Vocational Education In Australia Research Articles

Victoria’s change-model to TAFE: building a framework for tertiary education

ABSTRACT This thesis presents the findings of research into institutional change and how structural re-modelling of TAFEs in Victoria may be assessed as fit-for-purpose for institutions operating in tertiary education. Technical and Further Education (‘TAFE’) in Australia developed a distinctive identity during the twentieth century, yet institutional arrangements were not static: this involved the reorientation of vocational education in Australia to be funded and regulated under the auspice of micro-economic reform national policy. This institutional change triggered incremental transformation across Australia’s complex federalism and shared institutional structures and ultimately impacted TAFEs as state organisations. The thesis applies gradual change theoretical modelling to these TAFE Institutes, adopting an empirical research method that records the insights and reflections of that leadership through this change. This intra-organisational analysis seeks to explore the challenges of organisational leaders through changing institutional dynamics and the extent (or otherwise) of strategic change modelling while also reviewing outcomes including suitability of TAFE governance. The research question is to explore if, or to what extent, does the conceptual framework of gradual institutional change assist to explain (and model) the policy changes at the Victorian TAFEs during this changing environment. The thesis contends that this may be a viable framework that may enable predictive modelling of change for TVET institutions, as public and private sector organisations manage their sustainability in a broader competitive tertiary education sector.

Understanding fully online teaching in vocational education

Literature has previously reported that student-centred practices are the mark of good pedagogy in online education. In contrast, the competency-based nature of vocational education in Australia has been understood to encourage teacher-centred pedagogy. The likely tensions between these two teaching contexts are not yet understood, and little is yet known about the pedagogy of fully online vocational education teachers. To begin understanding pedagogy in this context, a wide-ranging digital survey was implemented. Findings revealed that online vocation education teachers conceived good online pedagogy as student-centred, yet student-student learning opportunities were rated lower than teacher-student practices. Notably, enacted practice was consistently more teacher-centred than teachers’ ideal, and factors within the teaching context were perceived by teachers as a limitation. They reported their workload to be dominated by marking and administration ahead of student-centred practices such as building rapport. This work is of interest to researchers and institutions navigating the continued expansion of online education and the ongoing demand for effective student-centred practice.

Comparative Studies on Credit Systems of Secondary Vocational Education in Australia and Finland

Comparative Studies on Credit Systems of Secondary Vocational Education in Australia and Finland

Patching bits won’t fix vocational education in Australia – a new model is needed

Australia’s vocational education and training (VET) qualifications comprise units of competency that are bundled together in qualifications and nestled in training packages developed for particular industries. This article argues that this model is broken and cannot be fixed by patching bits of the system. Competency-based training (CBT) is based on an atomistic ontology that results in the fragmentation of knowledge and the atomisation of skill. CBT underpins a fragmented VET system with thousands of qualifications. It facilitates a market that has resulted in: thousands of private providers; the erosion of technical and further education (TAFE) institutions as the public provider; the transfer of unprecedented amounts of public funding to private profits; and, scandals and rorts. The same atomistic ontology underpins VET qualifications, the VET system and the VET market. The article concludes by briefly discussing an alternative model of qualifications using the capabilities approach.

Targeting multiple health risk behaviours among vocational education students using electronic feedback and online and telephone support: protocol for a cluster randomised trial

BackgroundTechnical and Further Education (TAFE) colleges are the primary provider of vocational education in Australia. Most TAFE students are young adults, a period when health risk behaviours become established. Furthermore, high rates of smoking, risky alcohol consumption, inadequate fruit and vegetable intake and insufficient physical activity have been reported in TAFE students. There have been no intervention studies targeting multiple health risk behaviours simultaneously in this population. The proposed trial will examine the effectiveness of providing TAFE students with electronic feedback regarding health risk behaviours and referral to a suite of existing online and telephone services addressing smoking, risky alcohol consumption, fruit and vegetable intake, and physical activity levels.Methods/DesignA two arm, parallel, cluster randomised trial will be conducted within TAFE campuses in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. TAFE classes will be randomly allocated to an intervention or control condition (50 classes per condition). To be eligible, students must be: enrolled in a course that runs for more than 6 months; aged 16 years or older; and not meet Australian health guideline recommendations for at least one of the following: smoking, alcohol consumption, fruit and/or vegetable intake, or physical activity. Students attending intervention classes, will undertake via a computer tablet a risk assessment for health risk behaviours, and for behaviours not meeting Australian guidelines be provided with electronic feedback about these behaviours and referral to evidence-based online programs and telephone services. Students in control classes will not receive any intervention. Primary outcome measures that will be assessed via online surveys at baseline and 6 months post-recruitment are: 1) daily tobacco smoking; 2) standard drinks of alcohol consumed per week; 3) serves of fruit consumed daily; 4) serves of vegetables consumed daily; and 5) metabolic equivalent minutes of physical activity per week.DiscussionProactive enrolment to existing online and telephone services has the potential to address modifiable determinants of disease. This trial will be the first to examine a potentially scalable intervention targeting multiple health risk behaviours among students in the vocational training setting.Trial RegistrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12615000105549; Registered 5/2/15

