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This paper provides new evidence on educational inequality and reviews the literature on the causes and consequences of unequal education. We document large achievement gaps between children from different socio-economic backgrounds, show how patterns of educational inequality vary across countries, time, and generations, and establish a link between educational inequality and social mobility. We interpret this evidence from the perspective of economic models of skill acquisition and investment in human capital. The models account for different channels underlying unequal education and highlight how endogenous responses in parents' and children's educational investments generate a close link between economic inequality and educational inequality. Given concerns over the extended school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, we also summarize early evidence on the impact of the pandemic on children's education and on possible long-run repercussions for educational inequality.

Principals (policy makers) have debated the progress in U.S. student performance for a half century or more. Informing these conversations, survey agents have administered seven million psychometrically linked tests in math and reading in 160 waves to national probability samples of selected cohorts born between 1954 and 2007. This study is the first to assess consistency of results by agency. We find results vary by agent, but consistent with Flynn effects, gains are larger in math than reading, except for the most recent period. Non-whites progress at a faster pace. Socio-economically disadvantaged white, black, and Hispanic students make greater progress when tested in elementary school, but that advantage attenuates and reverses itself as students age. We discuss potential moderators.

This paper studies the contribution of parental influence in accounting for cross-country gaps in human capital achievements. We argue that the cross-country variation in unobserved parental characteristics is at least as important as the one in commonly used observable proxies of parental socio-economic background. We infer this through an indirect empirical approach, based on the comparison of the school performance of second-generation immigrants. We document that, within the same host country or even the same school, students whose parents come from high-scoring countries in the PISA test do better than their peers with similar socioeconomic backgrounds. Differential selection into emigration does not explain this finding. The result is larger when parents have little education and have recently emigrated, suggesting the importance of country-specific cultural traits that parents progressively lose as they integrate in the new host country, rather than of an intergenerational transmission of education quality. Unobserved parental characteristics account for about 15% of the cross-country variance in test scores, roughly doubling the overall contribution of parental influence.

Differences in teacher quality are commonly cited as a key determinant of the huge international student performance gaps. However, convincing evidence on this relationship is still lacking, in part because it is unclear how to measure teacher quality consistently across countries. We use unique international assessment data to investigate the role of teacher cognitive skills as one main dimension of teacher quality in explaining student outcomes. Our main identification strategy exploits exogenous variation in teacher cognitive skills attributable to international differences in relative wages of nonteacher public sector employees. Using student-level test score data, we find that teacher cognitive skills are an important determinant of international differences in student performance. Results are supported by fixed-effects estimation that uses within-country between-subject variation in teacher skills.

This paper traces the evolution of Australia's apprenticeship and traineeship system since permanent European settlement in 1788. The system was imported from Great Britain; it has evolved and diverged in some areas but retains many of the features of the British model. Most major changes have occurred in the last 25 years. The apprenticeship model--a combination of paid employment, on-the-job and institutional training--has always had particular appeal for meeting intergenerational skills transfer: it provides employers with a source of low-cost labour, the apprentice with paid employment, and an opportunity for government to subsidise employment for those needing help to establish themselves in the labour market. Indeed, the community, employees, unions, employers and government have come to regard apprenticeships as the system for training in the trades and have tolerated few alterations to the system, beyond those resulting from shifts in the occupational and industry mix in the Australian economy and changes in secondary schooling arrangements. The first important reform to apprenticeships occurred in 1985 with the introduction of traineeships, which extended the model to a much wider range of occupations, generally at lower qualification levels. The second was in the mid-1990s when the Australian Government began paying incentives on a large scale to employers to help offset the costs of apprenticeships and traineeships and to encourage more commencements. This had a spectacular impact on traineeship numbers but much less effect on trades apprenticeships. Other significant changes were introduced in 1998; these allowed school students, existing workers and part-time workers to undertake apprenticeships and traineeships. In short, since 1985 the system has moved from one dominated by young males undertaking apprenticeships in the trades to one that provides apprenticeships and traineeships to people of all ages and both sexes, and in a much wider range of occupations. Key messages from this paper include: (1) The apprentice and trainee system needs to address some major issues. Much of the training is at low qualification levels with little or no economic return. And it can be argued that it is neglecting the general education needs of young people; (2) The system needs greater capacity to adapt and respond quickly to changing labour market demands. Australia might look to the experience of countries that use an institutional training model for trade training, which may be much easier to ramp up quickly; and (3) By any standards the cost of Australia's current system places a hefty burden on the public purse, estimated at $2.9 billion in 2008-09. Recorded occupation of a sample of skilled convicts transported to Australia, 1788-1868 is appended. (Contains 4 tables, 2 figures and 1 footnote.)

