Behind the screen: Introducing the TVETipedia glossary

Developed in 2007 and launched in 2009 by UNESCO-UNEVOC, the revamped TVETipedia glossary was made available online in March 2014 and has played a role as an online information instrument for TVET experts and researchers. In this interview, the TVETipedia team at UNESCO-UNEVOC, Uta Roth and Jean Hautier, tell us more about this online resource and highlight the needs for such a tool, which provides definitions of common TVET terms. The TVETipedia glossary currently contains about 500 terms.

TVETipedia expert Uta at work © UNESCO-UNEVOC

What motivated the creation of the TVETipedia glossary?
"First at all, the new TVETipedia glossary aims at providing reliable and up-to-date information about TVET. To achieve this, we decided to develop a TVET glossary as a solid knowledge base. The TVETipedia glossary synthesizes existing glossaries worldwide by extracting general TVET terms and indicating specific use of terms in certain countries or regions."

By whom and how can the TVETipedia glossary be used?
"The TVETipedia glossary can be used by anyone who has internet access. The online glossary provides a list of common TVET terms and allows you to search for terms. The tool is useful for anyone working in the field of TVET."

What has been the biggest challenge in developing the glossary?
"The biggest challenge at this point is to develop a glossary that represents all the relevant terms including their definitions and resources. The greatest challenge in the future will be the active contribution by TVET experts in the extension of TVETipedia."

The glossary often provides several meanings for one term. Which term has the highest number of definitions and why do you think this is the case?
"Apart from the number of definitions a TVET term contains, we should also consider the number of its related terms. In fact, different organizations use different terms for similar concepts/ideas. For instance, the term ‘’skills’’ marks the highest number of related terms, while the word ‘’qualification’’ has the greatest number of definitions. At the same time, however, both terms are still vague, i.e. there are no standard definition and the use of the terms. Therefore it is highly important to clarify the usage of each term used in different organizations within different contexts."

How is the TVETipedia glossary going to be developed further?
"The TVETipedia glossary is a good starting point for a TVET knowledge base because it introduces the most common terms and concepts. We are planning to add small essays, which will discuss a certain topic and provide the opportunity for discussions and comments in the future."

To view the full glossary, click here