Category: Refereed article

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Shall we dance? The story of The Radiance Dance Project

Author/s: Lisa Catherine Ehrich

Edition: Volume 50, Number 2, July 2010

Summary: Community workers are often described as unsung heroes who work for, with and alongside others in order to make qualitative differences to the communities they serve. This paper reports on the story of a community-based arts educator, Morgan Jai-Morincome, winner of the ACT Adult Learners Week Award for an outstanding program in 2007. This program, referred to as The Radiance Dance Project, is an inclusive performance project open to women with and without disabilities that culminates in a yearly performance. Via an interview with Morgan, observations of a workshop she provided for the women in her 2009 program, and a viewing of a DVD of the 2008 dance performance, this case study provides an illustration of the power of arts-based educative processes for breaking down barriers between people with and without disabilities. It draws upon constructs from ethical leadership theory and empowerment theory to interpret her ideas and practices.

Keywords: community workers, arts educator, Radiance Dance project, ethical leadership theory, empowerment theory

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_2. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Adult learning in educational tourism

Author/s: Tim Pitman, Sue Broomhall, Joanne McEwan and Elzbieta Majocha

Edition: Volume 50, Number 2, July 2010

Summary: This article explores notions of learning in the niche market sector of educational tourism, with a focus on organised recreational tours that promote a structured learning experience as a key feature. It analyses the qualitative findings of surveys and interviews with a cross-section of educational tourism providers in Australia, their lifelong-learning client markets and Australian academic scholars participating in this sector. The paper examines the differing perceptions of providers, participants and academics to what they expect from such tours, what constitutes learning within them and how particularly adult learning occurs through them.

Keywords: educational tourism, recreational tours, perceptions, adult learning

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_2. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Effective employment-based training models for childcare workers

Author/s: Sarojni Choy and Sandra Haukka

Edition: Volume 50, Number 1, April 2010

Summary: Childcare workers play a significant role in the learning and development of children in their care. This has major implications for the training of workers. Under new reforms of the childcare industry, the Australian government now requires all workers to obtain qualifications from a vocational education and training provider (e.g. Technical and Further Education) or university. Effective models of employment-based training are critical to provide training to highly competent workers. This paper presents findings from a study that examined current and emerging models of employment-based training in the childcare sector, particularly at the Diploma level. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of 16 participants who represented childcare directors, employers and workers located in childcare services in urban, regional and remote locations in the State of Queensland. The study proposes a ‘best-fit’ employment-based training approach that is characterised by a compendium of five models instead of a ‘one size fits all’. Issues with successful implementation of employment-based training models are also discussed.

Keywords: childcare, learning, development, children, competency, employment-based training, diploma

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_1. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Training and development for transitional employment in mature-aged manual workers

Author/s: Hitendra Pillay, Kathy Kelly and Megan Tones

Edition: Volume 50, Number 1, April 2010

Summary: The purpose of the current article was to explore perceptions of transitional employment and training and development amongst blue collar workers employed in technical, trade, operations or physical and labour-intensive occupations within the local government system. The responses of manual workers to two national surveys conducted by the local government association, namely, the Transitional Employment Survey (TES) and the New Initiative Survey (NIS) were analysed for occupational level differences using Chi square tests. Three quarters of blue collar workers were interested in phased retirement options. Technicians and operators were content to retain their current jobs, although technicians seemed to display a more self-directed attitude towards training and development. Tradespersons and labourers were interested in changing jobs, and appeared willing to pursue some training and development. A significant proportion of workers were interested in mentoring. Blue collar workers were interested in contributing to the future of the organisation via transitional employment. However, they may require support for their health and training needs.

Keywords: transitional employment, blue collar workers, manual workers, training and development

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_1. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Recognition of prior learning— Normative assessment or co-construction of preferred identities?

Author/s: Jen Hamer

Edition: Volume 50, Number 1, April 2010

Summary: Recognition of prior learning (RPL) has been an important element of Australia’s Vocational Education and Training (VET) policy since it was officially adopted as a key national principle in 1991 (VEETAC 1991, cited in Wilson and Lilly 1996:2). The aim of RPL is to formally assess a person’s skills gained through life and work experience, in order to award credit towards nationally recognised qualifications. It is an integral part of access and equity strategies, which are designed to ‘improve access to and outcomes from vocational education and training for disadvantaged groups’ (Smith & Keating 1997: 38). However, limited attention has been paid to the operations of power within the assessor-candidate relationship. This paper raises questions about the perspective of RPL as a selfevidently benign activity and describes concerns regarding its application. It uses postmodern theories of identity and a philosophy of recognition to propose an understanding of the potential impacts of RPL and invite new assessment practices to advance its emancipatory goals.

