Category: VET

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Pathway for student self-development: A learning orientated internship approach

Author/s: Bonnie Cord and Mike Clements

Edition: Volume 50, Number 2, July 2010

Summary: Higher education is facing new challenges in preparing students for the workforce. As demands increase for students to differentiate themselves when seeking employment, it becomes necessary for higher education and vocational providers not only to understand these challenges, but also to provide a pathway for students to develop the skills necessary to become sought-after employees. This paper presents a learning orientated internship approach as one such pathway that aims to provide students, as adult learners, with the opportunity to apply their knowledge and gain new skills in a work context. The paper provides insight into students self-reported learning outcomes after undertaking the learning orientated internship program. Preliminary findings reveal that communication, interpersonal skills and personal insights are common areas of self-development through this program.

Keywords: workforce preparation, internship program

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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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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.

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The learning projects of rural third age women: enriching a valuable community resource

Author/s: Glenna Lear

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

Summary: As a third age PhD candidate with a passion for learning, I wanted to explore the learning of other rural third age women who live on the Lower Eyre Peninsula (LEP) of South Australia. This reflects the methodological stance of heuristic inquiry, which requires the researcher to have a passionate interest in the phenomena under investigation, and in this case includes my tacit knowledge as a third age learner and long-term resident of the region. I deliberately chose six very influential women over 50 years of age who have transformed their rural communities into vibrant ‘can do’ societies better able to cope with the economic, environmental and social changes of the last two decades. I wanted to know how they adjusted to the lifestyle changes in their middle years, after their children left home, their third age, how they adapted to the social and economic changes in rural life, and what they learned as community change agents and leaders of community organisations, boards and community development committees.

My research methodology gave them the opportunity to reflect on their autobiographies as co-researchers during our two informal conversations about their learning. I discovered that, at different stages in their lives, these midlife women intuitively realised that they needed to do something for themselves in the wider world, independent of the farm and their family, which required them to learn and change. They are passionate lifelong and lifewide learners, continually searching for something that challenges, excites and extends them. This paper discusses their lifewide learning and personal development in community activities and formal educational institutions, which has been personally rewarding and enormously beneficial for community viability and wellbeing. Although the numbers are low and the women come from a small remote region of South Australia, there are similar women of action in almost every community, both rural and urban, who continue to make a difference.

Keywords: rural, third age, women, community, change agents, development, 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.

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Communities of practice in a voluntary youth organisation: reaching for the sky and building social capital

Author/s: Bill Chan and Tom Short

Edition: Volume 51, Special edition, December 2011

Summary: The study is situated within a national youth organisation called the Australian Air League Inc (Air League). We examine the recent progress of the Air League in South Australia, starting as a loose network of volunteers Continue reading “Communities of practice in a voluntary youth organisation: reaching for the sky and building social capital”

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Recognition of prior learning (RPL): can intersubjectivity and philosophy of recognition support better equity outcomes?

Author/s: Jen Hamer

Edition: Volume 51, Special edition, December 2011

Summary: The formal recognition of prior learning (RPL) has long been lauded and even, one might suggest, doggedly pursued as a tool of social justice and equity within education sectors across the world Continue reading “Recognition of prior learning (RPL): can intersubjectivity and philosophy of recognition support better equity outcomes?”

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Learning to manage: Transformative outcomes of competency-based training

Author/s: Steven Hodge

Edition: Volume 51, Number 3, November 2011

Summary: Transformative learning theory is a dominant approach to understanding adult learning. The theory addresses the way our perspectives on the world, others and ourselves can be challenged and transformed in our ongoing efforts to make sense of the world. Continue reading “Learning to manage: Transformative outcomes of competency-based training”