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.)

Vocational education in schools declined significantly following the demise of the 1970s of technical high schools. By the 1990s, it had undergone a renaissance after formal school vocational education and training (VET) programs became an accepted feature of the latter years of schooling. There is now a diverse range of school VET options available to young people in their senior years of schooling. Over 90% of senior secondary schools offer VET subjects and programs, and nationally over 40% of students participate in VET in Schools programs. Young people participating in the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) can be tracked as they make their transitions from school to work, providing an opportunity to assess the impact of VET in Schools programs on their educational and employment outcomes. This briefing paper uses previous research on the impact of VET in Schools and some primary analysis of the data from LSAY participants who were first interviewed in 1995 or 2003 (Y95 and Y03) to assess the effect of these programs on school retention, post-school VET and employment, and young people's school and post-school aspirations. The results of the regression models are appended. (Contains 15 tables and 3 footnotes.)

Rubrics are a tool that can be used to provide graded assessment for articulation from vocational education and training (VET) into higher education. By mentoring teachers to use rubrics and interviewing them to determine their experiences in using them, the author explored the potential of rubrics as an assessment tool. Overall, teachers found rubrics not only useful for grading assessments but also for conveying assessment expectations to students. The research was undertaken by a novice researcher in the community of practice program and was funded as part of NCVER's (National Centre for Vocational Education Research) Building Researcher Capacity initiative. (Contains 3 tables.)

The question of the extent to which effective leadership in vocational education and training (VET) depends on the specific context in which it occurs was examined. Data were collected from the following sources: an intensive literature analysis; studies of purposive sample of 12 diverse VET sites across Australia; and individual interviews with 48 individuals and group interviews with approximately 60 individuals at the 12 sites. The data from the sites were assembled and subjected to preliminary analysis. Selected emerging results were reported. The following attributes were deemed important leadership characteristics: (1) envisages future trends and their impacts on current strategies; (2) demonstrates interpersonal skills by talking and listening to others and establishing rapport; and (3) works to understand the personalities, motivations, and other diverse qualities of people. The following different "takes" on effective VET leadership were identified: (1) leadership is initiated and carried by a single "leader" or manager; (2) leadership is encouragement of each employee; (3) leaders must see the big picture and translate it into each staff member's own contribution so they perform at their best; (4) people are essentially born leaders; and (5) leadership is about enabling people to develop and grow within an environment of increasing complexity and change. (Contains 33 references.) (MN)

Forecasts of Australian labor market growth, net replacement needs, and net job openings to 2006 are presented using the nine-way grouping of occupations described by (Maglen and Shah, 1999). Analysis is based on classifying occupations by whether they are advantaged by globalization and technological change, relatively insulated, or vulnerable. Globally advantaged occupations are grouped by whether they are, by nature, conceptual or technical. Insulated occupations are in-person professionals, skilled workers, and low-skill workers. Vulnerable occupations are advanced skill, white-collar clerical, blue-collar operative, and manual low-skill. Findings indicate, in the medium term, overall growth in employment is expected to be 1.2 percent per year, and net replacement is expected to be 2.1 percent; turnover will create most job openings for new entrants. More than four of five jobs due to growth in employment are projected to be in the globally advantaged or insulated occupations with projected average growth rates of about 1.7 percent per year; the average for vulnerable occupations is 0.5 percent. Because of job turnover, a substantial number of job openings will be for new entrants in vulnerable occupations, with the net replacement rate of 2.0 percent. Insulated occupations with above average growth in employment have a relatively high rate of turnover, especially among low skill groups. More than one in five of job openings for new entrants is expected in in-person low-skill insulated occupations. Appendixes include a list of 18 references and a paper on replacement demand and growth. (YLB)