Keywords: rpl, normative, assessment

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_1. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Taking risks—experiential learning and the writing student

Author/s: Robin Freeman and Karen Le Rossignol

Edition: Volume 50, Number 1, April 2010

Summary: The role of a professional and creative writing degree is to provide resources, structured workshops, professional interactions—and the potential for creative risk. Opportunities for risk, within the structured environment of the university, challenge the individual’s perspectives and judgements, as well as their ability to analyse and to reflect on their writing and creative practices.

From this starting point the authors, both writing industry practitioners and academics, have developed experiential projects with the aim of transforming their teaching practice from a model of narrative hierarchies of knowledge to learning through performativity, social connectedness and immersive workplace learning. As the case studies illustrate, this transitional approach has enabled our millennial learners more confidently to take risks, accept challenges and transform their understanding of their own knowledge, skills and identities.

Keywords: creative risk, writing, creative practices, experiential, hierarchies, knowledge

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_1. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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The big picture on men’s (and boys’) learning

Author/s: Barry Golding

Edition: Volume 50, Number 1, April 2010

Summary: This paper focuses on what is known internationally from research about some aspects of men’s learning. It explores the similar and different factors that shape men’s attitudes towards learning in diverse national and cultural contexts. It also identifies some possible parallels (and differences) between the experiences, participation and outcomes in education of men and boys. The paper proceeds to make a case for recognising and addressing the factors that affect gender parity in educational contexts, including Australia, in which several tertiary outcome measures tend to be skewed towards girls and women. The paper forms part of background research for Phase 1 (in several Anglophone nations) of a major international research project into men’s learning in community settings that includes several Australian study sites.

Keywords: men’s learning, diversity, cultural contexts, gender parity, education, tertiary outcome

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_1. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Diverse pathways into higher education: Using students’ stories to identify transformative experiences

Author/s: Robyn Benson, Lesley Hewitt, Margaret Heagney, Anita Devos and Glenda Crosling

Edition: Volume 50, Number 1, April 2010

Summary: This paper is based on findings from the first phase of a longitudinal project examining how a group of students from diverse backgrounds succeed in higher education. The concept of perspective transformation is used to explore students’ stories about factors that influenced them on their journey to university, including socio-economic background, family difficulties, gender, the effect of being first in family to enter higher education, migration, location and experiences of schooling. The paper argues that, for some participants, the decision to enrol was not primarily the effect of perspective transformation, but rather the result of other aspects of their lives. Finally, we comment on the value of narrative inquiry for revealing participants’ experiences and, potentially, for supporting the process of transformation.

Keywords: diverse backgrounds, transformation, socio-economic, gender, enrolment

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_1. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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The learning society: Two justifications

Author/s: Ya-hui Su

Edition: Volume 50, Number 1, April 2010

Summary: This article examines the view that has long been fashionable in related policies and literature that the establishment of the learning society is a necessary response to changing times. This article suggests that the association between the learning society and current change may be defensible but is limited. The justification of the learning society should be expanded beyond that association, and the learning society should be promoted as a good in its own right. This article begins with an exploration of the phenomenon of change, which has been the primary argument for the establishment of the learning society. Then, it examines the claim that the learning society is essential. Finally, I suggest that discussions of the learning society should shift from the current paradigm of justification based on external relationships to an appreciation of the learning society in its own right.

Keywords: learning society, change

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_1. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Is the use of video conferencing and supporting technologies a feasible and viable way to woo farmers back into farmer education?

Author/s: Margaret Brown and Tom Fraser

Edition: Volume 51, Number 4, Special edition, December 2011

Summary: North Dakota State University (USA) have been using video conferencing as a delivery mode for farmer education for about twenty years and report that their farmers find this delivery method both practical and worthwhile. With the number of New Zealand farmers attending learning events decreasing, due mainly to time and cost, maybe it is time to use different approaches to engage farmers in learning. A study called ‘FeedSmart’, which looked into the ways farmers preferred to learn, identified that e-learning is worth further investigation as a learning delivery approach. In this paper we report on three small-scale trials that investigated the viability and effectiveness of generating and delivering information to farmers via a video-conferencing-based learning approach. This study showed that e-learning of this type has potential as a learning approach for farmers and is worthy of further investigation.

Keywords: rural, farmer, education, FeedSmart, e-learning

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 51_4_Special Edition. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.