This paper discusses history as a policy tool and presents an approach to achieving impact in education research. It draws on a project funded by the Australian National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), which examined, in light of current policy considerations, the binary policy formulated in the mid-1960s to deliver an affordable and diverse system of higher education in Australia. The policy was based on the Robbins principle that university places 'should be available to all who are qualified by ability and attainment to pursue them and who wish to do so'. The first... [+] Show more
This paper discusses history as a policy tool and presents an approach to achieving impact in education research. It draws on a project funded by the Australian National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), which examined, in light of current policy considerations, the binary policy formulated in the mid-1960s to deliver an affordable and diverse system of higher education in Australia. The policy was based on the Robbins principle that university places 'should be available to all who are qualified by ability and attainment to pursue them and who wish to do so'. The first part of the project revisited the 1964 Martin report on which the policy was based and its ensuing implementation. That exercise identified several enduring problems - beyond the central matter of funding - for tertiary education policy: the elusiveness of the goals of diversity and parity of esteem; obstacles to seamless pathways within education and to work; how best to foster and fund research; and the complexity of the system's governance, especially in the Australian federation.
NCVER's impact model underlines the importance of stakeholder engagement at points during the research as well as in its dissemination phase. The project therefore included a second element in which the identified themes were put before senior figures in Australian tertiary education, who were asked to offer ideas for the future. The roundtable discussion (conducted under Chatham House rules) resulted in some bold suggestions. The author drew on these to make some preliminary sketches for a new educational landscape. These included a more staged tertiary progression, either from comprehensive teaching institutions to universities offering professionally oriented education or more research-intense activity, or within vertically integrated institutions teaching at certificate to postgraduate levels for a family of occupations. All elements of the system would be underpinned by scholarly practice and creative uses of technology. The system would support those with the capability and the desire to move from one part to another to fulfil their potential and remain engaged workers and citizens. Its differentiation would be achieved by nurturing greater status for applied learning and more targeted use of research funds. Governance arrangements would foster individual missions and reward partnerships that contribute to innovation and productivity. The project was being completed just as the government introduced radical measures to uncap tuition fees and reduce public funding for university study. The immediate impact of the research on the lively debate aroused by the planned reforms is unlikely to be significant, in part because of the misfit between the pace of research and of current policy development in Australia.
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