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)

The question of whether apprenticeships and traineeships can survive in Australia's emerging social and economic environment was explored through a review of two bodies of research. The first consisted of recent reviews of the quality of traineeships in Queensland and Tasmania and apprenticeships in Victoria. The second was a study on the future of work that was being conducted by the Research Centre for Vocational Education and Training and Australian Centre for Industrial Relations Research and Training. The recent success of Australia's New Apprenticeship system was considered in the context of the structure, content, and skill requirements of the jobs currently being created. The following problems were identified as affecting the long-term survival of apprenticeships and traineeships: increasing detachment from a centralized industrial relations system and industrial awards; increasing reliance on skill opportunities provided by the content and structure of work in individual enterprises rather than within an industry; high levels of employer influence and declining levels of employer investment in training; increasing dependence on a regime of public subsidy and training regulation; uncertainty about how to deal the competing trends of on-skilling and de-skilling; and reluctance to admit that not all workplaces are or even aspire to be learning organizations. (Contains 12 references.) (MN)

An approach is needed that recognizes a "system" of pathways results from an interaction between Australian pathway designs and reforms of policymakers on the one hand, and the decisions by young people and their families on the other. (Pathways are combinations of education, training, and employment activities that can be taken to acquire a certificate of type of employment.) Data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth for about 2,200 year 10 students from the late 1980s for 7 years identify hundreds of different patterns of activity in the transition from school. For the group that did not obtain tertiary qualifications, these eight pathways have been defined: (1) those who obtained a full-time job on leaving school and remained in full-time work; (2) those who gained an apprenticeship or traineeship followed by full-time work; (3) school leavers who participated in full-time further study before entering full-time employment; (4) youth who experienced a brief or extended period of unemployment, part-time work, or not in the labor force, but were in full-time work for the remainder of the time; (5) those who did the same for an extended period; (6) those who worked mainly part-time; (7) those who were unemployed for the majority of the time; and (8) those mainly not in the labor force. Other pathways were identified for those with tertiary qualifications. (YLB)

A study examined the question of how one Australian non-metropolitan community consolidates and develops sustainable economic and social activity through the learning of community members. The research used a focused interview process with open-ended questions with these 2 major sub-groups in the community and explored their interrelatedness: 2 people employed in 17 industry groups delineated for benchmarking performance in vocational education and training (VET) and 1 person affiliated with groups of community organizations. Sources of learning in these three contexts were explored: in recent paid work, in community activities, in home activities. Respondents rated the value to them of these five sources of learning: at school, through post-school qualifications, through work, outside of work from involvement with community groups, and associated with home activities. Findings indicated nonformal and informal learning contributed to a substantial proportion of an individual's learning. Formal learning through schooling and post-school qualifications were assigned a relatively lower value. While 46 percent of VET graduates regarded VET qualifications as of high or medium usefulness, trade qualifications and higher level awards were more highly valued. Regarding their most important skill, 47 percent named empathy for others and 42 percent named communication skills. (Contains 19 references.) (YLB)

