Fit for purpose?: reforming tertiary education in Australia: discussion paper

This paper reviews the basis upon which tertiary education is constructed in Australia. It considers whether the existing structure is serving Australia's interests. It concludes that the broader aim that underpinned Australia's tertiary education - that is, a skilled workforce and increasing participation by disadvantaged groups in higher education, combined with high quality teaching - has not been achieved and never will be, if the existing framework is maintained. The paper suggests that the theoretical underpinnings for higher education are flawed as a result of a misconception about the drivers of student access and success. That the underpinnings of vocational education in Australia are based on discarded and unproven ideologies. Using data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that compares skilled workforces internationally, it is suggested that our existing tertiary structure has led to a hollowing out of skills within the Australian economy. That is, if the current arrangements are allowed to continue, Australia will become internationally uncompetitive.

In considering reform, the paper acknowledges the power of a rising middle class and established elites to use higher education to advance or buttress social position. It suggests that the movement towards mass systems of education can lower quality, especially if for profit providers operate. A proposition is advanced that in any reform of tertiary education, the starting point has to be at the upper secondary education level. An analysis of Australian student outcomes in years 11 and 12 over a four-year period indicates that the outcomes are unimpressive. Drawing on an understanding of tertiary systems in Nordic countries, Germany, and the nascent UK initiatives, a framework for reform is advanced that collapses Certificates I to III into one, two year upper secondary professional certificate taught in TAFE institutions. The certificate has a broad-based vocational focus and has minimum requirements in literacy and numeracy. An additional strand is added to Australia's vocational education framework with the creation of teaching-focussed professional universities that are underpinned by adult learning concepts and extensive lower level vocational programs. These arrangements create a binary system in Australia, as well as enhancing diversity. The purpose of the professional universities is to provide an unencumbered pathway for students both young and mature age to undertake advanced tertiary studies. A number of issues are explored in regard to the advantages and barriers to the proposed reform.

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