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The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) was asked by Technical and Further Education (TAFE) Directors Australia to consider, in a discussion paper for their conference held on the Gold Coast in September 2009, how a "tertiary education" sector impacts on the way people think about research and statistics. While a tertiary education focus would be a forward-looking step, it is important that both vocational education and training (VET) and higher education issues receive due attention. Individuals need to build on the good work done for the VET sector rather than subsume it in any sense. What is needed to make sense of the education, participation and achievement of individual students is an integrated tertiary education statistical system. This would require a common core set of standards. It would be relatively straightforward to populate a tertiary education student database from different collections. This database would then be a resource for policymakers and researchers. An integrated approach is required, not an approach which appends higher education statistics to the VET statistics or vice versa.

The Australian Vocational Education and Training Management Information Statistical Standard (AVETMISS) for vocational education and training (VET) providers (referred to as "the Standard") is currently being reviewed by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). The Standard is the framework that underpins the National VET Provider Collection. It provides consistency in data definitions, which ensures accurate data for use in national data collections, where information is compiled from many different sources. This discussion paper is the first step in the review. It provides a framework for feedback and identifies key issues for consideration. There are many issues associated with the specification of a Standard, such as what information is to be collected, from whom and how often. Decisions about implementation of the AVETMIS Standard are made by a range of different bodies and, while the focus of this paper is primarily on the information to be collected, comments on the timing and coverage are also welcome. Two appendices are included. (Contains 1 figure.)

National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) is undertaking a consultation process to determine the next set of National Research Priorities which will guide research activities in the post-compulsory education and training arena, particularly in relation to vocational education and training. This discussion paper, and the deliberations it aims to prompt, identifies a number of key themes related to priorities for future research. A section that discusses NCVER's current research and statistics is appended. (Contains 3 boxes and 5 tables.) [Funding for this paper was provided through the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.]

Apprentice and trainee data are reported by the State and Territory Training Authorities to the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) on a quarterly basis, starting at the September quarter of 1994. The set of data submitted that quarter is referred to as Collection 1. The sets of data submitted in subsequent quarters are referred to as Collection 2, Collection 3 and so on. At the time of writing, the set of data being submitted is for the June 2009 quarter and is referred to as Collection 60. Of particular interest is the numbers of contracts of training that commence, complete, cancel/withdraw, re-commence, expire or suspend and the time at which these events occur (referred to as the "date of effect"). From these events, the number of contracts in training at a given time can be calculated. Between the occurrence of one of these events and the appearance of the corresponding datum in the national collection, there is a chain of administrative processes that must be followed. It is not unusual for some time to elapse before information about events appears in the national collection. These time gaps are referred to as "reporting lags". Thus, data about events occurring in a given quarter might require several collections to be completely reported. As a result, accurate counts take time to accumulate. However, waiting for the all the data to be submitted reduces their usefulness. In order to get timely information that can be used for monitoring apprentice/trainee activity and formulating policy, a reliable estimate of the "final" counts is required as soon as possible after the quarter in which the events occur. The current method of calculating estimates from the Apprentice and Trainee collection was endorsed in September 2004 by the National Training Statistics Committee. The purpose of this technical paper is to describe: (1) the way data accumulate over many collections; (2) how items derived from the data change as the data accumulates; (3) the endorsed estimation method (developed from the analysis of the above); (4) the formulae for calculating the required estimates; and (5) potential weaknesses in the method. Supporting data is appended. (Contains 4 tables and 8 figures.) [For the accompanying report, "Apprentices and Trainees: September Quarter 2009", see ED508817.]

Building the research capacity of the vocational education and training (VET) sector is a key concern for the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). To assist with this objective, NCVER supports an academic scholarship program, whereby VET practitioners are sponsored to undertake university study at honours', master's or doctorate level. The author received an academic scholarship in 2008 to assist with his Master's of Education at Charles Darwin University. He is a Lecturer and Course Coordinator in Alcohol and Other Drugs, Youth Work at Charles Darwin University. His research investigates the flexible delivery of VET in Wugularr, a remote Indigenous community near Katherine in the Northern Territory. As part of its core business, Charles Darwin University offers a range of VET training programs to Wugularr. One of these programs is the Sunrise Health Service's youth worker training program. This paper evaluates the program from the community's perspective. The lessons learned, which are applicable to the wider VET sector, are also identified. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.) [Funding for this document was provided through the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.]

