Category: Refereed article

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Considering the environment in social work education: Transformations for eco-social justice

Author: Peter Jones, School of Social Work and Community Welfare, James Cook University, Townsville

Edition: Volume 46, Number 3, November 2006

Summary: Addressing the global environmental crisis will require both personal and social transformation. Adult environmental education will clearly play an important role in such transformative processes, but needs to broaden its target audience beyond those already involved in, or committed to, environmentalism to include other potential allies in this process. Social work is a profession characterised by philosophical and practical concerns with social justice and human rights. This paper argues that social workers also have an important, yet largely unexplored, role to play in environmental practice. To realise this potential, social work education needs to provide opportunities for the linking of conceptual and practical environmental issues to social work’s more traditional social justice concerns. This will involve the incorporation of forms of adult environmental education and ecological literacy into social work curricula. The author discusses how transformative learning approaches have been utilised in a subject on socio-environmentalism as part of a social work degree course.

Keywords: environmentalism, human rights, ecological literacy

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Alternative study modes in higher education: students’ expectations and preferences

Author: Robyn Benson, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University

Edition: Volume 46, Number 3, November 2006

Summary: Two features of the recent higher education environment, which have implications for university policies and practices, are the changing nature of the student population and the impact of alternative study modes, particularly as a result of developments in new learning technologies. Both of these features have implications for the characteristics of students as adult learners.This paper outlines an exploratory survey which was undertaken to investigate students’ preferred modes of study, including full and part-time, conventional and online, university-based and workplace-based, in order to inform university planning in this area. The study indicated that, although there was some willingness by students to engage with non-traditional options, particularly as experience of these options or of university life increased, the strongest preferences were for traditional study arrangements.  Many students were more interested in increasing the flexibility of their study through extended access to the campus and improved timetabling than through studying off-campus and/or online.

Keywords: study mode, technology

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Social capital outcomes: The new focus for adult literacy and numeracy courses

Authors: Stephen Black, Northern Sydney Institute of TAFE; Jo Balatti, James Cook University; & Ian Falk, Charles Darwin University

Edition: Volume 46, Number 3, November 2006

Summary: Since the early 1990s in Australia, adult literacy and numeracy courses in vocational education and training (VET) have been focused on human capital outcomes, that is, on developing the literacy and numeracy skills believed to improve the economic performance of individuals, enterprises and the nation generally. However, some researchers have expressed the concern that these outcomes are insufficient in explaining the socio-economic impacts of these courses. This paper reports on a recent study of the social capital outcomes of adult literacy and numeracy courses (Balatti, Black & Falk, 2006). The findings indicate that it is a complex mix of findings of both human and social capital outcomes from these courses that results in socio-economic impacts. The authors contend that social capital outcomes should be recognised and accounted for, along with human capital skills, in a reframing of adult literacy and numeracy policy and practice.

Keywords: human capital, social capital, VET,

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Adult learning and recognition of prior learning: The “white elephant” in Australian universities

Author: Tricia A Fox, Faculty of Education, Queensland University of Technology

Edition: Volume 45, Number 3, November 2005

Summary:  Adult learners are being attracted to university programs based on the granting of either academic credit or the recognition of prior learning (RPL). Typically, this attraction is being aligned to fast-tracking degree attainment or student cost effectiveness. It appears from the literature that there are varied interpretations and application of RPL within Australian universities. This can be problematic for adult learners with diverse experiences and expectations. Given the uniqueness of university learning, the future political changes to occur in Australian universities, and the problems with RPL that adult learners experience in university learning, it is timely for Australian universities to establish RPL practices that are transparent and consistent.

Keywords: RPL, university, adult learners

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The Workers’ Educational Association of Victoria and the University of Melbourne: A clash of purpose?

Author: Gordon Dadswell, School of Professional Development and Leadership, University of New England

Edition: Volume 45, Number 3, November 2005

Summary:  The paper challenges an argument made by Alf Wesson in 1972. His argument was that the failure of the University of Melbourne Extension Board to work effectively with the Worker’s Educational Association of Victoria was almost exclusively as a result of the poor management skills and personality of the Director of University Extension, Professor John Gunn. The paper argues that in fact it was the failure by four University of Melbourne inquiries to resolve a difficult situation. The lack of resolution was due to a complete misunderstanding by the University of the role of the Workers’ Educational Association

Keywords: Extension, director, inquiry

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The globalisation of thinking styles: East meets West or never the twain shall meet

Author: Francesco Sofa, University of Canberra

Edition: Volume 45, Number 3, November 2005

Summary:  The research examined how Chinese leaders view the thinking process, what thinking styles they value and how they prefer to think. The methodological framework used quantitative analyses of two thinking styles inventories. The survey included a sample of nearly 300 leaders from a wide representation of industry sectors across China who completed Sofo’s Thinking Style Inventory (TSI) (Sofo 2002). Additionally, 22 of these leaders completed three forms of thinking style (Sternberg 1997). Another sample of 172 non-education leaders’ thinking styles were compared with 48 educational leaders’ thinking styles using independent sample t-tests and supported by analysis of variance. The findings showed that Chinese leaders have strong preferences for ‘executive’, ‘judicial’ and ‘legislative’ styles of thinking as well as high preferences for independent and exploring styles. They reported moderate preferences for ‘inquiring’ and ‘creative’ styles and low preference for ‘conditional’ style, an indication that Chinese leaders may be at the forefront of change in an historically conditional China.

