2021 Volume 5 Issue 1 Pages 1-11
This paper clarifies the relevance of vocational education to career education and higher education. Firstly, in Japan, vocational education as a fixed factor comprises three different systems: a broader, Japanese-style vocational education; a narrower system with specific training for each occupation; and a mixed type of system. Secondly, in regard to the relationship with career education, vocational education is positioned as the complete stage of general career education and as special career education which aim to train knowledge, skills and values for the specific vocational preparation. Thirdly, recently vocational education has developed from secondary to post-secondary and short-cycle non-university and moreover to university or to a different option to general university. In conclusion, vocational education or training, whether of a b roader or narrower type, aims to develop students’ human competencies through specific training for each occupation or industry.