Student Action Teams (SATs) were established in 20 Victoria, Australia, secondary schools in 1999, with 11 of those schools continuing with their teams in 2000. The Student Action Teams are comprised of groups of students who identify a school or community issue, research it, make plans and proposals about it, and take action on it. Such initiatives, as part of the school curriculum, engage students in purposeful activities that are valued by the students, that have broader community value, and that meet or exceed mandated curriculum goals. An evaluation, based on progress reports and issues papers, an extensive database, and case studies, found that the SAT program resulted in positive outcomes, including a high identification of students with SATs, flexibility of the teams to work on local issues in a responsive way, integration of the SAT concept into the curriculum, and community links to safety and crime prevention initiatives. Personal and educational outcomes for students included increased awareness of community safety issues, enhanced communication and teamwork skills, and school credits. Issues to consider include the following: (1) understanding of community safety and the "at-risk" requirement of the program; (2) training in leadership, team work, community, and safety; (3) program support and accountability; (4) organizational sustainability; and (5) integration of SAT into the curriculum. Appended are: Initial Program Information, Schools Involved list, and Reference list. (Contains 11 references.) (KC)

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)

A project has been designed to identify how a non-metropolitan community consolidates and develops sustainable social and economic activity. For many authors, the political position reiterating vocational education and training (VET) as the pivotal contributor to building national economic sustainability is framed in terms of human capital imperatives, economic rationalism, and corporate managerialism. Contemporary research on VET's value or outcomes often focuses on industry outcomes or particular activity rather than value to its wider community. The project would examine whether models of vocational provision constructed to service one sector, as opposed to mutualities of sectors, may mitigate against attempts by non-metropolitan communities to reposition themselves economically and socially in an increasingly globalized economy. A more inclusive definition of VET may be appropriate to more accurately describe the true value of VET activity and its benefits to communities in their quest for economic and social sustainability. The research method combines the focused interview process with open-ended questions. The sample consists of two strata: those employed in 17 industry groupings delineated for benchmarking performance in VET in Australia and those affiliated with community groupings operating in the study community. (Contains 56 references.) (YLB)

A review of research literature relating to vocational education and training (VET) in non-metropolitan Australia identified issues which differentially impact metropolitan and non-metropolitan Australia and research needs. Findings indicated non-metropolitan Australia is diverse in terms of population density, educational experiences of the population, occupation, and industries for employment. Rural people were less likely to have post-school qualifications, participate in post-school education and training, be employed, and be a professional working in manufacturing, property and business services, or finance and insurance. Rural people were more likely to have left school early, be unemployed or out of the labor force, work in small business, be self-employed or an employer, be a laborer or have other low-skilled occupation, and work in agriculture, forestry and fishing, mining, construction, or tourism. The following seven issues demonstrate differential impact or need further research: local involvement in planning; thin markets; cost of training and measurement of cost and effectiveness; flexible delivery; no tradition of VET or history of valuing education; quality and availability of trainers and assessors; and community sustainability, social capital, and the value of VET to communities. (A 59-item bibliography is appended.) (YLB)

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)

This overview paper highlights implications of keynote papers and discussion at the first National Issues Forum held by the Research Center for Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Australia. It discusses evidence that the school-to-work (STW) transition is a problem for an increasing number of young people and why. It outlines the government's range of responses to help young people, including greatly increased public funding for VET. However, evidence is presented that shows VET providers have failed to attract an increasing proportion of young people, shown by the decline in young people's participation in VET. Reasons for the decline include: changing patterns of demand for skills; and changing youth attitudes and competition from adults for access to training. Recent survey results are presented on employment and earnings outcomes achieved by young people who use a VET course to prepare them for employment. The paper suggests that VET's traditional strengths--its institutional base and vocational focus--may also be its greatest weaknesses in the future. Evidence is presented that countries with similar training arrangements (apprenticeship system and well-defined occupational structures of the industrial award system) are making major changes to how their structured education STW pathways work. The paper concludes by exploring types of changes VET needs to make. A case is made for VET providers to undertake continuous reassessment of how well they are currently meeting needs of potential students. (YLB)

