Business Administration and the Ministry of
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Employment and Labor, contributes to industry-academic cooperation for schools.
On the other hand, there are still limitations, as follows:
(1) The lack of reciprocity
As mentioned before, the industry-academic cooperation of secondary vocational education institutes is made only from industries to schools. Compared with industry- academic cooperation at a higher level, there is little for schools to provide benefits to industries. Given that the first principle of industry-academic cooperation is reciprocity, the industry sector had little incentive to participate in industry-academic cooperation, which is a fundamental problem.
(2) The quality of work experience
work experience for dispatching to industries has its own advantage: based on the theory education learned at school, students can improve their practical skills. However, it has been pointed out that the quality of work experience in industries is not guaranteed. In particular, the problem is that the opportunity for structural education is rarely given in the process of work experience.
(3) The need to establish a system exploring industry-academic cooperation enterprises A system for exploring/connecting industry-academic cooperation enterprises has been established at the local and national levels, but it is insufficient. Accordingly, it has been pointed out that the exploring of industry-academic cooperation enterprises with only personal/material resources and networks at the school level has its own limitations. Teachers in charge of industry-academic cooperation, in particular, frequently work outside of the school because they are responsible for finding enterprises and managing field trainees. So, this tends to put a heavy burden on the teachers.
However, schools rarely provide a guarantee of class hours. In many cases, the budget is not appropriated for visits to companies and requests for cooperation. This creates some problems: young, competent teachers avoid such work and find it hard to maintain work continuity, and each teacher often shoulders a heavy workload.
Concluding Remarks
Industry-academic cooperation is an important tool for guaranteeing the quality of education. In particular, it is crucial for narrowing the gap between school-based vocational education and the demands of companies. In addition, it could prevent vocational education that is irrelevant to industrial settings and lay the foundation for practical-focused education training. This allows industries to share the cutting-edge training equipment that is not available to schools and for schools to recruit experts with the latest technology in industrial settings as instructors. In recent years, industry-academic cooperation in Korea’s secondary vocational education has undergone lots of innovation. It is worthwhile for countries with a school-based vocational education system to take notice of the process of the transition of specialized high schools and Meister high schools to an industry-academic cooperation system. Industry- academic cooperation is made across the whole process of vocational education, including the development of the curriculum, the development of textbooks, and after-school classes.
Nonetheless, to consolidate secondary vocational education in Korea, there are still many tasks to be improved. First, incentives are needed to induce companies’ active participation. In Korea, companies are traditionally passive about cultivating manpower.
Furthermore, rapid economic growth creates an environment where there is a shortage of institutions (organizations) that play a central role, such as an industry consultative body. Accordingly, it is necessary for the government to expand finances in order for companies to participate in industry-academic cooperation, and in the long term, a central organization is needed to induce companies into taking an active role in fostering human capital.
Second, it is needed to establish governance across ministries. In maintaining industry-academic cooperation, it is essential to cooperate with various relevant ministries/agencies—the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Small and Medium Business Administration, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy, as well as the Ministry of Education. Therefore, it is necessary to cultivate manpower for industrial demands and promote the connection of school vocational education by establishing governance across ministries.
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References
Choi, S. J., K. J. Kang, J. W. Kim, & M. H. Jang (2012). Research on Measures to Improve Industry-Academia Cooperation for the Promotion of Work-based Learning (I). KRIVET.
Choi, S. J., M. H. Jang, & Y. J. Huh (2013). Current Status and Tasks of the Industry- Academic Cooperation Network of Secondary Vocational Institutes. KRIVET.
Chung, C. Y. (1986). A Study on the Industry-Academic Cooperation of Junior Colleges (Master’s thesis). Seoul National University.
Economic-Related Ministerial Meeting (2013). A Plan for the Introduction of a Korean-Version Work-learning Parallel System.
Employment Support Center of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (2013). Promotional Materials.
Jang, M. H., S. T. Kim, S. J. Choi, & D. H. Gil (2011). Development of Guidelines for Enterprises Aimed at Improving the Quality of Industry-Academia Cooperative Education of Specialized High Schools. KRIVET.
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One of the most impressive trends in high school vocational education policy over the past 20 years is an increasing interest in the employment of high school graduates.
In the past, the policy was aimed at cultivating manpower for the industry sector in high school vocational institutes. In recent years, however, the policy has focused on the transition from manpower nurtured in vocational education institutes to the labor market, in particular, prioritizing the employment of high school graduates. As an increase to a certain employment rate level is required to secure national productivity, the high school vocational education policy has continuously focused on the employment of high school graduates.
There has been a rising employment rate for Meister high school and specialized high school graduates, an improvement in the employment indicator for high school graduates in the labor market, and an increasing number of colleges and universities participating in the Advancement to University Later system for high school graduates (Ministry of Employment and Labor, 2012). The employment rate of specialized high school graduates, which attracted the most attention with regard to high school vocational education, increased to 35.4% in 2013 following a fall of up to 16.7% in
1) This chapter is extracted and reorganized from Choi (2012) and Choi (2013).