This report draws together the results of the Australian National Training Authority Research Advisory Council (ANTARAC) project on the impact of research on vocational education and training (VET) decision making. The report describes the five approaches taken to the project by the research team: (i) a review of relevant literature, noting that there is no single approach to the issue of the impact of research, either generally, or specifically in VET; (ii) a symposium (Links between research and policy, planning and performance in vocational education and training, Melbourne, 19-20... [+] Show more
This report draws together the results of the Australian National Training Authority Research Advisory Council (ANTARAC) project on the impact of research on vocational education and training (VET) decision making. The report describes the five approaches taken to the project by the research team: (i) a review of relevant literature, noting that there is no single approach to the issue of the impact of research, either generally, or specifically in VET; (ii) a symposium (Links between research and policy, planning and performance in vocational education and training, Melbourne, 19-20 February 1997) to identify key issues promptly and draw on different perspectives and approaches to the research question; (iii) quantitative studies to provide information on the scope and nature of the impact of VET research; (iv) case studies to explore the influence of the factors identified in the literature and in discussion at the symposium in the context of particular situations; and (v) reference to overseas experience and perspectives. The contributions of each of the complementary approaches are brought together in the first chapter, the synthesis chapter, which also contains the responses to an earlier draft from overseas correspondents with expertise in the area.