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The origins and focuses of adult education across Western countries are often about meeting adults' needs, and for purposes they have nominated, not those compelled by others. Unlike other sectors (e.g. schools, vocational colleges and universities) that were mainly initiated and sustained by church or state, adult education has long been grounded in communities and provided through hybrid institutions. Across Western countries, the term 'movement', is often associated with adult education's origins, and it is sometimes regarded as a 'fourth sector' of education, apart from schools, vocational education and training and university studies. In recent times, the concept has expanded and diversified, however, making it more amorphous and less distinctive as an educational 'sector'. Nevertheless, one of the continuing features of 'adult education' has been its concern for adults' learning needs and preferences.

This paper proposes that the formation and continuity of adult education have been based particularly on three key premises: (i) meeting adults' specific but heterogeneous learning needs; (ii) educational purposes and purposes being understood in the local context; and (iii) the enactment of adult education being shaped by local considerations. Furthermore, the values underpinning 'traditional' adult education have not only been sustained in what is now more commonly known as Adult and Community Education (ACE) but have expanded into other educational contexts. Informed by considerations of selected research projects the authors have been involved with in recent years, this paper identifies how the three premises have emerged as features of other educational provisions for adults.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

As many, perhaps most, high-school students engage in paid part-time employment, there is available in any Australian senior school classroom a range of work experiences that can be used to assist students to consider and reflect on working life and post-school pathways. Furthermore, these experiences are more readily available and authentic than those provided through school-organised work experience programmes. In order to understand the effectiveness of such experiences, students and teachers in six schools across two Australian states participated in processes of guided reflection on these experiences. Consistently, across cohorts of students in all of these schools, the authentic workplace experiences of paid part-time work were identified as assisting in securing a range of educational purposes associated with students’ learning about work, the world of work and post-school options and pathways. Key variables in the likely success of this initiative were the facilitative capacity of teachers, their knowledge and valuing of working life outside schools and students’ capacities and readiness to engage in reflection on their paid work.

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This guide, a product of research into workplace learning conducted by the author within the coal mining industry and across a range of workplaces in other industries, was intended to be used in the development, implementation and evaluation of work-based learning processes. It addresses three broad questions: (1) What are the attributes that learners need to acquire to become skilled vocational practitioners? (2) How can the workplace be used as a learning setting to develop these attributes? (3) What are some guidelines and principles for learning in the workplace? The contents are: Introduction; Qualities of vocational expertise; Workplace as a learning setting (Learning on-the-job; Apprenticeship as guided learning; Guided apprenticeship; Operational principles); Organising experiences for the learner; Mentoring role of expert; Guided apprenticeship-type learning in less-than-idea circumstances (isolated learners; processes that are not visible; lack of available expertise); Checklist for workplace learning; References. Show less

This project investigated the principles and practices underpinning the effective operation of social partnerships. The aim was to identify those principles and practices most beneficial in social partnerships supporting vocational education and training (VET). The project builds on prior research into social partnerships by examining the processes involved in social partnerships. The specific aims of this project were to investigate: the key principles and practices that underpin the formation, development and maintenance of the social practices effective in assisting localised decision-making and capacity-building; the effective enactment of these principles and practices as shaped in different ways across these social practices; and the ways in which these principles and practices are associated with establishing and developing social partnerships robust enough to manage changing circumstances, tasks and goals. This project is phase one of a two-phase project. Phase two will investigate the application of these principles and practices to VET in specific regions. The project involved reviewing 10 social partnerships in Queensland and Victoria during 2005-06, specifically those which had shown some history of operation and success. This review process aimed to: understand their formation, development and progress; determine internal and external factors influencing their formation and development; and identify principles and practices that have sustained these social partnerships and their partnership work over time. Data were collected from these 10 partnerships through interviews with up to three key informants in each, and focused on specific events in the development of the partnership in order to identify factors that either contributed to the development of, or served to undermine the partnership and partnership work. Three kinds of partnerships were identified: enacted partnerships; community partnerships; and negotiated partnerships. Analysis of the data indicated that these three kinds of partnerships may not be helpful in categorising social partnerships in their early or subsequent development, but their quite different bases need to be considered in the context of their initial formation, depending on the direction or initiation of the partnership project. The data show that social partnerships are established and maintained because participants engage in partnership work which is identified as the interactive and collaborative process of working together to identify, negotiate and articulate goals, and to develop processes for realising and reviewing those goals. The findings of this first phase of the research project have been used to identify and elaborate further the character of social partnerships and the work necessary for establishing and maintaining them. A key finding is that this is complex work, demanding significant skills in cross-cultural and interpersonal communication. Further findings cover the identification of different types of social partnerships; the central role of partnership work in the development and continuity of social partnerships; the principles and practices associated with partnerships and their development; and the types of partnership work. Show less

