Management of knowledge in international VET: diversity of practice from Laos, Kuwait and China

This chapter draws on research conducted between 2008 and 2010 that
explored what happens when knowledge developed to regulate and manage training
delivered in Australia is exported to another jurisdiction with a quite different regulatory
framework. The focus of investigation was on the mechanisms, strategies,
and tools deployed to enable Australian VET knowledge practices to respond to the
needs of systems, training institutions, and individuals in these new contexts. This
process of transfer and adaptation was explored through three case studies. On the
basis of the empirical data analyzed in each model, a classification of transnational
activities is proposed according to six dimensions of transfer activity – mechanism,
drivers, key actors, purpose, context, and outcomes. The mechanisms used in each
of the case studies are analyzed according to the theories of globalization of business,
regulatory arrangements and knowledge management. The chapter concludes
by positioning transnational vocational education and training (VET) in the context
of global developments since 2010 including UNESCO’s efforts to define the role
of national and international standards in a global education and training environment
and the work of WorldSkills International to define global skills standards.