This book discusses what constitutes vocational education as well as its key purposes, objects, formation and practices. In short, it seeks to outline and elaborate the nature of the project of vocational education. It addresses a significant gap in the available literature by providing a single text that elaborates the scope and diversity of the sector, its key objectives (i.e. vocations and occupations), its formation and development as an education sector, and the scope of its purposes and considerations in the curriculum. The volume achieves these objectives by discussing and defining the concept of vocational education as being that form of education that seeks to advise individuals about, prepare them for, and further develop their capacities to perform the kinds of occupations that societies require and individuals need to participate in—and through which they often come to define themselves. In particular, it discusses the distinctions between occupations as a largely social fact and vocations as being a socially shaped outcome assented to by individuals. As people identify closely with the kinds of occupations they engage in, the standing of, and the effectiveness of vocational education is central to individuals’ well-being, competence and progress. Ultimately, this book argues that the provision of vocational education needs to realise important personal and social goals.
This book provides a fresh account of the changing nature of work and how workers are changing as result of the requirements of contemporary working life. It explores the implications for preparing individuals for work and maintaining their skills throughout working life. This is done by examining the relations between the changing requirements for working life and how individuals engage in work.
This book advances understandings about and practices for effectively integrating practice-based (e.g. workplace) experiences in higher education programs. This issue is becoming of increasing salient because higher education programs globally are increasingly focussing on preparing students for specific occupations. Such imperatives are reflected in the cooperative education movement in North America, the foundation degree programs of the United Kingdom, the work integrated learning approach within Australian higher education and initiatives in a range of other countries. There are clear and growing expectations that graduates from such should be able to move smoothly into being effective in their occupational practice. These expectations rise from the imperatives and interest of government, employers, community and students themselves. The book achieves a number of important goals. Firstly, it identifies and delineates the educational worth of students and engagement in practice-based experiences and their integration within their programs of study. Secondly, it advances conceptions of the integration of such experiences that is essential to inform how these programs might be enacted. Thirdly, drawing on the findings of two teaching fellowships, it proposed bases and propositions for how experiences in higher education programs might be organised and augmented to support effective learning. Fourthly pedagogic practices seen to be effective in maximising the learning from those practice experiences and integrating them within the curriculum are identified and discussed. Fifthly, a particular focus is given to students’ personal epistemologies and how these might be developed and directed towards supporting effective learning within practice settings and the integration of that learning in their university programs.
Practice-Based Education: Perspectives and Strategies. This book draws on the collective vision, research, scholarship and experience of leading academics in the field of practice-based and professional education. It presents multiple perspectives and critical appraisals on this significant trend in higher education and examines strategies for implementing this challenging and inspiring mode of learning, teaching and curriculum development. Eighteen chapters are presented across three sections of the book: Contesting and Contextualising Practice-Based Education Practice-Based Education Pedagogy and Strategies The Future of Practice-Based Education.
The concept of mimetic learning at work is outlined and elaborated in this text. That elaboration consists of an account of how securing occupational capacities has been primary associated with learning processes and an explanation of those processes. Much, and probably most, of the learning and development across individuals working lives occurs outside of circumstances of direct guidance or instruction. Yet, recent considerations of individuals’ epistemologies and developments form anthropology and cognitive science suggest that current explanations about individuals’ contributions to learning at and through work are incomplete. So, there is need for an emphasis on individuals’ processes of learning, both within and outside of situations of guidance by more experienced workers, needs to be more fully understood, and accepted as being person dependent. Contributions from anthropology, developmental studies, and cognitive neuroscience now augment those from sociocultural theory.