This bulletin summarises the findings of a research project on how to improve the status of vocational education and training (VET) so that it can be viewed a more worthwhile and viable post-school option by both young people and those who influence their decision-making about post-school pathways. The relatively low status of VET and the occupations it serves is a significant impediment for realising VET's economic and employment goals. This status influences young people and parents' decision-making about post-school pathways, and government, community and employer support. In an era of high aspiration, VET is often seen as an option only for those unable to secure university entry. This perception can lead to mismatches amongst the kinds of skills young people are learning and employment opportunities, with what employers seek in employees, and potentially lengthy and sometimes unproductive tertiary education experiences.

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This paper reports on the views of 20 teachers who were involved in designing and delivering higher education programs in TAFE institutes. It is part of a broader National Vocational Education and Training Research and Evaluation (NVETRE) funded project that examined the growth of, and implications for, higher education in TAFE. The aim of the project was to understand the purposes of such programs, how they have been developed and implemented, the impact they are having on institutional partnerships, how they are perceived by participants, and whether they open opportunities for students. One set of project interviews explored teachers' views of the nature of higher education programs in TAFE. In this paper, issues associated with the identity, concerns and professional positioning of teachers who are responsible for delivering higher education programs in TAFE institutes are explored. It is argued that this identity is a bifurcated one. On the one hand, these teachers are situated in a VET environment, with its attendant physical, industrial and resource implications, and a mandate to liaise closely with industry. Yet, simultaneously, they are expected to have completed post-graduate qualifications, provide course content and assessment regimes that are current but more intellectually demanding than those in the VET sector and find time to engage in scholarship and research activities. The paper is divided into three sections. It begins with a brief literature review of the phenomena of higher education in anglophone vocational or further education institutions. Next, the Griffith University project, 'Higher education in TAFE' is described. This is followed by a consideration of the four specific forms of tension, namely, epistemological, pedagogical, industrial and institutional, that were found to impact on the work and identity of the teachers who were interviewed in the study. The paper then concludes by considering the upshot of these tensions within the broader and changing landscape of higher and vocational education. Show less

This book addresses what is, perhaps, the single most important issue for vocational education; its relatively low standing in an era of high aspiration. The work explores the nature, extent and consequences for an educational sector that whilst having an increasingly important role in contemporary societies is seen to be of low standing across both countries with developed and developing economies. Some of the standing is associated with the occupation it serves and this is highlighted in an era of high aspiration by young people and their parents. The consequences are far-reaching. This includes how governments and community view and support vocational education, parents and familiars advise about participation in it and young people's decision-making associated with their post-school pathways.

More than describing this problem, the focus of this collection is how this issue can be redressed through the actions of supra-government agencies, governments, schools in tertiary education institutions, industry and professional bodies and employers. It sets out the quality and extent of societal sentiments in shaping how vocational education and the occupation it serves are projected, across countries, continents and cultures, and offers a range of perspectives and contributions from scholars on how this issue might be redressed. These contributions are drawn together and synthesised into sets of propositions, practices and approaches directed towards governments, schooling and tertiary education institutions, educators, researchers, industry and professional bodies and employers.

Edited excerpt from publisher's website.

The contents are as follows: Part one, 'The standing of vocational education: perennial issues, emerging concerns and ways forward', contains the following chapters: The standing of vocational education: a global concern with diverse meanings and implications / Barbara E. Stalder, Sarojni Choy, Anh Hai Le; Enhancing the standing and status of vocational education / Stephen Billett, Steven Hodge, Vibe Aarkrog. Part two, 'Issues, sources and consequences of the standing and status of vocational education', contains: Understanding the purpose and standing of technical and vocational education and training / Susan James Relly; Improving the standing of [vocational education and training] VET: perspectives from countries with developing economies / Stephen Billett, Anh Hai Le; The standing of dual apprenticeships in Germany: institutional stability and current challenges / Thomas Deissinger; Shaping young people's decision-making about post-school pathways: institutional and personal factors / Stephen Billett, Darryl Dymock, Steven Hodge, Sarojni Choy, Anh Hai Le.

