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Maintaining and improving the capacity to be effective in work is held now to become an important social goal in order to maintain, individual, local and national well-being, including standard of living (Organisation of Economic and Cultural Development [OECD], 1996). Yet, without knowing more about how individuals are able to engage in work and learn through that work, and are motivated to continue to learn, there can be no certainty about whether the expectations upon individuals are realistic. This paper reports the initial findings of an investigation that aims to understand something of these relations through understanding the working lives of five individuals. It aims to explore these individuals’ working lives including how they exercised their agency ethically at work. In doing so, it aims to identify how this agency is shaped by individuals’ identity and subjectivity, and how these shape their participation in, and learning through, work.

Published abstract reprinted by the permission of the copyright owner.

The volumes from which this paper is taken are indexed from TD/TNC 77.351 to TD/TNC 77.353. Individual papers are indexed from TD/TNC 77.354 to TD/TNC 77.437. Show less

Governments are keen to enact policies to secure greater contributions from Australian enterprises for the skill development of their employees. Drawing on a review of international literature and data from interviews, a series of policy options are discussed and evaluated in this paper. A number of funding models are described. However, before evaluating the applicability of particular models, the purposes that government is seeking to realise through policy measures need to be clarified. These purposes range from securing a greater private sector contribution to the cost of the vocational education system through to a focus on developing employees’ skills. Different purposes will warrant different kinds of action, kinds of expenditure and policy measures. In considering what policy options are most viable, evidence from the implementation of policy elsewhere is used to discuss and predict the viability and outcomes of those measures implemented here.

Published abstract reprinted by the permission of the copyright owner.

Volumes of papers are indexed from TD/TNC 77.351 to TD/TNC 77.353. Individual papers are indexed from TD/TNC 77.354 to TD/TNC 77.437. Show less

This paper draws on a series of studies of workplace learning experiences to identify and illuminate a set of reciprocal participatory practices that constitute bases for workplace pedagogic practices. These practices are, on the one hand, how workplaces afford opportunities for individuals to participate in the workplace activities and interactions from which they initially learn, refine and extend what they have learnt. These affordances distribute the opportunities for what and in what ways individuals are invited to learn in the workplace. On the other hand, is the degree by which individuals elect to engage in the workplace and learn. Underpinning this engagement are bases of identity, self and subjectivity, that shape participation in and learning from social practices such as workplaces. These reciprocal premises are explored and elaborated drawing on data from studies of learning in contemporary workplaces. In particular, an investigation of three workers over a period of six months is used to illustrate and illuminate these reciprocal practices.

Selected papers from this conference are indexed from TD/TNC 77.35 to TD/TNC 77.50 and from TD/TNC 77.215 to TD/TNC 77.218. Show less

This report presents the findings of a research project on learning in and for small business with the aim of identifying effective approaches to small business learning and validating those approached with other small businesses. It used the recent implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) and its associated business activity statement (BAS) to study how small business learn and develop the capacities to respond to new tasks and challenges. It was anticipated that there would be no single or uniformly viable approach. Case studies were developed and semi-structured interviews were conducted in thirty small businesses representing a diversity of locations, sizes and specialities, across two states. The project proceeded in four phases: (1) small business learning about and implementing the GST; (2) identifying and delineating a model for learning in small business; (3) appraising a model of learning in small business; and (4) reporting and dissemination. The project found that small businesses had different capacities to learn the ‘same’ task and the scope of the learning task was also different across the small businesses. However, despite the diversity there were some identifiable patterns of responses which assisted in the development of a model of learning in and for small business. It is recommended that vocational education and training (VET) policy and practice be more invitational to small business. Show less

This paper examines how the learning of new practices occurs in small businesses and identifies and elaborates the role played by localised support in: (1) developing an understanding of a new practice; (2) its implications for the particular small business; and (3) providing assistance with the implementation, monitoring and refinement of small business operators’ and workers’ capacity to be able to enact the practice independently. The key role played by the agentic actions of the small business operators is also identified. Together with the localised support these actions constituted instances of learning spaces that are distinct and remote from the provision of taught courses within educational institutions. These interactions suggest the need for a broadened conception of what constitutes legitimate learning situations and pedagogic practices.