Information on the divergence between student numbers and delivery hours for the period 2002 to 2007 is provided in this technical paper. The change in hours from one year to the next is decomposed into three effects, one of which is "hours inflation", whereby nominal hours increase over time for the same unit of competency or module. Here we show that the "hours inflation" explains relatively little of the divergence between students and hours. However, another form of hours creep, whereby new modules have higher average hours than ceased modules, was of some significance at the start of the period in question. A list of tables representing change in hours by state and territory is appended. (Contains 2 footnotes, 7 tables, and 3 figures.) [This work has been produced by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) as a joint initiative of the Australian Government, and state and territory governments, with funding provided through the Australian Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.]

This report provides the technical details on the modelling aspects of identifying significant drivers for the reasons for using certain types of training and for the choice of training types. The employed data is from the 2005 Survey of Employer Use and Views of the VET system (SEUV). The data has previously been analysed in NCVER (2006). This report focuses on two broad research questions. First, what are the drivers of the reasons (or what explains the reasons) employers cite for using particular training types. Second, what explains the observed choice employers make in choosing between nationally recognised training and unaccredited training. These two research questions are analysed in turn in sections three and four. (Contains 11 tables.) [Funding for this document was provided through the Australian Department of Education, Science and Training. This document was produced by the authors based on their research for the report "Reasons for training: Why Australian employers train their workers," and is an added resource for further information. For the main report, see ED507236.]

The implementation of an educational reform and the subsequent reconfiguration of curricula in a competency format prompted research into the learning experiences of students within a newly reconfigured competency-based curriculum. The curriculum was the technical and further education (TAFE) New South Wales (NSW) Tertiary Preparation Certificate III, first implemented in 1983 as a transition course to further education for adults. Adoption of the particular research perspective for the practitioner researcher in this case was dependent on factors that included nature and purpose of the research; experiences of the researcher within their practice; practitioner's conceptualization of being in the world; and pragmatic considerations, such as time and access. Consideration of these factors led the practitioner researcher to adopt an eclectic Symbolic Interactionist theoretical framework along with its methodology of participant observation. A model of practitioner research was proposed as a way of conceptualizing the conflicting yet complementary roles of teacher and researcher. Key characteristics of the three roles of teacher, course coordinator, and researcher were established, and a graphic representation was developed of these characteristics and the types of interaction and skills involved in each. (Contains 31 references.) (YLB)

The socioeconomic contributions of adult learning to community were examined from a social capital perspective. The concepts of human capital and social capital were differentiated, and the relationship between learning, human capital, and social capital was explored. The relevance of social capital in describing the wider benefits of adult learning was illustrated through the examples of a study of the impact of the adult and community education (ACE) sector on communities and society in Victoria, Australia, and a study of a group of African women refugees located in a suburb of a large Australian capital city. The studies documented wider benefits of ACE in the following areas: health; education and learning; employment and quality of working life; time and leisure; command over goods and services; physical environment; social environment; and personal safety. Social capital building was shown to be implicated in effective adult learning in the following ways: (1) social capital is involved in program design, management, and delivery whether it is explicitly recognized as such or not; (2) the processes of drawing on and building social capital are part and parcel of the learning process; and (3) social capital can be a direct or indirect benefit of learning. (Contains 27 references.) (MN)

The research implications of the concepts of working knowledge and work-based learning were examined. A research agenda for work-based learning arising from the analysis of "working knowledge" was presented. The agenda listed questions pertaining to the following areas: (1) the conditions bringing about work-based learning; (2) the nature of working knowledge; (3) knowledge formation and learning at work; (4) academic institutions and their knowledge codes; (5) contemporary knowledge formation; and (6) working identity. The impact of the "embeddedness" of learning in the workplace on attempts to research how knowledge is produced in workplaces was discussed, focusing on the following items: (1) what employees deem to be learning practices and how they understand these practices by their various conceptions of learning; (2) the work relationships and social learning that occur among employees and their influence on formation and modification of worksites' learning practices; and (3) the organizational culture that provides a context for learning. The following factors conditioning a learning culture were explored in an analysis of the problem of researching how an organizational "learning culture" is produced in enterprises: environments pressing the organization to change; organizational systems promoting learning; and practices securing employee commitment. (Contains 18 references.) (MN)