A case for scholarly activity in vocational education in Australia

Purpose – As neoliberal reforms take hold in the vocational education and training (VET) sector in Australia, there is renewed interest in the quality of teaching practice. However, despite the value of practitioner inquiry to the quality of teaching in schools, scholarly practice in higher education, and established links between the quality of teaching and outcomes for learners and between practice-based inquiry and pedagogic innovation in VET, the practices has received little attention. The purpose of this paper is to explore the value of a college-wide culture of scholarly activity to learners, enterprises, VET institutions, educators and the national productivity agenda. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on the education literature, empirical examples of scholarly activity drawn from the authors’ experiences of working with VET practitioners, this paper asks what constitutes research and inquiry in VET, why should these practices be integral to educative practice and what value do they bring to the sector? In addressing the questions, the authors explore how research and inquiry is defined in the literature and draw on three empirical examples of scholarly activities to provide a national, institutional and individual view. A discussion about the value of scholarly activities to VET stakeholders and how the practices might be fostered and sustained concludes the paper. Findings – The paper concludes that practice-based scholarly activities in VET cultivate rich potential for renewed and innovative pedagogies that improve outcomes for learners, respond to industry demands for innovative skills, build “pedagogic capital” for VET institutions, enrich the knowledge base of policy makers and build resilience and professionalism. The authors conclude by positioning VET educators as scholars in their own right along a continuum of scholarly activity and posing the proposition that when valued, scholarly activities are practices for new times that will build a strong and vibrant profession for the future. Research limitations/implications – This paper brings together the authors’ experiences of working with VET practitioners as the authors engage in scholarly activities. While each vignette was drawn from a formal research project in each case, the paper itself was not structured around a formal research activity, although a small survey was undertaken for vignette 1. This poses limitations to the findings of the study. However, the purpose of the paper is not to be conclusive but to forward an argument for more scholarly activity in VET in order to promote further research and debate. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the current debate in Australia about the quality of teaching in VET and the sectors’ capability to produce “work-ready” graduates. It brings to the fore the value of scholarly activity for educators, learners, industry and communities, VET institutions and the broader national innovation agenda. As such, it has relevance to all VET stakeholders, most particularly policy makers, leaders and practitioners in VET.

A lost opportunity? Vocational education in physical education

Background: Vocational education in Australia and elsewhere has a history of being gendered and classed, thereby limiting the post-school options of students undertaking this form of study. Drawing on Foucauldian theory, the authors used Gore's eight techniques of power to examine the micro-functioning of power relations at two case sites. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine learning outcomes of Physical Recreation (PR), motivation of students selecting PR, and the implications of training in this vocationally-oriented subject in terms of their learning and post-school options. More specifically, we explored the following research questions: what motivated students to select PR; what were the learning outcomes for PR students and what did PR students perceive as their post-school options. Participants, setting and research design: Two schools (Seinfeld and Bedrock), each with different socio-economic and PR strand composition, were purposefully selected for the study. The PR Year 11 and 12 students, aged 15–19 years, at both schools were invited to complete an introductory survey. From the survey data 12 key informant students, two teachers and two teacher aides became central to the ongoing qualitative data collection for this study. Data collection: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with key informant students (one to four interviews), teachers (two to three) and teachers’ aides (one to two). During the class visits, field notes were recorded using a hand-held tape recorder focusing upon key informants’ reactions to course content, their learning experiences, and the social interactions between key informants and teachers. Documents were also collected to contextualize PR. Data analysis: First, the authors analyzed the data following the method of constant comparison using NVivo, a software package that assists researchers in the analysis of qualitative or text-based data. The authors analyzed the units emerging from the data and the placement of those units into key themes. After the data were clustered into key themes, the authors examined the discourses within the themes that positioned both teachers and students in particular power relationships using Gore's eight techniques of power. Findings: Results indicated that the students selected PR based on the expectation of minimal academic requirements. The students’ learning focused on technical skills using logbooks to monitor their completion of modules for certification rather than more complex and engaging tasks. The binary system of vocational and academic streams of learning impacted the career pathway options available to students undertaking PR and teacher expectations of the students’ post-school options. There was a lack of interest (or willingness of teachers to take action) and resources invested in post-school options for PR students, contributing to limited life pathway options. Conclusions: The authors concluded that a curriculum model of physical education that has a vocational orientation could be beneficial to the schooling of senior secondary students. In order for students to receive favourable outcomes, it must employ educational content and pedagogies that offer alternatives to competency-based training and provides students with a range of post-school options.