Selected papers from this conference are indexed from TD/TNC 77.35 to TD/TNC 77.50 and from TD/TNC 77.215 to TD/TNC 77.218. Show less

It is generally assumed in the Australian VET [vocational education and training] policy community that employer investment in skill development lags well behind that of our major trading partners and competitors and that investment is falling in real terms. Whilst the ABS [Australian Bureau of Statistics] training expenditure survey suggests that employer investment decreased in the mid-1990s, data from other sources produces a more complex picture of employer training in Australia. Data from the training practices survey, the survey of education and training experience and the business longitudinal survey together show that 80 per cent of Australians receive some form of training from their employers, between a third and half of Australians take part in formal, structured training in the workplace and that over 85 per cent of Australian enterprises employing 10 or more people provide training for their employees. There are a number of approaches that governments around the world, including in Australia, have taken towards to creating a climate that is more conducive to employer investment in skills development. These include voluntaristic approaches such as the Investors in People scheme in the UK, the creation of industry training funds such as those in the Netherlands and the imposition of employer levies. Often these schemes are tightly bound to the social, cultural and economic contexts of their countries making them difficult to reproduce. This paper will discuss some of the major international approaches that have been developed towards increasing employers' investments in training and their successes and failures.

Published abstract.

The collection of refereed papers is indexed at TD/TNC 73.622; individual refereed papers are indexed from TD/TNC 73.623 to TD/TNC 73.650. The collection of non refereed papers is indexed at TD/TNC 73.651; non-refereed papers are indexed from TD/TNC 73.652 to TD/TNC 73.680. Show less

A greater acknowledgment of the interdependence between individual and social agency is warranted within current conceptions of learning, and policy and practice within adult and vocational education. Currently, some accounts of learning tend to overly privilege situational agency to the detriment of the more widely sourced, relational and negotiated contributions of individual and social agency. As these accounts fail to fully acknowledge the accumulated outcome of interaction between the cognitive and social experience that shapes human cognition ontogentically and remakes culture, they remain incomplete and unsatisfactory. In a different way, social agency is also overly privileged in current conceptions of vocations, vocational education and its policy and practice within Australia. A consideration of individual intentionality and agency and its interdependence with social and historical contributions is proposed to balance views that privilege particular social influences in current conceptions of vocational practice and its development.

Published abstract reprinted by the permission of the copyright owner.

The volumes from which this paper is taken are indexed from TD/TNC 77.351 to TD/TNC 77.353. Individual papers are indexed from TD/TNC 77.354 to TD/TNC 77.437. Show less

Understanding how learning for small businesses should best proceed constitutes a worthwhile, yet challenging, pedagogic project. In order to maintain their viability, small businesses need to be able to respond to new practices and tasks. Yet small businesses seem neither attracted to nor to value the kinds of taught courses that are the standard pedagogic practice of vocational education systems. Small business operators commonly view these courses as being irrelevant, inappropriate or inaccessible. Therefore, identifying the kinds of pedagogic practices that meet their needs and offer effective learning outcomes is a useful project. This paper reports and discusses the findings of a study of how 30 Australian small businesses learnt to implement a new practice: a recently introduced goods and service tax (GST). Interviews were used to understand the pedagogic practices that supported the learning associated with implementing the GST. In most cases, the process of learning comprised a movement from an initial reliance upon external contributions to a greater independence in practice premised on capacities residing within the small businesses. The key and most commonly reported contributions were those provided by localised support and expertise (e.g. experts such as affiliates, accountants, consultants, family, other small businesses). Localised support was potent when it assisted in identifying the goals for learning (e.g. the scope and requirements of the task) and the development of capacities to operate independently, as well as supporting and monitoring the progress with this innovation. A model of learning in small business was generated and validated through further interviews with small businesses. The model illuminates the need to go beyond the orthodox pedagogic practice of vocational education and training to consider options, such as localised learning spaces as the key source of small business learning.

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This chapter critically discusses guided learning processes and outcomes within the context of vocational education and training (VET). The author suggests that vocational practice is socially constructed, thus VET should incorporate social learning methods. Guidance introduces a learner to knowledge that may be otherwise inaccessible. The author outlines implications for curriculum development by considering curriculum goals and participatory practices. Implications for teaching and learning are outlined with the aid of a case study in which guided learning is used by an experienced worker to introduce a new employee to the practices of the workplace. The complete volume is indexed at TD/TNC 77.461; individual chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 77.462 to TD/TNC 77.472. Show less

Internationally, governments are keen to identify and enact policies to encourage increased contributions from enterprises for the skill development of their employees. However, the goals for these policies often remain unclear and the means of securing these purposes are vexed. Drawing on a review of international literature and interviews with expert informants, a series of policy options are discussed and evaluated in this article in the Australian context. These options include mandated national levies, sectoral and local levies, regulated licensing, schemes that seek to share the cost burden, and those that aim to change employers’ attitudes towards vocational education and training. In considering what policy options are most viable, evidence from their implementation elsewhere are used to discuss and predict the utility and likely outcomes of those measures being implemented in Australia. In all, schemes that involve, include and capture the interest of employers are held to be the most desirable and likely to be supported. Yet, even these may not be able to achieve goals of a fuller commitment to, and an equal distribution of, opportunities for all workers. Although Australia serves as the focus for this article, its deliberations probably have implications elsewhere.

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