The experiences of early school leavers in a New South Wales Central Coast community during the year after they left school were examined to identify ways of easing their transition into the community and the work force. Data were collected through interviews with community service providers, representatives of educational agencies, refuge workers, and local employers. Few schools had a system for providing early school leavers with information about their options. Unlike in Europe, the responsibility of schools to early leavers in the North Coast appeared to be minimal and did not embrace the idea that early school leavers should be followed up via some well-established community-based arrangements. Because many early leavers left school too suddenly for the school to intervene or left "under a cloud," they were unlikely to receive sympathetic farewells and relevant information, even though they are the students most in need of information and support. It was concluded that the reason early school leavers pose such a problem for policy is because Australia's vocational education and training system remains based on the historical dominance of the apprenticeship system. Greater integration of education and training arrangements with the local community and its employer networks and support services was recommended. (Contains 32 references.) (MN)

A research project was conducted in Australia to assess the use of and attitudes toward online learning by vocational and technical education (VET) researchers. Information was gathered from 18 (13 women and 5 men, aged between 30 and 58) participant-researchers through a workshop in Adelaide, completion of a participant profile, a structured e-mail survey, a structured telephone interview, four online focus group events, and a second workshop to discuss the working paper. The research study found that, on average, the team had 3.4 years involvement in online learning and were involved in a variety of ways. Twelve of the team were involved in the professional development or mentoring of other staff in online technologies; 9 were involved in the development of online modules and training packages; 8 were involved in online delivery; and 3 were involved in LearnScope projects. Multiple roles in online learning were the norm. Most of the subjects learned about online learning matters through colleagues with online learning expertise or discipline expertise, while a significant number learned through formal professional development programs. Six of the respondents thought all teachers could become effective facilitators of online learning, 8 did not think so, and 4 were unsure. Only 3 respondents thought that all students could learn effectively through online activities, 10 respondents did not, and 4 were unsure. Having computer skills was the most common attribute mentioned for students to learn online. Benefits of online learning were considered to be meeting the individual needs of students and promoting access to VET for disadvantaged learners. (Contains 10 tables.) (KC)

Current research into youth transitions in Australia documents an increasingly individualized process in which significant numbers of youths are deemed at risk of not making a successful transition from school to work. Many theorists are questioning the applicability of the linear model of transition to current conditions. Other theorists are questioning whether the model was ever applicable to all students (especially "nonmainstream" students). The literature also documents the perceived failure of policy in ensuring successful transitions through recognized "pathways" of vocational learning and experience. It may be argued that, by broadening their focus to include the informal vocational experiences young people initiate and the type of learning that occurs in such instances, educational researchers may provide useful insights into how young people experience the transition process and how they seek to position themselves in the youth labor market. Research on this area is being conducted as part of the Research Centre for Vocational Education and Training's national key center program supported by the Australian National Training Authority. It is hoped that this research will shed new light on the increasingly complex transition process experienced by noncollege-bound young people and help policymakers devise more effective policies to assist this transition. (Contains 22 references.) (MN)

A study examined challenges associated with investigating the role and occupational identity of learning practitioners who operate within the organizational as opposed to the educational institution context. These challenges include the following: (1) naming this group of organizational practitioners; (2) distribution of learning responsibilities; (3) diversity of theoretical bases for practice; (4) diverse models of organizational practice; (5) reported shifts in prerequisite competences of practice; and (6) new understanding of learning. The study shows that a new type of learning practitioner is emerging in organizational context. Research challenges arising at least in part from the shifting nature of this comparatively unregulated field of practice exist and need to be addressed. Such research could be seen as contributing a better understanding of the learning that is occurring in organizations and in institutions contributing to work force capability building as a basis for the ongoing development of professionals who work in this area. (Contains 33 references.) (KC)

A study examined the profiles of vocational education and training (VET) clients in disadvantaged areas of Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, building on earlier analysis of VET participation in those cities. The study examined the characteristics of VET clients coming from postal codes identified as disadvantaged to determine, if possible, to what extent high levels of participation are accompanied by comparable achievement, judged by appropriate measures such as level of course and module outcomes. Information was gathered from earlier studies and by mapping VET client data for postal codes in Sydney and Melbourne. The study confirmed earlier findings that the most disadvantaged areas of both cities have the highest numbers of TAFE (Technical and Further Education) participants. The relationship between disadvantage and participation is apparent mainly at the extremes of the most disadvantaged and most advantaged postal codes. A different map could be created by mapping another criterion of disadvantage, such as economic resource, because some lower income people have higher education levels. The study supports the contention that VET policy should give greater attention to addressing equity issues in disadvantaged urban regions because this is where large numbers of people do participate in VET. (Contains 16 references, 6 tables, and 5 figures.) (KC)