Australia introduced User Choice nationally in January 1998 to develop a national training system that is more responsive to clients' needs. User Choice is based on nine principles, including the following: (1) clients can negotiate their publicly funded training needs; (2) User Choice operates in a national training market not limited by state or territory boundaries; (3) pricing of training programs is based on clearly identified state/territory unit cost benchmarks; and (4) clients can negotiate and purchase training over and above what is essential to their qualification outcomes. The evaluations of User Choice have been broadly supportive. A comprehensive evaluation concluded that the overall policy framework is strong and progressing well. However, support for User Choice by employers has been stronger than support by public and private providers. Studies have credited User Choice with increasing the range of training options to satisfy client needs and increasing interaction between employers and providers, particularly in technical and further education. However, all the evaluations of User Choice have highlighted areas of concern and made recommendations for change, particularly in the areas of quality of training and implementation of the nine principles of User Choice in practice. A summary of user choice project approvals is appended. (Contains 20 references.) (MN)

The attitudes and experiences of 18 vocational education and training (VET) practitioners considered to be at the leading edge of online education in technical and further education (TAFE) in South Australia were examined to determine how leading-edge VET practitioners engaged in designing, developing, and facilitating online learning understand their changing roles and professional practice. The practitioners' responses reinforced the fact that online learning is a new frontier pedagogically, technologically, and organizationally. The new tasks of designing, developing, and facilitating online learning both required and stimulated new forms of work organization for VET practitioners. The practitioners generally considered this work a positive experience and credited it with increasing their job satisfaction. However, they also cited negative effects of the introduction of online instruction that call into question the long-term sustainability of online work as it is currently organized. It was concluded that the quality and extent of online education will inevitably be constrained unless the human resource management of training organizations addresses the organization of online work more explicitly. Issues that must be addressed include better job design to accommodate the working conditions associated with online work and institution of sophisticated strategies for building and sustaining work and knowledge networks. (Contains 24 references.) (MN)

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)

Ideas about what constitutes work, the ways work is organized, the tools used in work, and the relationship between work and the other components of life are all changing rapidly. The implications of these changes for vocational education and training (VET) in Australia and elsewhere were examined. The following issues were considered: (1) the loss of a clear direction or mission for VET; (2) increasing debate over focusing VET programs on meeting the individual needs of vocational education students or concentrating on developing an industry-driven system focused on employers' needs; (3) debate over whether VET should focus on particular jobs, careers, work in general, or life in general; (4) debate over the extent to which the VET curriculum should focus on specific vocational skills versus broad, underlying principles; and (5) debate over the relative emphasis placed on preemployement versus in-employment training, classroom-based and experience-based training, and course-centered versus individualized instruction. The following immediate challenges facing VET were identified: (1) making employer involvement in VET an economic imperative; (2) improving awareness of workplace realities among vocational teachers; (3) adapting cooperative programs to deal with multiple employers; and (4) building international alliances in VET. (Contains 24 references, 3 figures, and 1 table.) (MN)

The informal vocational learning experiences of 13 young Australians preparing for the transition from school to work were examined. At the time of their interview, all 13 youths were students at a hybrid educational site in the Sydney metropolitan area that allows students to combine general education with vocational qualifications and experience in the workplace. The youths responded to an advertisement for research volunteers who had a clear vocational goal and believed they were engaging in activities designed to increase their opportunities for gaining employment in their desired area. Although the respondents' stories reflected a wide range of patterns of activities, they also contained several similarities. All students interviewed had changed their place of education at the end of year 10, and all chose to transfer to an educational institution offering a hybrid approach to postcompulsory education and training. All were aware of the importance and desirability of preparing for a range of career options. Despite being vocationally goal-oriented, many participants were unable or unwilling to articulate anything but a vague concept of "pathway." All participants had workplace experience in their area of vocational interest, and all considered exposure to work in their chosen industry a valuable experience. (Contains 24 references.) (MN)

