Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemAccommodation and resistance: the adult and community education sector response to competency-based training 1985-1995( 1996)The thesis examines the Adult and Community Education (ACE) sector response to Federal Government vocational education and training reforms, and particularly Competency-Based Training, during the period 1985-1995. The government, motivated by its inability to meet a burgeoning demand for vocational training, has courted ACE authorities and adult educators to gear more of their educational effort to meeting workforce needs as a partner in a generously funded national reform process. The characteristics which define ACE as a separate sector and the rationale for, and claimed benefits of, the vocational education and training reforms are documented. It is shown that much of the reform process and CBT, in particular, is at odds with the ideologies, purposes and education traditions of ACE. These differences and the manner in which the reforms have been imposed, have kindled a massive debate and polarization of opinion about educational philosophy and practice in Australia. Obstacles to the successful implementation of reform are examined from an ACE perspective. These include: a perceived lingering ignorance and prejudice about ACE within government and other education and training sectors, the deliberate avoidance of criticism and debate about CBT by government agencies, a shifting new training discourse which has displaced valued language in education, and a perceived inadequate economic rationale for the CBT approach to education. In addition, a number of claims about the value of the CBT doctrine are challenged and discussed, including its unsuitability for all curriculum, the inadequacies in the notion of 'competence' and finally, the view argued by CBT proponents, that there is no difference between education and training. Evidence is also offered to demonstrate the substantial successes and benefits of the VET reform process, including those for ACE students. However, although the ACE sector has accommodated many of the changes, it has continued to oppose CBT, in particular, seeking a more holistic approach to curriculum. One response to this, which is described in the thesis, was the development of a Competency-Based Learning model between 1992 and 1994, which, for hundreds of adult educators, accommodated their concerns about CBT, in that it provided options, flexibility, a defined holistic description of learning and most of all, it respected the key tenets of adult education ideology.
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ItemPrivate and public providers in the open training market( 1994)This thesis examines the nature, role and significance of private training provision from an intersectoral perspective, and in the context of the emerging training market in Australia. In so doing, it explores and charts the terrain of a hitherto neglected sector of post-secondary vocational education and training (VET). The report begins by examining the historical and policy context in which private providers have assumed unprecedented importance. It traces the emergence of the 'open training market' (OTM) as the central organising principle of the National Training Reform Agenda, and defines the underlying principles and forces shaping its development. This analysis establishes the link between the OTM and the rise to prominence of private training providers and argues that the OTM is transforming the structure and balance of the post-secondary VET sector. The lack of prior research on private training providers and the private/public interface in the VET sector is highlighted in a review of relevant international and Australian literature. Various taken-for-granted assumptions about the nature and contribution of private providers are identified. Major gaps are identified in our knowledge about private training providers and the development of training markets. The nature and extent of private training provision is then examined on the basis of information collected via national surveys of training authorities. A detailed comparative analysis of the structure, culture and educational profile of private and public providers is undertaken on the basis of six major case studies of commercial and TAFE colleges. This analysis provides the basis for identifying the distinguishing characteristics of private and public provision. It examines their relative positions in the training market, factors affecting their growth and development, and major trends in the training market. The views and perspectives of providers and clients on the private/public alternatives and barriers to the effective implementation of the training market are explored. A series of key policy issues are identified and the implications of adopting a market-based approach to the provision of VET are examined. The thesis concludes that a parallel private training sector is undergoing formation in Australia. It argues that while certain key differences persist, the roles and relationships of private and public providers are being altered in some fundamental ways by the transition to an OTM, and that the nature of VET itself is being redefined in the process. In view of these trends and the potential implications of the shift to a fully fledged market paradigm, serious questions are raised about the current directions of government VET policy.