The National Training Reform and the Preparation of Teachers: new approaches

Abstract

Abstract The series of Australian Government policy initiatives somewhat misleadingly known as the national‐training‐reform agenda (FitzGerald, 1994) represent a new reference point for faculties of education engaged in the preparation of teachers. The ideas first floated in Australia Reconstructed (ACTU, 1987)—the creation of a high‐wage, high‐skill economy based on a national system of skills formation and skills enhancement—reflected three underpinning principles on which government, unions and employers were united. These principles—a move away from time served and towards competencies achieved, a system of nationally recognised qualifications and a central role for industry in the specification of standards—continue to enjoy such tripartite support and are central to the implementation of training reform. Lundberg (1994) identified five main themes of the training‐reform agenda, namely, nationally consistent competency‐based training, national recognition of competencies however attained, an open training market, fair participation in vocational education and training, and an integrated entry‐level training system. The effect that the implementation of reforms to the training system is having on the work of those teaching in schools is only now becoming apparent (Schools Council, 1994a). This paper describes the approaches used by the Faculty of Education and Training at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and considers the impact that the changed training system might also have on the work of teacher educators in higher education in Australia.