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The integration of workplace and school-based experiences is necessary for effective vocational education and training (VET) in schools programs. Access to authentic workplace experiences are likely to be important for programs which both aim to develop an awareness of the world of work as well as to develop specific vocational knowledge. The utilisation of students’ paid part-time work in conjunction with classroom activities has the potential to enrich learning about the world of work and develop the knowledge required for working life. Show less

TAFE institutes offering higher education degrees is a relatively new concept, but the practice is expected to grow as a consequence of government policies aimed at increasing the percentage of Australians holding a bachelor degree. Five research overviews have been developed to accompany the research report on this issue. These overviews draw out the implications of the research for TAFE teachers and managers, staff development and public policy, as well as the issues raised in relation to the status of TAFE degrees. The overviews are based on the research report 'Higher education in TAFE' by Leesa Wheelahan, Gavin Moodie, Stephen Billett and Ann Kelly (indexed at TD/TNC 96.18). Overviews include: Implications for teachers; Status; Implications for staff development; Implications for public policy; Implications for TAFE managers. 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 paper discusses experiences of racism and racial discrimination of seven refugee immigrants attending different courses at two Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutes in South East Queensland, Australia. In doing so, the paper draws from two studies that focused on resettlement of refugee immigrants in Australia. A transformative psychosocial approach is used to explore the students' experiences of racism and racial discrimination at the TAFE institutes. Acknowledging the historical constructions of racism in Australia, the paper proposes an anti-racism framework to buttress the students against experiences of racial discrimination at the TAFE institutes. The proposed anti-racism framework has three components; the National Anti-Racism Strategy, the vocational and education system and TAFE institutes and individual refugee immigrant students. The Bubalamai Bawa Gumada is suggested as a possible anti-racism strategy that could enable the refugee immigrant students challenge racial discrimination.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner.

This article is part of a special issue entitled 'VET, race and ethnicity', guest edited by James Avis, Kiran Mirchandani and Paul Warmington. Show less

This research examines the processes of forming, maintaining and sustaining social partnerships. It builds on phase one of this project, which investigated the principles and practices underpinning the effective operation of ten social partnerships involving the vocational education and training (VET) sector around Australia, reported in ‘Forming, developing and sustaining social partnerships’, indexed at TD/TNC 83.08. Through four case studies, phase two aimed to: verify the importance/applicability of the key principles and practices as identified in phase one; assess the ways in which the principles and practices are associated with establishing and developing social partnerships robust enough to manage changing circumstances, tasks and goals; and evaluate the usefulness of these principles and practices as a tool to inform the work of social partnerships. The study found that social partnerships make a significant contribution to VET in Australia. However, this research has found they can be fragile, with their sustainability relying on the recognition that goodwill and individual commitment cannot replace realistic funding of reasonable duration; availability of personnel with appropriate skills to meet skill needs; and succession authority delegated through government endorsement, a democratic foundation that gives them legitimacy in their communities. Show less

This chapter critically appraises the potential of action learning as a professional development strategy for teachers. Using the case of a professional development programme that prepared vocational teachers to become industry consultants, the chapter examines the potential and the impediments of this approach to managing change in technical and vocational education. The chapter commences with a brief commentary on individual change or learning from cognitive and social constructivist and change-theory perspectives. Next the case study is described and findings from an evaluation of the programme are discussed. Finally, some conclusions are drawn about how the action learning-based approaches to educational change might be best enacted and evaluated.

Published introduction.

The book from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 100.51. Individual chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 100.52 to TD/TNC 100.244. Show less

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

In the overview chapter of this section, the author discusses the teaching profession as it relates to the provision of technical and vocational education and training (TVET). TVET teaching covers a broad spectrum. In some countries, TVET is firmly based in the development of skills for specific occupations. This requires teachers with specialist trade skills. In other countries, TVET may be intermingled with other types of general education. In many Asian countries, vocational education is part of the secondary school curriculum and is taught by teachers with little or no experience outside the school system. The roles undertaken by TVET professionals are varied and so will be their initial teacher education and their continuing professional development. The author also mentions the low standing in which TVET teachers are often held, partly due to the low standing in which TVET itself is held. The chapter concludes with an overview of the other chapters in this section.

The book from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 100.51. Individual chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 100.52 to TD/TNC 100.244. Show less

Steve Davis interviews a collection of presenters from three panel discussions at the 30th National Vocational Education and Training Research Conference 'No Frills', held on 7-9 July 2021. Speakers are Professor John Buchanan, The University of Sydney; Ms Megan Lilly, Australian Industry Group; Dr Kaye Bowman, Callan Consulting Group; Mr Michael Hartman, Skills Impact; Dr Martha Kinsman, Australian National University; and Professor Stephen Billett, Griffith University. Topics covered in the lively discussion include future-focused education and training delivered with, and in, industry; the 'futures' of work; understanding employers' training choices; and what is a vocational education and training (VET) system fit for the future?

Edited abstract from publisher's website. Show less

This chapter introduces the Dutch vocational education system and aims to foster an understanding of how it currently works. It describes and discusses the features of this system and the foundational issues that underlie it. Patterns of participation show the crucial position of vocational education in the overall education system in the Netherlands. It provides opportunities for supporting promising educational careers and positive positions in the labour market. The system design is to be without 'dead ends': everybody is supposed to leave the system with a fitting qualification. However, this design has proven to be less promising in its realization. Early tracking foreshadows pathways and makes some careers, if not dead ends, difficult, elevating the risk of dropping out. Five fundamental issues are highlighted when discussing the current Dutch vocational education system in practice in this chapter. Firstly, within a public frame, vocational education is a product of cooperation amongst various stakeholders. The specifics of the private-public frame are helpful for understanding the processes by which Dutch vocational education is uniquely shaped, and lead to its specific kinds of programmes and cooperation between schools and enterprises. The freedom of education concept comprises a second issue. Thirdly, tensions between accessibility and allocation to labour market and, fourthly, between educating for the short term and the longer term future are common to most vocational education systems, albeit manifested differently because of the national peculiarities. Fifthly, the current expectation for the Dutch public provision of vocational education contributing to lifelong learning of workers is a challenge for the future and, already, testing its capacity as a system to support this goal.

Published abstract. Show less