Indexes of socioeconomic status (SES) are widely used in school and higher education because of the known relationship of low educational participation and achievement by socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. Because an index of SES can predict which areas and social groups need to be "targeted" to improve educational participation, this methodology assumes that disadvantage is concentrated in particular localities. Some analysis of "area" disadvantage is an essential step in determining what policies can be effective in countering the effects of socioeconomic disadvantage on post-school participation, especially vocational and technical (VET) education. However, SES is one among several useful dimensions, including the characteristics of "equity groups" and the particular strategies that are known to be effective in addressing VET needs. An approach can be taken where SEIFA indexes (Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas) are used to identify those localities in Australia where large areas of disadvantaged people live. The rationale for using such indexes springs not only from their widespread use in public policy but from the evident need to address the conceptual weakness of equity policy in the VET system. The SEIFA indexes predict areas with low achievement in education generally, but these areas are those with higher levels of VET participation and achievement. Economic factors may be more useful than educational and occupational measures to identify these potential VET clients. Further research will summarize an analysis of the application of SEIFA indexes to VET participation in disadvantaged urban regions. (Contains 15 references and 2 tables.) (KC)

This document reports the findings of seven case studies undertaken as part of a larger research project on the measuring and reporting of intellectual capital, being conducted by an Australian research team. The case studies aimed to investigate in more detail the approach of seven Australian organizations and enterprises to the recording and reporting of these three elements of intellectual capital (IC): internal capital; external capital; and human capital. Each of the individual case study reports includes observations about all three elements, but the study focused primarily on human capital and the connection between human capital and human resource management and development. This report contains five sections. The first section considers the drivers at the macro and micro levels that are placing pressure on enterprises and organizations to record and report a broader range of data in relation to their human resources and that are contributing to the acceleration of practice in this regard. The second looks at the extent of reporting by and within the seven case study organizations. The third considers the impact and implications of reporting on and for the organizations. The fourth section briefly discusses some stakeholder issues, particularly for governments, trade unions, and individuals. The fifth section summarizes the findings and indicates potential directions for further action and research. (KC)

A study analyzed patterns of participation at the local level in adult and community education (ACE) and technical and further education (TAFE) in Melbourne, Australia postcodes. Patterns of participation were hypothesized as being different from those in Sydney, New South Wales, where previous research established the marked differentiation of TAFE and ACE clienteles by postcode of residence. Results of the Melbourne postcode analysis confirmed the broad trend noted in the Sydney studies for TAFE and ACE participation to be differentiated by the socioeconomic status of the postcode. However, the Melbourne participation maps showed a good deal of variability in this broad relationship that needs to be explained. There were also considerable local variations in participation across adjacent postcodes. The general trend was for relatively high rates of participation in TAFE and ACE in most areas; yet they were differentiated to a degree by socioeconomic influences. This complexity was consistent with the marked diversification of VET in Melbourne and a corresponding differentiation of clienteles and services in TAFE and ACE. (Contains 15 references, 3 figures, and 3 tables.) (YLB)

More attention should be given to the local dimension of equity research. A question that must be asked is to what extent there is an unequal distribution of opportunities to participate in vocational education and training (VET) that is mirrored by area of residence in both urban and rural localities. Questions must also be asked about the extent to which relatively advantaged (employed and educated) individuals consume the resources allocated to a locality or region. Local analysis studies the characteristics of participants who live or work in a certain area. The characteristics of VET participants living in a postcode can be compared with the characteristics of that locality in general and with the profile of VET participants in the region or state using a "profiling" methodology. The representation of equity groups in particular areas may be explored by using information about VET participants from AVETMISS and Census mapping software. One conceptual model of VET participation, which is holistic or ecological in character, assumes that participation is a complex product of provider, area, and clientele factors. It suggests these three possible approaches to local equity analysis: area participation, catchment, and provider equity analyses. A study of Sydney postcodes has found that technical and further education is highest in areas where relatively disadvantaged people are living. (Contains 15 references, 3 tables, and 1 figure.) (YLB)

Ascertaining young children's attitudes towards mathematics has its challenges. Methodologically, limitations exist regarding the type of research techniques that can be employed. The use of children's drawings as a data source has both methodological affordances and issues. The study was conducted with 106 children in Years 2 and 3 from three South Australian primary schools. This paper identifies some of the methodological affordances and issues of using children's drawings to ascertain and describe their attitudes towards mathematics. [This paper is the third in a symposium of three papers. For the first paper, "Drawings Reveal Young Students' Multiplicative Visualisation," see ED616196. For the second paper, "Investigating Students' Drawings as a Representational Mode of Mathematical Fluency," see ED616197.]