Part three, 'Country studies of the standing of vocational education and the occupations it serves', contains the following chapters: Alternance training as a way to improve the attractivity of vocational education programmes in France / Laurent Veillard; Promoting the standing of VET in Finland: balancing the different aims of VET / Heta Rintala, Petri Nokelainen; Attractiveness of vocational education and training in India: perspectives of different actors with a special focus on employers / Matthias Pilz, Muthuveeran Ramasamy; The quality and status of school-based Norwegian VET / Hilde Hiim; Perspectives on informing post-school pathways: a Vietnamese case study / Anh Hai Le; Enhancing the standing of VET in Switzerland / Barbara E. Stalder, Fabienne Luthi; The significance of learning environment and decision-making for enrolment in and completion of VET: a Danish case / Vibe Aarkrog; Elevating the standing of vocational education and training in Romania / Maria-Carmen Pantea.

Part four, 'Enhancing the standing and status of vocational education: an Australian study', contains the following chapters: Investigating enhancing the standing of vocational education and the occupation it serves: purposes, processes and phases / Stephen Billett, Sarojni Choy, Steven Hodge, Anh Hai Le; Influences on post-school decision-making: perspectives of school students, parents, teachers (phase 1); Steven Hodge, Stephen Billett, Sarojni Choy; Surveys of students, parents and teachers (phase 2) / Sarojni Choy, Anh Hai Le, Steven Hodge, Stephen Billett; Informing and advising the zones of influence shaping young people's decision-making about post-school pathways (phase 3) / Stephen Billett, Darryl Dymock, Sarojni Choy, Steven Hodge, Anh Hai Le.

Individual chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 148.657 to TD/TNC 148.674. Show less

TAFE institutes now offer full-fee associate and bachelor degrees in five states. This provision is likely to increase as a consequence of policies of the Australian and state governments, which encourage diversity and competition among educational providers in both the vocational education and training (VET) and higher education sectors. This project seeks to fill gaps in knowledge about the nature of these programs: how they have been designed and implemented, the purposes they are designed to meet, the impact they are having on partnerships with universities and with industry partners, and whether they open opportunities for students. Arising from this research, this issues paper has two purposes: (1) to put TAFE institutes' offering of higher education programs in an analytic, historical, geographic and policy context; and (2) to raise for discussion issues about higher education in TAFE in Australia. Issues raised for discussion include the governance of mixed-sector institutions as well as ensuring access and maintaining progression to higher education without sectoral division in the institution. Implications arising from the Bradley review of higher education (indexed at TD/LMR 85.696) are canvassed and the authors invite discussion on a range of questions related to the nature of policies and practices influencing the provision of higher education in TAFE. Show less

Context: The transitions adults negotiate across their working lives as they secure, maintain and develop further employability through their learning are of interest to governments, workplaces, and workers themselves.

Approach: Through analyses of worklife history interview data with 30 working age adults, distinct kinds of changes comprising these transitions have been delineated as representative of changes that have person-particular meanings and impacts. This delineation represents understandings of processes and outcomes for adults' learning and development.

Findings: These transitions have specific kinds of scope, duration, and impacts in terms of continuity/discontinuity with individuals' earlier activities and knowing. These transitions were identified as being of six kinds: (i) life stages, (ii) employment status, (iii) occupations, (iv) relocations, (v) health, and (vi) personal preference or trajectories.

Conclusion: Such findings point to a broader range of educative experiences than those privileged in lifelong educational provisions and the importance as viewing curriculum as being a personal, rather than institutional pathway.

Published abstract. Show less

This monograph examines the growth and implications of higher education offered by TAFE institutes. It is the culmination of desktop research and interviews with staff from state offices of higher education, senior managers at dual-sector universities, TAFE institutes that offer higher education and some that do not, and teachers and students across six states. It also considers several implications arising from the Bradley Review of Australian Higher Education (2008). Key messages in the report include: (i) while numbers of higher education students in TAFE are small, these may well increase as governments strive to both meet their equity objectives and boost the proportion of the Australian population with a degree; (ii) a distinctive, although not unique, feature of higher education courses in TAFE is their applied orientation; (iii) some of the TAFE institutes offering higher education see themselves developing as polytechnics, while others view their offering of higher education qualifications as an extension of their role as vocational education and training (VET) providers; (iv) mixed-sector TAFE institutes aim to help their students negotiate the boundaries between VET and higher education qualifications and adapt to learning in university, including through the provision of greater learning support; (v) institutional and industrial relations structures are impeding growth of higher education in TAFE institutes; and (vi) almost every person consulted in the project raised the issue of TAFE’s profile and its perceived lower status compared with universities.

A podcast of an Interview with Leesa Wheelahan about this publication is indexed at TD/TNC 95.20 Show less