Comment on the VET Research Framework Discussion

Context: This short paper is a contribution to the ECER VETNET workshop organised in Belgrade in 2025, focusing on the development of the VET research framework. The framework has been designed and developed for the EERA's VETNET network with the aim of assisting in the organisation and development of VET research. Approach: This paper discusses a couple of alternative approaches to organise VET research. Hopefully, these approaches will inspire discussion about categorising VET research, identifying common themes between research topics, creating new research topics and identifying research gaps. Findings: As the purposes and leading ideas for grouping VET research can differ, it is challenging to develop a framework that is both easily understood and captures the variety of VET research in a fruitful way, inspiring new research and helping to identify gaps in the research. Each approach has its own strengths and weaknesses, so reconsidering them may be necessary. Conclusions: Further comparison and discussion on various framework approaches is needed to help researchers in the field understand the complexities of the research field and identify connections between various topics and research approaches, as well as to organize conference presentations into sessions. This is a pervasive challenge for every emerging science discipline as the VETNET Community.