Exploring the nexus between doctoral education and research, and developments in how research is organised and funded is of significance as doctoral education is both part of the higher education system for teaching and learning, and part of the research enterprise. Doctoral candidates are both students and effectively early career researchers. Drawing on data from an ARC funded study of the development of doctoral programs in Australia including investigation of eight discipline-based case sites, we argue that not only are the settings for research and doctoral education diverse, the settings and arrangements are complex. The findings show that significant features of education include doctoral programs distributed within and across a range of entities, sites and structures, both within and external to any one institution, and including academic departmental structures. We discuss tensions and issues raised by these developments for policy and practices in doctoral education; especially in a university system that has been moving to more corporate models of governance and organization to manage the expansion of student enrolments and pressures for accountability, risk management and quality assurance.

A three-part strategy for research in vocational education and training (VET) in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, was proposed. The strategy was developed after a review of current key documents, initial consultations with key stakeholders and NSW Board of Vocational Education and Training officers, discussions with focus groups of users of VET research, and circulation of a discussion paper to VET stakeholders from the public and private sectors. The strategy's elements were as follows: a framework (broad set of principles) within which research and development within the VET sector can be developed and maintained; specific proposals for priority areas for research activity; and specific proposals for processes that the NSW Board of Vocational Education could adopt to strengthen the quality, amount, and usefulness of research. It was recommended that research in VET adopt the model of best practice in industry and that priority be given to research on the following topics: future scenarios and implications for VET planning; delivery of VET; reflection of the rhetoric of training reform in practice; the role of industry in VET policy and practice; and better data to help in training reform. (Appended are the following: definitions, description of the study methodology, and list of organizations providing input to the project.) (MN)

This paper puts forward a set of criteria for ensuring trustworthiness in design research studies undertaken by Higher Degree Research (HDR) students. Design research is aimed at exploring educational problems and refining theory and practice by defining a pedagogical outcome and is a methodological approach often associated with the Learning Sciences. In this paper, how a solo HDR researcher can use a design research approach to maximise the benefits of the methodology without compromising the validity of the research design will be discussed. The criteria put forward to ensure reliability fall into two categories; trustworthiness and the research design. Overall, there is a perceived need and value for HDR students to contribute to the understandings of design studies which are guided by a trustworthy research design. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

This paper draws on two studies to consider theoretical, analytical, ethical, methodological, and representational questions about longitudinal case study research in literacy acquisition. Both studies drew on observations and interviews, as well as formal assessment data. The two longitudinal studies are: "100 Children Go to School: Longitudinal Study from the Year Prior to School to the First Four Years of School"; and "Socio-economically Disadvantaged Students and the Development of Literacies in School: Longitudinal Study." The paper presents observational case study data from both studies which were conducted in several Australian states. Working on these longitudinal studies made the researchers aware of the ways in which they are implicated in producing constitutive discourses about literacy, development, literacy development and children in socio-economically disadvantaged communities. These topics are fraught with controversy, stale and yet still very important to teachers and children's school lives. Some observations are: (1) one outcome of this longitudinal work is the way it complicates children as educational subjects and repositions them as both "agentic" and dynamic; (2) the projects indicate overwhelmingly that what constitutes literacy is changing and there are considerable gaps and differences between the literacies and language practices of schools and home; and (3) while it is helpful to consider the dynamism of young people as students who are subject to change, it is a major dilemma that school literacies and educational futures seem increasingly subject to normative models of assessment and credentialing. (Contains 18 references.) (NKA)

One of the core aims for the implementation of teacher professional development programs is to improve student outcomes. Since 1996 the Broken Bay Catholic Diocese in New South Wales (Australia) has been utilizing the language and literacy program known as Frameworks as the staff development component for their 3-year literacy initiative. The program has two modules: the teacher module of the Frameworks program focuses on developing links between current literacy theory, teacher learning and classroom practice, while the student module focuses on three measures of student literacy acquisition implemented in the classroom by classroom teachers. In this paper, the authors explore the changes reported by both teachers and students in a range of areas, including knowledge of literacy teaching and learning, changes in classroom practices and in assessment practices. The paper also discusses some of the methodological issues used in the initial study. As a result of the initial research, a 3-year Industry grant (SPIRT, Strategic Partnerships with Industry--Research and Training) has been awarded by the Australian Research Council to assist the University of Wollongong and the Catholic School Office, Broken Bay Diocese, to complete further research in this area. This research aims to explore the links between teacher learning, student learning, and classroom practice. The paper discusses some of the theoretical and practical issues that have arisen in relation to early literacy development. Contains 39 references, and 4 figures and 4 tables of data. (Author/NKA)