VET Sector Research Articles

Connecting the racial to the spatial; migration, identity and educational settings as a third space

ABSTRACT The VET sector can be located as one that sits within the intersections of the racial and spatial in addition to the classed; the traditional focus of research concerns. There is a direct correlation between towns and cities with high levels of deprivation and the recruitment of racialised and other marginalised groups into general further education colleges. This paper considers the intertwined nature of the racial and spatial and its implications for South Asian Muslim women students in VET spaces in terms of identity construction and possible futures. This paper critiques how geographical location and educational settings highlight the complex factors encountered by diasporic communities; patterns of historical migration; the educational space as a third space); the role of teachers as mentors. These factors contributed to students developing fluid and dynamic identities rooted in a critical self-awareness whilst resisting Western-centric notions of success. Whilst this created a self-realised agency in the narratives of South Asian Muslim women, it also created a cultural hauntology in the absence of a third space. This has various implications for future VET research in terms of how students from ethnically diverse groups, create or engage with a third space.

Communication channels consumption across awareness building, information search and school choice - perspectives from the VET sector in Kosovo

This study aims at understanding the channels through which the students have become aware, the channels which they used to search for information on the schools and the key factor that pushed them to apply for a given school. Through a primary data research with n=788 respondents which are currently enrolled in VET across eight schools in Kosovo, the study has identified a critical importance of the word-of-mouth through family & relatives and friends on generating awareness for a given school and to share information on the school offering. As critical elements to take the decision to apply for the school has been considered the applicants visit directly to the school to get informed more on the offering and the desire to get equipped with the given qualification the school offers. It is important to note the impact that parents have across all the levels from brand awareness development to information search and decision making. The study provides pragmatic recommendations to school management on better optimizing their marketing efforts from a communication channel perspective, such as the importance of the open-days events of school and the usage of the social media channels (especially Facebook) to communicate their offering.

How can we create a sustainable future for farm animal veterinary practice?

Recruitment and retention is a big problem for the farm vet sector, but it could be overcome by implementing small improvements at all stages of the farm vet pipeline, argues John Remnant.

Lesson Study in Vocational Education and Training

This paper introduces the ERASMUS+ project LS4VET, which aims to develop a Lesson Study model for the VET sector with the goal to encourage innovation and change in vocational education by creating an open-online course to support collaborative professionalism for VET educators. The status quo of Lesson Study in the four partner countries Austria, Hungary, Malta, and the Netherlands is described and an outlook on the development of a Lesson Study model for VET is given.

Stepping into the labour market from the VET sector in China: student perceptions and experiences

ABSTRACT The Chinese Government is clear that investment is needed to upskill the workforce, yet VET students, who will play a key role in the upskilling, continue to be positioned at the bottom of the educational hierarchy and suffer considerable societal prejudice. This paper presents new findings on Chinese VET students’ perceptions of the job market and career possibilities in the context of the negatively stereotyped VET system. The findings are analysed through the lens of Gramsci’s hegemonic power and with reference to Bauman’s individualisation. A lack of confidence was found among the VET students who were about to enter the labour market; moreover, they exhibited a passive acceptance of whatever jobs were available, rather than mindfully choosing. Analysis of the findings suggests that the students gave their active consent to the hegemonic human capital form of thinking and accepted their perceived ‘inadequacy’ and unfavourable places in the division of labour. They were under the impression that they needed to take responsibility for the choices they made as ‘[our] chances all come down to us'. The study concludes that this individualising force could sustain hegemonic control as well as provide the ‘flexible workers’ needed by an economy influenced by neoliberalism.

The relationship between academic futility and the achievement of upper secondary students. Evidence from the Czech Republic

ABSTRACT Research shows that the concept of academic futility is promising for studying the mechanisms that cause differences in educational outcomes in general and vocational programmes. The aim of this paper is to test the hypothesis that in the Czech Republic, a country with one the largest VET sectors in Europe, the worse achievement of students in vocational programmes can also be explained by academic futility, and to explore the relationship between futility and the track attended. The conceptualisation of academic futility returns to the three-dimensional concept proposed by Brookover and Schneider in 1975. The analysis was carried out on a sample of 4871 upper secondary students. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit of the model for a two-level (student and class) concept of academic futility. Two-level structural equation modelling showed a negative relationship between futility and achievement and a lower culture of futility in classes with higher socio-economic status.

