A Study on the Establishment of a D atabase System for Vocational Education
Korean Research Institute f or V ocational Education and Training
Researcher-in-charge Ikhyun Shin Research staff Whansik Kim Insun Shim Eonjin Oh Jaesik Jeon
Sy nopsis of the Stu dy
This stu dy w as to establish foun dations for havin g a database on vocational education, with exp ectation that the database system provides high level information on vocational education an d learnin g activities in vocational high schools an d tw o or three year colleges to u sers such as stu dents an d parents, employers, teachers, an d p olicy makers.
Exchan ge of information amon g educational institutions, an d stan dardization of data gatherin g an d processin g might be major resources for further development in the age of information . A netw ork system, what is called an one-stop foun dational mechanism, is to be the
sin gle but definite solution to utilize this information exchan ge an d distribution mechanism in keepin g high potential in human resources development.
Based on these requ ests, the purposes of this stu dy w ere established as follow s.
First, the database should be established in communication space of information system in order to realize open learnin g an d lifelon g vocational education . A p ortal site should be made in relation to the distribution of those requested informations on vacational education to everyone who w ants to have learnin g opp ortunities an d develop her/ his vocational cap abilities further .
Secon d, an information system which will be u seful in stan dardizin g vocational education systems should be sou ght for by netw orkin g information resources scattered in various locations an d in every sphere.
Third, an information system should be develop ed in consideration of the final u sers' necessities an d opportunism alon g w ith a diversified searchin g mechanism an d an information retrieval system .
The methods of this stu dy w ere adopted in order to achieve the above-listed stu dy objectives. they are domestic an d foreign literature review s, field surveys on vocation high schools an d technical colleges, on regional school boards, an d on enterprise.
Backgroun ds f or the Establishm ent of D atabases on V ocational Education
Variou s chan ges have been made to respon d to the necessities to establish a decision makin g mechanism in turbulent an d massive
information societies, characteristics of hu ge sources an d aboun din g requ ests for better information management.
Data flood is one of major characteristics of this information deman din g era. Drastic development of information an d corresp on dence technologies result in rapid increases in data accumulation, storin g, an d processin g in every areas. Currently, every office an d organization strives to retain large scale databases an d accumulate limitless data an d information . The advent of new media enlarges the p ossibilities to have diversified databases in which collection an d storage of data, data processin g, an d information distribution are prevalent.
Traditional databases w ere limited to the u se of letter information in data processin g an d distribution . N ow adays the advent of internet produces new netw orkin g systems u sin g w orld w ide w eb an d HTML lan gu ages. Diversified data display techniques have been develop ed to utilize these multimedia databases to the utmost, throu gh which au dible-visual information provision an d retrieval is possible. Especially, HTML lan gu ages enlarge the functions of information distribution by linkin g actively to the ever-chan gin g needs of the final u sers.
Progressively, it is possible to exchan ge multimedia data an d information such as images, movin g pictures, voices, inclu din g letter information throu gh HTML. Conclu din gly, a new vocational information system can be established on the national level by multimedia techniqu es.
Currently, most databases on vacational education are related to an d depen dent on the existin g educational statistics. Therefore, non-statistical data an d information besides these statistical forms are not fully provided yet. Also, data an d informations are limited to general aspects of schools an d colleges, curriculum, an d teachers. In turn, appropriate
informations on career guidance an d research activities in VET are not fully provided yet. The data contents an d styles are so superficial that strictly general informations are provided an d that en d u sers can not acquire information classified to their actual needs an d related to their professionalism . This means that newly developed databases should be accumulated for multidimensional data analysis an d for provision of non-statistical information . An d special considerations should be given to stan dardization of databases to offer required information to the related group .
The general guidance an d approaches in developin g new databases are as follow s.
First, realizin g effective information services in developin g databases should be review ed at the initial stage. These foun dational activities are related to the development of ASP(Application Service Provider) comprehensive systems which is expected to have new know led ge controllin g systems.
Secon d, a central organization should take a vital role in controllin g data an d information on vocational schools an d technical colleges. An IDC(Internet Data Center) can be established firmly an d managed effectively by KRIVET(Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education an d Technology) to manage an d control this function .
Third, colleges an d schools are exp ected to accumulate an d arran ge existin g data an d information as p ossible as they w ant to an d share IDC resources installed at KRIVET without purchasin g extra softw ares, databases, an d hardw ares. The total system will adopt a diverse database system in which every educational institution in depen dently w orks to share the data processin g system offered by KRIVET.
Current Situations in and D eman ds on V ocational Education D atabases
As the result of field surveys on vocational high schools an d colleges, most educational institutions w ere identified to report to the regional education boards the data such as information on general aspects of schools an d colleges, management of curriculum, career management after gradu ation, information on teachers an d stu dents, educational exp en ditures an d facilities an d others. On the other han d, information on special asp ects of schools, establishment of special educational units, information on incomes after the advancement of graduates to the w orld of w ork w ere not reported to. The information on the job satisfaction level of teachers, stu dents' level of satisfaction in interp ersonal relations an d in learnin g environments, an d school choice w ere not reported to, either.
Surveys on the technical colleges show ed that they mostly rep ort information on general asp ects to the Ministry of Education an d to KCCE(Korean Council for College Education). Ninety p ercent of the sample reported to the Ministry of Education an d eighty p ercent of the sample provided their information to KCCE. Information related to the curriculum management an d personnel management w ere also for these tw o information gatherin g bodies. A survey on the necessities of database establishment show ed that every related bodies such as vocational high schools, technical colleges, stu dents, in du stries, an d regional educational boards has different p ostures. They show ed different un derstan din g on the necessities of havin g databases such as advertisin g schools an d colleges, obtainin g stu dent resources, gainin g profoun d financial supports, holdin g
personnel management information, regainin g comp etitive edges, an d professional an d specialized development of the educational institutions. In conclu sion, educational institutions show ed that variou s information should be established an d used for advertisin g schools, while in dustries emphasized the possibilities of usin g databases in gatherin g information to invite new w orkers.
Future Tasks f or Establishing and Using D atabases f or V ocational Education
The spheres of the total database should inclu de information on stu dents, information on staffs, an d information on curriculum management. Also, information on peer to peer activities amon g educational institutions should be ad ded to the list.
The success factors in developin g u seful databases may be holdin g inclu sive information at the initial stage, an d keepin g up-dated data on every case enou gh to play a continu ou s role as a data bank in vocational education . For this, variou s provisions for foun dational information gatherin g activities on policy formation an d for research activities, establishment of soun d feedback systems, excess possibilities, an d establishment of support system should be decided previously . Most of all, legal provision should be given to the KRIVET to gather national level information on vocational education .