Commonwealth power in respect of vocational education in Australia: some historical vignettes with future potential.

Intervention in vocational education and training by the federal level of government in Australia (the Commonwealth) expanded exponentially in the last quarter of the 20th century, after halting and intermittent involvement in earlier decades. Such intervention in a field of public policy once considered the exclusive preserve of the States requires the assertion of a relevant head of power in the written constitution to ensure validity. Over the years a variety of powers has been deployed and a recent High Court case has opened the way for more far reaching intrusion. A review of earlier attempts to justify federal involvement suggests that the way is now open for uncontested Commonwealth control if it chooses to exercise it.

From your business to our business: industry and vocational education in Australia

Over the last 20 years, the voice of business and its impact upon Australian vocational education have transformed. These changes comprise the reluctance of enterprise to be involved; industry determining what is taught and assessed, and how; the principles for administering vocational education; and attempts to use vocational education to reform the schooling system. These transformations and government complicity in them are enmeshed in the restructuring of the Australian economy, allegedly in response to an increasingly competitive and globalised economy. They were also facilitated by vocational education continuing to be misunderstood and having low status. However, the expanded leadership role afforded to Australian business has not been matched by its purchase on the complexity of educational issues and practice, including the need to encompass other interests (e.g. small business and students). While vocational education has become the business of business, it seems it is business not understood. Even in addressing its own purposes (i.e. work readiness), business has demonstrated a preference for ideological and näive imperatives that have proved inadequate. Along the way, the goals for vocational education and standing of its institutions, practitioners and students have all been transformed, probably to their detriment.

Defining the demand side of vocational education and training: industry, enterprises, individuals and regions

The need for vocational education to respond to demand-side factors has become a key policy goal for vocational education in Australia. However, what comprises the demand side has not been critically appraised. Assumptions that only industry and enterprises comprise the demand side are questioned by the legitimate claims for inclusion by regions and individuals. Taking this more inclusive definition of the demand side of vocational education, the outcomes of a study that investigated the changing relationships between industry and enterprises are reported. It also mapped the needs of the four client groups. Identified are both commonality and difference in these needs, some of which are not readily reconcilable within an enterprise or industry-led vocational education system. Means for reconciling the needs of the client groups within curriculum development are discussed, as are some supply-side considerations.

The learning context within technical and further education colleges as perceived by apprentices and their workplace supervisors

Technical and Further Education Colleges are the main providers of formal vocational education in Australia. This article investigates the perceived contribution of these Colleges to the development of skilled trade-persons. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from apprentice trade-persons and their workplace supervisors. The study shows that these Colleges do provide an important context that promotes vocational learning for apprentice trades-persons. The major strength of TAFE is the opportunity to practice with teacher feedback, without the press of production. In this context their skills improved and they learnt aspects of their trade that were not learnt in the workplace. The significance of these results is that TAFE colleges are perceived to provide ‘workplace learning’ that is not available to apprentices in particular workplaces.

Gender and the restructuring of work and vocational education in Australia: some perilous possibilities

This paper discusses the restructuring of the world of work and education and training in Australia and its implications for women and girls. It outlines some of the ways in which government policies are restructuring the Australian workforce and workplaces and points to the promises this agenda makes and the possible price of these for women. It then focuses on the changes taking place in the post‐compulsory years of schooling, also in Australia, looking at both the policies that are reshaping the curriculum to make it more oriented to the workplace and at the implications this has for the post‐school options of young women. In this regard it points to the ways in which the notions of ‘a workplace’ and ‘the competent worker’ which are inherent in policy are deeply gendered, suggests that the definition of ‘effective participation’ is disempowering for workers generally and women workers particularly and that the specific vocational competencies on offer are likely to be particularly unhelpful for women and girls. Overall the paper argues that the restructuring agenda offers girls and women ‘perilous possibilities’.