Stimulating intrapreneurial intentions with digital business training in the VET sector: The potential of massive open online courses

Stimulating intrapreneurial intentions with digital business training in the VET sector: The potential of massive open online courses

VET research: where have we been? A qualitative content analysis of an Australian vocational education journal, 1993 to 2019

ABSTRACT Academic journals communicate research findings, share knowledge and stimulate debate. They are the representative academic ‘voice’ for a discipline, reflecting its knowledge base. This paper examines all 350 articles published in the International Journal of Training Research from 1993 to 2019 to highlight significant trends over 27 years. It analyses the 462 authors, the article types and methodological characteristics, and their key themes and sub-themes. Analysis of authorship over time reveals rises in the proportions of females publishing, of international contributors from 30 different countries, of contributors affiliated with universities and of multiple authorship. Two-thirds of the articles were qualitative research or expository. Key themes were on political, organisational and structural change and on students, followed by vocational knowledge, learning and instruction, and vocational teachers. Studying the themes and sub-themes over time showed how their relative popularity in research has tended to parallel policy developments in the VET sector.

An Exploration of the Professional Development Needs of Agricultural Educators within the VET Sector: A Mixed Methods Study

Recent studies have highlighted the contribution of education to the productivity and viability of the Irish agricultural sector. This paper explores the training needs of agricultural educators within the vocational education and training sector by examining educators’ experience in their role based on educator qualification, availability of continuous professional development and opportunities for development. The study was conducted in Ireland using a mixed methods explanatory sequential design. The study sample consisted of the national population of agricultural educators within the vocational education and training sector, i.e. agricultural colleges. Data collection methods included a national survey and three focus groups. The findings highlight a challenge across Irish agricultural colleges in how educators are trained to teach, in their motivations for the role, and their long-term desire to remain teaching. It also demonstrates the importance of continuous professional development and the need to enhance training, particularly, pedagogical training, to agricultural educators. It can be concluded that stronger supports are required at both recruitment and throughout an educator’s career for development and progression. This study is one of the first studies in Ireland to investigate the continuous professional development needs of agricultural educators within the vocational education and training sector. The paper explores the pedagogical underpinnings of agricultural education, with the aim of developing teaching and learning needs in parallel to technical expertise.

Was it worth the effort? An exploratory study on the usefulness and acceptance of video annotation for in-service teachers training in VET sector

Abstract In the field of teachers training of different levels (primary and secondary) and types (in-service and pre-service), exploiting video support for teaching practices analysis is a well-established training method to foster reflection on professional practices, self- and hetero-observation, and finally to improve teaching. While video has long been used to capture microteaching episodes, illustrate classroom cases and practices, and to review teaching practices, recent developments in video annotation tools may help to extend and augment the potentialities of video viewing. Various, although limited, numbers of studies have explored this field of research, especially with respect to in-service teachers training. However, this is less the case for Vocational Education and Training. The study presented here is a pilot experience in the field of in-service teachers training in the vocational sector. A two-year training programme using video annotation has been evaluated and analysed. The dimensions investigated are teachers’ perceptions on the usefulness, acceptance and sustainability of video annotation in teaching practices analysis. Results show a very good acceptance and usefulness of video annotation for reflecting on practice and to deliver feedbacks. Implications for the integration of a structural programme of analysis of practices based on video annotation are presented.

The way collaboration benefits vocational students: a case study of a joint venture college in China

ABSTRACTInternational collaborations in the vocational and training (VET) sector have grown significantly in the past three decades in China as well as in other parts of the world. Despite its growing prominence, it remains a largely under-researched field compared to the large volume of research on universities’ internationalization. In particular, it is unclear how internationalization practices improve vocational students’ academic and social competencies and readiness for employment. This case study was intended to fill this current gap in the literature by investigating a selected joint venture VET college in China. This study employed a wealth of data as evidence that international programmes could benefit vocational students in their English skills, professional knowledge, intercultural competence, and personal and career development. In additional to the opportunities created for vocational students, international programmes are expected to offer workplace experience and design a curriculum that suits students with different future plans. The findings of this study indicate that international collaborations in the VET sector have the potential not only to better prepare vocational students for life and employment, but also to address the challenges facing the VET system in developing economies.

