Organising Senior Learning through a hub-and-spoke model: the integration of vocational education and training across Queensland secondary schools

The exploratory case study reported in this thesis investigated organisational changes occurring in Senior Learning (Years 10-12) in Queensland through the introduction of vocational education and training in order to develop a better understanding of hub-and-spoke mode of organising inter-school links with industry. The main research question is: What does this exploratory case study reveal about the 'hub-and-spoke' mode of organising groups of Secondary School around particular by industries, specifically in terms of Government policies, school curricula, teacher professional learning, school communications and student outcomes? The contributory research questions concern the strategies Government policies use to drive organisational changes in Senior School through [VET in Schools] VETiS; what public representations of Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA) schools' curricula say about the offering of VETiS-related courses and/or activities; the initiatives and investment of the QMEA schools and their teachers' involvement in professional learning; what is the variety of public communications QMEA schools engage in about VETiS and the QMEA; and what changes have occurred in students' choices in their immediate post-school destinations from 2008 through 2009 to 2010. This thesis contributes important new knowledge about organisational changes with respect to planning a curriculum that is responsive to diverse needs of students, school timetabling, the venues for education and teacher professional learning, an area that is highly under-represented in the research literature. This makes this research significant and important.

Based on the analysis of the evidence, this thesis draws seven key findings in the final Chapter, which also recaps, emphasises and rounds off the main aspects of this study. First, the hub-and-spoke mode of Secondary School organisation is a potentially effective strategy for re-organising groups of schools to support work-integrated education and training so as to enhance successful and smooth post-school transitions for young adults. Second, although Governments' policies say little about the motives, principles and strategies for such an innovative organisational mode, the lack of adequate funding is an important issue in driving organisational changes in Senior Schools through VETiS. Third, although some QMEA schools provided their students with various VETiS courses, programs and activities in their school curricula producing varied results, going to university was not the dominant outcome. Fourth, most of schools' initiatives for professional learning focused on academic learning or training. However, teachers' involvement in teacher professional learning is not in direct proportion to the QMEA schools' initiatives and investment in it. Fifth, although all the seven QMEA schools that were studied in-depth are engaged in providing information about VETiS and/or the QMEA for purposes of public communication, there exist differences in both variety and amount. Sixth, while several changes have occurred in students' choices of immediate post-school destinations, no one was found to be decisive. Lastly, historical issues about vocational education continue to exist in the current debates concerning academic versus vocational schooling, reflecting the continuing relatively low social status of vocational education.

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