Practical knowledge and occupational competence

Abstract

The work-oriented change in the didactics of vocational education (VET) identifies ‘significant’ vocational work situations and the associated work process knowledge as the pivotal factor in the design of vocational curricula and processes. What is dramatic about this change of perspective is not merely the departure from academic, discipline-based teaching methods, but also the formulation of vocational teaching methods for VET practice and VET design that are predicated on development theory. As concerns the structurally oriented method of imparting VET, which underwent this change early on, it is necessary to differentiate the category of knowledge, above all with respect to practical knowledge and practical concepts, and also as a basis for domain-specific VET research.