Transforming a Race to the Bottom to a Ladder to the Top: Regulatory Support for Excellence in Australian VET

Vocational education and training once held a proud place in Australia’s education system, providing opportunity along a less academically and more practically oriented path. While interest in and need for vocational education and training has not lost currency, the sector has been drawn into a downward reputational spiral. Reforms have been introduced in abundance to reverse the problems of VET, but instead have contributed to loss of status and scandal after scandal. At the heart of the debilitation of the VET sector has been lack of respect for and support for teaching professionalism in the reform process. Industry and government domination over what was to be taught in VET was intended to create opportunity through growth and jobs, but domination is bound to be doomed when the guardians of delivery and quality are not engaged professionally in the process. In these circumstances, a market methodology is likely to attract markets in ‘bads’ that repeatedly dislodge markets in ‘goods’. Regulation also faces a difficult challenge when it is overlayed on a market where there is deep and persistent internal conflict over the values of the sector. Delivery of quality education and training is much touted, but a schism sits below this mantra. The sector divides in its commitment to professional educators and to the aspiration of being a quality education provider in a highly stratified tertiary sector.

Construction Pathways: Attracting the Missing Students and Workers to University

The Commonwealth Government has the increased participation of under-represented groups to a 20% diversity target for Australian universities. It also has minimum targets of 40% of all Australians (25-34 years) holding a Bachelor’s degree by 2020. These targets are baseline items in a government agenda of improving educational outcomes for Australians and pivotal in addressing skill shortages in industries such as construction. In construction there is a skewing of skill shortages to the higher order or post entry level skills. Demand for higher skilled occupations such as construction managers, outstrips demand for construction trades (DEEWR, 2010). But whilst 41% of the industry have VET qualifications, only 10% possess HE qualifications in construction. Movement between the VET and HE sectors is low: of all construction students qualifying at AQF 4, less than 10% continue on to higher education and less than 1% of VET qualified persons in the construction workforce seek re-entry to university. This paper examines national data in construction education pathways and evaluates, using the DEMO matrix, the enablers in pathways to HE qualifications. The evaluation is based upon survey responses of two cohorts entering higher education from non-traditional pathways- articulating VET students and mature-aged workers. The results indicate that pathway programmes into construction degrees can attract non-traditional cohorts, but elements such as learner engagement, confidence, people-rich resources and collaboration are critical features of successful pathways.

Combining vocational and higher education studies to provide dual parallel qualifications – an Australian case study

Developing academic relationships between vocational colleges and universities in Australia has been problematic, with exchanges between the two sectors limited to linear articulation and prescribed credit transfer. Whilst some very good examples of collaboration exist, the two sectors generally operate independently of each other. The isolation of the sectors has meant frustration for students and employers who want a flexible, collaborative model to meet changing industry needs. This paper reports upon a pilot project in construction management at a Melbourne university that attempted to address these needs. It demonstrates how over a five year period, HE students completed electives in practical units within the VET sector. The overwhelming success of the project meant that practical electives were embedded in the construction management programme in 2007 and this paper reports on the third, final phase of the project in 2009/10 which saw construction management students graduate with a dual qualification - both a vocational qualification and a university degree. Interviews conducted in this final phase reveal that students and industry want the benefits of a practical and theoretical qualification. The paper raises critical questions about educational pathways and suggests long-term implications for construction and tertiary education in Australia and internationally.

Trainers and transformation: Facilitating the ‘dark side’ of vocational learning

‘Transformative learning’ is a term used by Mezirow (1991) and his followers to designate a specifically ‘adult’ kind of learning that involves shifts in how learners view the world and themselves. New research into learning in VET suggests that in some subject areas transformative learning may play more than an incidental role. Among the implications of this finding is that the trainer’s practice may be more important in VET than it has been the custom to acknowledge. When transfor-mative learning systematically contributes to VET, the trainer becomes a co-constructor of competence rather than a transmitter of skills and knowledge.This paper reports on this new research and reflects on the role of the trainer in the process of VET-oriented transformative learning. Results indicate that some trainers of youth workers develop a practice that responds to the contours and dangers of transformative learning without necessarily being aware of the body of knowledge that has built up around this type of learning. The paper suggests that in some VET sectors, trainers and RTOs could enhance their work by taking stock of transformative learning research and theory.

