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

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 national 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 finding indicate that it is a complex mix 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 recognized, and accounted for, along with human capital skills, in a reframing of adult literacy and numeracy policy and practice

Positive discrimination measures in Australian Indigenous higher education lessons for Chile

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.This thesis explores the conceptualisation, development, and implementation of positive discrimination measures in context of the higher education of Indigenous people. I set out to consider the implications of the Australian experience for the development of approaches to positive discrimination policy and programs for Indigenous people in Chile. I look particularly for lessons in the development and implementation of two positive discrimination measures that have emerged in Australia over the last four decades: ABSTUDY and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy (1989). The Australian experience has been forged over a longer time-frame than Chile and an assumption I am making in this thesis is that lessons from this experience are potentially useful for the Chilean Indigenous higher education context. My inquiry is to understand not just the positive effects but also the limits that positive discrimination measures contribute to the higher education access, participation, and outcomes of Indigenous students

Restructuring teacher education, the national interest and globalisation

This paper argues that the repositioning of Asian countries as new \u27centres\u27 for world trade and commerce and the transformation of Australian society and economy to accord with this global consolidation, includes a general restructuring of all levels of Australia\u27s \u27education industry\u27 and specifically the (re)forming of its initial teacher and professional-education programmes. The need for such reformation arises in part from the restructuring of the work of teaching based on a broader definition of the people and educational settings that are involved in the teaching/learning process, a reworking of this teaching/learning process, the higher status given to certain substantive areas of study, such as languages other than English, and the management of education along corporatist lines. This paper suggests further that teacher-education programmes should also provide students with the resources to critically analyse these changes, giving consideration to issues such as identity, the impact of new technologies on culture and learning, the use of language in promoting particular discourses, and the repositioning of education as a tool for economic reform

In what ways does the workplace influence trainee learning?

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.In a time when skills shortages are in the forefront of Australia’s training agenda this thesis involved a mixed mode study entitled: “In what Ways Does the Workplace influence Trainee Learning?” Over the last ten to fifteen years a significant amount of government funding has been diverted from Australia’s public vocational education provider to encourage the growth of private providers including employer-based providers and community providers. The aim of this agenda included facilitating work-based learning as a legitimate alternative to conventional forms of institutional provision. As a result government funding cuts had a flow on effect for trainees includes a reduction in delivery costs (time) and increased reporting costs both of which impact on teaching and learning. With this trend to delivering training and assessment in the workplace the area that was explored in this thesis is how the workplace influences trainee learning. The thesis arises from the problem that while there are various theories about workplace learning there was a significant gap in the understanding of ‘in what way’ and ‘how’ trainee learning was being influenced by the workplace. The research investigated on-the-job learning in order to understand how ‘the learning’ was being influenced by the practices and culture that exist within the workplace systems and/or under the influence of the supervisor. The research design consisted of a case study approach in conjunction with qualitative (interviews) and a quantitative (semi-structured questionnaire). This thesis was informed by data collected from the following main sources: document searches; a semi-structured cross-section questionnaire (for 70 trainees; 20 teachers/trainers and 10 workplace supervisors) and interviews from three case study worksites, a public RTO; a medium sized security organization and an online group buying organization. The selected traineeships involved learning in the context of Business Services Training Package BSB07 – specifically Certificate III and IV levels in Business Administration and Technology and Customer Contact. The data collected indicated a major disconnect between the requirements as set down by traineeship legislation and current practices. It also highlighted a significant disconnect between the various interpretations and expectations (by key stakeholders) as to what constitute workplace learning for trainees. The thesis makes an important contribution to the telling of the stories of those struggling to undertake training and the barriers and lack of support they experience. It is a modest study of three case studies that provides a lens to expose issues and challenges in the workplace learning for these business sector trainees

On Development History of Australia’s Language Policy and the Enlightenment to China’s Foreign Language Education

As is well-known, Australia is the first English country to officially make and efficiently carry out multi-lingual and plural culture in the world, whose language education policy has been highly spoken of by most linguists and politicians in the world in terms of the formulation and implementation. By studying such items as affecting factors, development history, implementing strategies of Australian language education policy under the background of multiculturalism, researchers can get a clue of the law of development of the language education policy in the developed countries and even the world. To be specific, through studying the development history of Australian language education policy under the background of multiculturalism, the paper puts forward some enlightenment and presents some advice on the China’s foreign language education