Keywords: China, Sofo, Chinese leaders, preference

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Issues in using self-evaluations in adult education and training

Author: James A Athanasou, Faculty of Education, University of Technology, Sydney

Edition: Volume 45, Number 3, November 2005

Summary:  This paper focuses on two key aspects of self-evaluation in adult education and training through the perspective of (a) a social-cognitive framework which is used to categorise those factors that enhance self-efficacy and self-evaluation, and (b) the accuracy of self-evaluation. The social-cognitive framework categorises the factors that enhance self-evaluation, namely, social messages (e.g. comparison with others, feedback from others, social and cultural stereotypes), personal factors (e.g. the ability level of the rater, the standards and goals of the rater) and situational factors (e.g. the content area being evaluated). The paper reviews the accuracy of self-evaluations and concludes (a) that there is prima facie support from previous meta-analyses for their accuracy, (b) that the accuracy of self-evaluations is likely to be underestimated, and (c) that a focus on individual rather than group comparisons may be more useful for adult education. The educational value of formative self-evaluation for adult education and training contexts is supported.

Keywords: social-cognitive, adult education

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Competent coppers: an analysis of the standards and practices of adult education within the Australian Federal Police

Author: Michelle Berzins, Doctoral candidate, University of Canberra

Edition: Volume 45, Number 2, July 2005

Summary:  The paper examines how the educational environment within the Australian Federal Police (AFP) has changed over their 25 year history. The case study was used as a methodological framework through which content analysis and interviews were conducted. It was found that due to the changing nature of their profession, the involvement of police personnel in ongoing personal and professional development is essential. Further, the educational environment fostered within the AFP was found to be one that keeps abreast of general advances in education, encourages further education of their personnel and delivers quality adult education through its accreditation as a Registered Training Organisation and a provider of nationally approved VET courses.

Keywords: AFP, Australian Federal Police, professional development, personnel, accreditation, RTO

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‘SERPS Up’: Support, Engagement and Retention of Postgraduate Students – a model of postgraduate support

Authors: Margaret Alston, Juliane Allan, Karen Bell, Andy Brown, Jane Dowling, Pat Hamilton, Jenny McKinnon, Noela McKinnon, Rol Mitchell, Kerri Whittenbury, Bruce Valentine, Alison Wicks, and Rachael Williams; Charles Sturt University

Edition: Volume 45, Number 2, July 2005

Summary:  The federal government’s 1999 White Paper Knowledge and Innovation: a policy statement on research and research training, notes concerns about retention and completion rates in doctoral studies programs in Australia. This paper outlines a model of higher education support developed at the Centre for Rural Social Research at Charles Sturt University. The postgraduate student body in the Centre represent the most vulnerable to attrition – mostly female and mature-aged, a majority studying at a distance and part-time, and most with family and work responsibilities. The program developed in the Centre – the SERPS model (Support, Engagement and Retention of Postgraduate Students) – has seen a significant  rise in the number of students studying through the Centre and significantly high retention and completion rates. This paper outlines the model as well as the results of an evaluation of the model conducted with students in the Centre. This paper indicates that retention (and ultimately completion) is linked to the vibrancy of the learning and social support networks established for the students and the creation of a collegial culture.

Keywords: White Paper, Knowledge, Innovation, research, doctoral, retention, completion

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Assessor judgements and everyday worker performance

Author: Hilary Timma, Recently completed PhD studies, The University of Melbourne

Edition: Volume 45, Number 2, July 2005

Summary:  The subjective nature of assessment focuses attention on the prior perceptions that workplace assessors can bring to formal assessment activities, regarding the competence of workers. This paper draws on a study into workplace learning and assessment practices and the construction of worker identities, which was conducted at three food production companies in North East Victoria. The paper proposes that, rather than concentrating principally on planned, formal assessment activities to determine the competence of workers, workplaces could develop an alternative approach and support assessors to utilize (and make publicly justifiable), the prior perceptions they have regarding workers’ skills and abilities on-the-job and include these in the overall assessment.

Keywords: assessment, workplace assessor, competence, formal

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