Entry into the Library and Information Industry: Choices and Decisions

The reasons why students who already hold a tertiary qualification and wish to pursue a career in librarianship/ information management choose to undertake a VET LIS para-professional qualification in preference to a postgraduate qualification in LIS have received little formal attention. This paper reports the results of research undertaken to investigate the underlying motivation of such students. The methodology included a survey of current students undertaking VET LIS paraprofessional qualifications at Australian educational institutions and an analysis of statistical data from the VET sector. Recommendations will be presented on how the profession should address the entry points into the profession in light of changes to government funding of VET programs and the current economic climate.

The February 2010 Reforms and the International Student Industry

In February 2010 the Australian Government announced a set of reforms to the rules governing access to permanent residence visas and the temporary entry graduate skills visa (485) for overseas students who have completed courses in Australian universities and VET colleges. This article provides a history of Australian policy on the issue and an analysis of the likely impact of the new regulations. It concludes that the government has largely succeeded in de-coupling education in Australia from migration selection. As a result, it is likely that enrolments in the VET sector will shrink and that enrolments in the higher education sector will largely be confined to courses where students obtain qualiications that are of value in the country of origin.

A professional development weblog: supporting work-based learning in a TAFE Library

This paper explores whether a professional development weblog could support work-based learning in a TAFE Library. The paper includes both a literature review of material dealing with work-based learning in the VET sector, weblogs and their possible use as a professional development tool and an evaluation of a weblog project devised to support professional development in the Library at Box Hill Institute. Analysis of the literature suggested that there were educational aspects of the practices of weblogging that supported some of the trends and learning outcomes of work-based learning in the VET sector. These included team learning and reflective and deep learning. Review of the literature also showed that concepts of knowledge management and information literacy have aspects in common with the educational practices of weblogging. During the weblog project, staff were actively involved in contributing to the weblog and evaluated their experience through a questionnaire. Staff reported that they had developed professionally from participating in the project, particularly in the areas of sharing knowledge and team learning and that there was potential for further professional development in the areas of archiving and reflective practice.

How Can the VET Sector Drive the Adoption of Sustainable Practices in Industry?

AbstractVocational education and training (VET) is often considered the enigma of education. For those that work in or research sustainable education within the schools and higher education sections, VET appears somewhat like the mysterious second cousin: often difficult to access and difficult to understand. VET differs quite markedly from the other education sectors. Its industry, skill and competency foci have been established through a distinct range of national and international drivers. Both the limited understanding of how VET operates and its institutional characteristics has bound the integration of sustainable education practices within the sector. This paper provides a brief overview of the VET sector within Australia and provides some insight into how sustainable education practices are being developed in VET. The recognition of elements of common ground between VET and sustainable education are proposed as an entrée into the sector that can influence the adoption of sustainable practices by industry.

The relationships between research and decision making in education: An empirical investigation

Chapter 5 of DETYA’s volume The Impact of Educational Research (Selby-Smith 2000) begins with an examination of the peculiarity of decision making in the VET sector, followed by an examination of the idiosyncratic consequences for the function of research in the sector. Having established the distinctiveness of VET in relation to these two key factors (decision making and research), the chapter then proceeds to explore the linkages between them. The study on which the chapter is founded identified a complex research culture, in which overt forms of impact are difficult to detect, yet where, it is concluded, research nonetheless plays its part. The research which is likely to impact most heavily is that which is conducted around the practical issues with which VET must deal, preferably with a heavy on-site component, and which is carried out by researchers who are prepared to engage most fruitfully with the VET culture, ideally with a long lead time and maximum follow-up to the actual research phase. Chapter 5 contributes to the overall Impact volume in a variety of ways. First, it offers an insight into the enigmatic nature of educational research in general, and especially as it relates to the VET sector. Second, it makes it clear that educational sectors like VET are likely to be affected by research only when its application to their practical needs is clear and it is carried out by people who are committed to working with their realities. Third, there are broader lessons to be taken from the chapter, especially for university researchers who are imputed by the chapter to be among the least likely to effect research that impacts on practical policy and decision making. While unrelated to the main body of The Impact of Educational Research project, Chapter 5 contributes to the overall work through exposing the real world of research impact in what is very likely the least understood of the educational sectors.