Overcoming the adversity of diversity : an Australian story

The low participation rate of women in computing education and the computing industry is a phenomenon that has been recognised by many western countries. While much has been written on the underlying reasons for the low participation in such a growing and dynamic industry, the situation only seems to be worsening. This paper examines briefly a number of approaches taken by researchers in Australia to try and address the problem. One tertiary institution, Victoria University, has undertaken over a ten year period a sequence of projects, aimed at encouraging and supportingfemale students to study information technology and then make a successful transition from university to the workplace. The strategies and outcomes of the most recent project is the focus of this paper. This project concentrated on equipping graduatingfemale students with skills and knowledge to enable them to participate on equal terms with their male counterparts in workgroups and project teams. An outcome from this work was the preparation and distribution of a resource book to graduating female students during 2002.<br /

Indigenous Job Search Success

One important and under-researched aspect of labour market policy is the extent to which policy interventions are effective in modifying job search behaviour. Furthermore, there is little extant research on whether certain job search behaviours lead to labour market success. Our analysis uses the only existing largescale longitudinal survey of Indigenous Australians to examine the effects of job search behaviour over an 18-month period from March 1996. One major fi nding is that the introduction of the Job Search Diary during the survey period was effective in increasing search intensity—but this increase in intensity did not result in increased employment rates. Another finding is that the job search methods used were not generally related to the probability of fi nding and retaining employment when a range of other personal and regional factors are taken into account. Those with a greater level of search intensity (as measured by the number of jobs applied for) at the fi rst wave of the survey did have a signifi cantly higher probability of finding employment than those searching less intensely. However, search intensity is unrelated to the probability of job retention. Other factors, such as educational attainment, health status, region of residence and having been arrested, account for the majority of labour market success (or lack of it) among unemployed Indigenous job seekers.Job search; Indigenous; Labour market policy

Designing a quality management system for a Cambodian university

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.Quality assurance has been a legislative requirement in Cambodian universities since 2003, yet it is still a relatively new concept. A formal quality-management framework at a systemic level does not yet exist and little attention has been paid to this in the higher education sector. This has led Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to make ad hoc decisions in dealing with quality issues. Despite some institutions having appointed dedicated quality assurance officers, there is little evidence of a quality management culture in Cambodian universities. For these reasons, the creation of a formal quality management system is imperative in order to ensure that universities conduct their operations effectively and can operate in a global higher education context. The study has documented and analysed the issues, structures and processes of quality management in higher education in England, Australia and Thailand. This analysis has been applied to the Cambodian context in order to develop a relevant quality management framework for a particular Cambodian university (City University). This framework may also serve as a model for other higher education institutions in Cambodia. The study included an analysis of the extensive literature related to the quality management systems currently employed in universities in England, Australia and Thailand. Senior managers, academics and staff in three Thai universities and in higher education institutions in Cambodia were surveyed and interviewed. This dual approach allowed the examination of the benefits and disadvantages of applying the features of externally established quality management systems to the Cambodian context. Higher education institutions, in particular public universities, face many constraints and challenges in Cambodia, including scarcity of resources, poor governance, lack of autonomy, no culture of quality, poor human resource development and the like. These constraints prevent a standard Western-style system from being introduced into Cambodia in the short term. Nonetheless, it is imperative that Higher Education Institutions establish a formal and non-punitive quality management system. Introduction of a quality management system in two phases is recommended. The first phase of the quality management system consists of simple, basic and general elements of quality with a view to establishing a quality culture in every academic’s mindset, and permeating the ideals of a quality management programme throughout the entire university population. When a culture of quality management is well embedded, the next phase could be implemented. This second phase introduces broader and higher level elements of quality, such as benchmarking, student attributes and a national qualifications’ framework, closely linking internal quality management systems and external regulatory requirements to ensure consistency in the quality of graduates across the higher education sector, as well as attaining national, regional and international recognition. The quality management model proposed will be an important contributor to reshaping and improving quality practices in higher education, as well as informing future key planners and higher education policy makers about quality management in Cambodia

Music education in remote aboriginal communities

These papers deal with some of the complex cultural and pedagogical issues involved in the delivery of a secondary-school music education program to remote Aboriginal communities. The papers outline the history of the program, the challenges in its delivery and some of the prospects for its future