An evaluation of the extent to which research influences decision making in vocational education and training (VET) at the policy level necessitates consideration of these three areas: (1) decision making; (2) research; and (3) linkages. First, the impact of research on decision making incorporates these two elements: (1) use; and (2) influence. The study of policy-making should concentrate on analysis of the policy process, distribution of power among key stakeholders, and assumptive worlds of key individuals and organizations. Second, research should be addressed in its diversity. Its outputs are: (1) a provision of new knowledge and an application of existing knowledge in new ways; (2) research skills and attitudes; and (3) appropriately educated people. Research can be classified by type: (1) basic; (2) strategic; or (3) applied research and experimental development. Third, the impact of research on policy making is affected by linkages between research and decision making. Stressing the multiple pathways through which VET research can influence policy and practice emphasizes the importance of multiple areas of collaboration between researchers, users, and others. Conclusions are: (1) research does have an impact on decision making in VET; (2) the extent of the influence can not be evaluated quantitatively; and (3) actions of stakeholders can enhance the extent to which research is used and has influence on decision making. (Contains 20 references.) (YLB)

Changes in the nature of work have resulted in a significant loss of employment opportunities for Australian youths. Since the 1980s, the Australian government's perspective on the problem of youth unemployment has moved from emphasis on job availability to emphasis on individual job readiness. A 1999 Tasmanian study of early school leavers and their attempts to gain employment confirms the disjunction between the world of work and the educational experiences of youths who leave school after completing compulsory education. For the 63 Tasmanian youths studied, the pathway to work was not easy. Many reported negative experiences in their job searches, and many viewed themselves in a no-win situation as welfare officials pressured them to find employment without providing them with any meaningful assistance in doing so. However, the respondents did not perceive all attempts to assist them negatively. Those who participated in short training programs emphasizing generic skills and knowledge in specific areas of work generally considered the programs beneficial. Vocational training programs with no waiting periods were seen as key to easing the Tasmanian youths' transition from school to work. It was recommended that the issues of youth unemployment, forging school-business partnerships, and revising existing curricula be revisited. (Contains 13 references.) (MN)

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)

Research tested the hypothesis that preemployment vocational education is a major contributor to enterprise productivity, because it raises workers' skills that are then applied in more effective work practices. An intercountry comparisons approach involving Britain and Germany and Britain and the Netherlands or France identified medium-sized establishments that produced similar products and compared and contrasted the following: worker productivity; management styles and practices; technologies used; workplace organization; on-the-job training; level and type of vocational qualifications of workers; and curriculum content relating to the qualifications. Findings were as follows: the average productivity of the British enterprises was below that of their counterparts; percentages of British personnel holding intermediate qualifications were much lower; in contrast to British manufacturing, German manufacturing was withdrawing from producing bulk quantities of standard goods; German companies were more inclined to use numerically controlled machinery; and machine breakdowns were rare in Germany, but common in Britain. The different productivity levels were also due to workers' capabilities, which could be explained as a consequence of differences in work preparation. Implications for Australia were to emphasize skilling to increase productivity in customized, high-quality products; to develop technological competence; and to implement rigorous student assessment. (Contains 46 references.) (YLB)

There are five major groups of stakeholders in vocational education and training (VET) in Australia: national and state governments; the technical and further education (TAFE) sector; private VET providers; employers; and students and trainees. The questions of who should provide and who should pay for VET in New South Wales (NSW) were explored through an analysis that began with examination of the following considerations: distinctions between general and specific training; considerations of efficiency and equity in determining the role that governments should play in the provision and funding of VET; and options arising from a consideration of public utility pricing policy. Next, the following aspects of the present situation in NSW were examined: input and output controls considered appropriate by the NSW government for state organizations classified according to their financial and market status; the broad organization and funding of TAFE in NSW; factors determining whether training programs are to be subsidized or charged out at full cost; and two recent reports on pricing issues. Broad funding options open to governments were reviewed. Finally, the following specific options for funding TAFE in NSW were considered: maintaining the status quo; instituting commercial fee exemptions; and establishing cost-reflective pricing. (MN)