Recent (within the past 6 years) research on returns to Australian enterprises from investment in vocational education and training (VET) was reviewed. Special attention was paid to the following topics: relationship between enterprise size, specialization, and location and investment in formal training; approaches to appraising enterprises' returns on investment in training; and directions for further research. Selected findings of the review were as follows: (1) larger enterprises carry a higher level of the burden of investing in VET than smaller enterprises do; (2) factors that have been proposed to explain smaller businesses' comparatively small investments in VET include required level of skills, lack of incentive, other priorities, a preference for recruitment rather than training, and lack of knowledge about training activities and networks; (3) enterprises' specialization and location are important determinants of the amount they invest in training; (4) the government appears more interested in cost-benefit analysis (CBA) than enterprises are; (5) the consensus regarding the many CBA models proposed in the literature is that there are too many compounding and contradictory variables to suggest sensibly that returns can be quantified in terms of bottom-line profit; and (6) CBA models addressing variables of interest to enterprises are needed. (Contains 51 references.) (MN)
A 1998 study conducted by researchers from the Centre For Learning and Work Research at Griffith Univ. and The Studies of Work, Education and Training, at Monash Univ. sought to evaluate the contributions of competency-based training (CBT) and assessment to Australian vocational education and training. "Introduction" (Stephen Billet, Fred Beven) summarizes the findings of the project's three subprojects. "Reform, Changes, and Transformation: A Commentary on the Implementation and Evolution of CBT" (Stephen Billet, Sharon Hayes) describes the institutional frameworks of the competency movement and vocational education. "Procedures for Data Gathering, Analysis and Integration of Subprojects" (Fred Beven, Sharon Hayes) details the sources and procedures used to gather data about CBT. "CBT as a Model of Curriculum Development" (Stephen Billet) discusses how the introduction of CBT influenced curriculum practice. "Assessment Practices" (Charlie McKavanagh) explores the assessment of expertise and methods of data analysis. "The Role of the Instructor" (Lawrence Angus, Terri Seddon, John Gough, Ian Robertson) traces the changing role of the instructor within CBT and CBT's trajectory and educational effects. "Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendations" (Stephen Billet, Fred Beven, Charlie McKavanagh, Sharon Hayes, Lawrence Angus, John Gough, Ian Robertson, Terri Seddon) discusses the three subprojects in the context of development of a flexible and adaptable work force and presents and recommendations emerging from the subprojects. The ten years since the introduction of a uniform system of CBT has seen significant improvement in the structure and organization of Australia's vocational educational system. To make further improvement, a change in emphasis in policy is needed to move beyond CBT and recognize the critical role teachers play in achieving the country's need for a flexible, adaptable and globally competitive workplace. (Contains 126 references, 24 tables/figures, 28.) (MN)
In higher education institutions across the globe, there is a growing interest in integrating classroom learning with experience in practice settings. This interest is the result of an increased emphasis on courses that prepare students for specific occupations in the hopes that upon graduation students will be job-ready. Developing Learning Professionals: Integrating Experiences in University and Practice Settings explores how the integration of student experiences across university and practice settings might best be used to produce college graduates who are adept, critical practitioners. To do so, it draws on the findings of a series of projects in Australia that investigated diverse aspects of work-related learning. Through these projects, a range of scholars and researchers consider different aspects of this educational initiative within the same national higher education context. They address pedagogic and curriculum practices, institutional arrangements and partnerships of varying kinds, and a consolidated set of perspectives.
A model of small business learning constructed through feedback from small business operators has been developed in this project and is deigned to illuminate the learning process.
The contribution of competency-based training (CBT) to the development of an adaptable and flexible workforce was examined by analyzing documents and gathering data from teachers, industry representatives, enterprises, and students in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan sites in two Australian states: Victoria and Queensland. The study focused on CBT's educational worth in the metals and hospitality industries and its influence on educational practice. The degree to which CBT itself can be identified as contributing to development of an adaptable, flexible workforce was concluded to be problematic and less significant than the contributions of the broader vocational education and training reform movement and the instructional and curriculum practices that existed before CBT's introduction. Antagonism between CBT and the development of adaptability and flexibility was discovered and attributed to CBT's focus on outcomes rather than process. A series of recommendations for boosting CBT's contribution to development of an adaptable, flexible workforce by modifying existing curricula, assessment, and teaching practice were offered. The recommendations related to curriculum focused on intents, content, and the quality of learning experiences. The recommendations regarding assessment addressed validity, reliability, and incentives for learning. The recommendations regarding teachers' practice emphasized broadening and deepening teachers' knowledge. (MN)
The aim of this project was to examine the nature of social partnerships and how they may be relevant to the vocational education and training (VET) sector. Vocational education and training, which supports industry, individuals and communities, is increasingly identified as an important means of strengthening local communities. This relatively recent role for the VET sector complements its long-standing role in the development of skills and attitudes necessary for work. This sector also offers âsecond chanceâ opportunities to those who had been unsuccessful at school or university. [p.4].
Recent research on Australia's vocational education and training (VET) system and women in small business was synthesized to identify ways of making VET more responsive to the needs of women in small business. Special attention was paid to the following topics: key issues affecting public policy (globalization, economic development, industry restructuring, the changing nature of work, the growth of small business); small business and VET in the Australian context; and gender and equity issues for women in small businesses and VET. Among the review's main conclusions were the following: (1) conflict exists between current Australian policies on VET and policies on employment; (2) for women, learning "on the job" is still resulting in nonrecognized and nonaccredited learning despite the current climate of high affirmation of credentials; and (3) as Australia's VET system moves to a fully marketed model, issues related to gender and equity are becoming more pronounced, and the lack of congruence between the needs and everyday realities of women in small business is widening. (The report contains 117 references. Appended are findings from a 1997 study on enhancing VET for women training for transitions and notes on the 1997 Women in Small Business management seminars and workshops.) (MN)
This report reveals that the formation and maintenance of social partnerships depends on five key principles relating to purposes and goals; relations with partners; capacity for partnership work; governance and leadership; and trust and trustworthiness. Using four partnerships as case studies, the report set out to assess how these principles and practices can be used to develop social partnerships strong enough to withstand changing circumstances. The findings suggest that a partnership's capacity for flexibility is enhanced when there is a culture of partnering, committed sponsors, supportive auspicing organisations, responsive partners and government commitment.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.