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The adoption of problem-based learning as a teaching method in the advertising and public relations programs offered by the Business TAFE (Technical and Further Education) School at RMIT University is explored in this paper. The effect of problem-based learning on student engagement, student learning and contextualised problem-solving was investigated and it was found that students perceive problem-based learning to be beneficial. Several success factors for this approach are also identified. The research for this paper was undertaken by a novice researcher in the Community of Practice scholarship program, a program funded through the National Centre for Vocational Education Research's (NCVER) Building Researcher Capacity initiative. Three appendices are included: (1) Research methods; (2) the first questionnaire used for Student Engagement Survey 2008; and (3) the second questionnaire used for Student Engagement Survey 2008. (Contains 6 tables and 1 figure.)

The paper examines between-country differences in the mechanisms through which education could promote generalised trust using data from 29 countries participating in the OECD's Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC). Results indicate that education is strongly associated with generalised trust and that a large part of this association is mediated by individuals' literacy skills, income and occupational prestige. However, education gradients in levels of generalised trust and in the extent to which they are due to social stratification mechanisms or cognitive skills mechanisms vary across countries. Differences across countries in birthplace diversity and income inequality are correlated with how strongly education is associated with trust in different countries, as well as in the relative magnitude of direct and indirect associations. In particular, the relationship between literacy skills and generalised trust is stronger in the presence of greater birthplace diversity but is weaker in the presence of greater income inequality.

This study investigated the institutional characteristics considered by 774 Australian first-year students attending the University of South Australia in their choice of this university. A self-administered survey instrument asked respondents to rate their attitudes on a Likert scale regarding their reasons for selecting this university. Results indicated that students ranked career preparation, academic program, distance from home, academic reputation, the quality of the school's research program, and library resources as strongly affecting their choice. The role of parents was not rated highly, although students used them as a source of information. The primary source of information that they used to find out about the university was the South Australian Tertiary Admissions Center guide. (Contains 29 references.) (Author/CK)

The Children's Headline Indicators are a set of measures designed to focus policy attention and to help guide and evaluate policy development on key issues for children's health, development and wellbeing in 19 priority areas. They were endorsed by health, community and disability services ministers and education systems officials in 2006. Headline Indicators were defined for 16 of these priority areas. However, more work was needed on the remaining three--"family social network, social and emotional wellbeing" and "shelter"--to conceptualise and identify the most important aspects of these areas for children's health, development and wellbeing. This information paper outlines the process of developing a Headline Indicator for the "social and emotional wellbeing" priority area. Appended are: (1) Process to identify a Headline Indicator; (2) Headline Indicator Data Development Expert Working Group; (3) Social and Emotional Wellbeing Workshop participants; (4) Headline Indicators for children's health, development and wellbeing; and (5) Additional information on selected surveys and screening tools. (Contains 8 tables, 4 figures and 3 footnotes.)

This paper presents composite indicators of the institutional and policy characteristics of educational systems, collated from the questionnaire responses of 26 Member countries. These indicators provide an overview of the institutional framework in the primary and secondary education sector and are constructed so as to be used for the analysis of international differences in spending efficiency. The key features of the institutional setting in the non-tertiary education sector are grouped under three headings: (1) the ability to prioritise and allocate resources efficiently (through decentralisation and mechanisms matching resources to specific needs); (2) the efficiency in managing spending at the local level (through outcome-focused policies and managerial autonomy), and (3) the efficiency in service provision (through benchmarking and user choice). For each country, an intermediate indicator is computed for each of these six institutional properties. Composite indicators then combine the six intermediate indicators of spending efficiency into a single, aggregate measure. Results are presented and some of their implications are discussed. Overall, the characteristics of the institutional framework in the non-tertiary public education sector seem to be very favourable, compared to OECD average, in the United Kingdom, Australia, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands, whereas results are less favourable for the Czech Republic, Greece, Luxembourg, Japan, Turkey, Hungary, Belgium (French speaking community), Switzerland and Austria. (Contains 3 tables, 15 figures and 14 endnotes.) (Abstract altered to meet ERIC guidelines.)

The Vocational Interest Survey (VIS) is a set of six questionnaire scales for measuring vocational interest. It is designed for Australian users and is consistent with Holland's theory that there are six basic career categories. This paper discusses the development of the VIS and presents some technical data on the questionnaires. Items were provided by the users (in the form of free-association responses) rather than by psychologists. Based on those items, a pilot questionnaire was prepared, which contained three separate lists of 138 occupations, 105 study courses, and 152 activities. Complete-link clustering was used to develop six temporary groups of occupational items. The 105 items relating to study courses were then correlated with the six experimental scales. Further item-analyses were conducted to produce six combined jobs/study courses scales with maximum internal consistency. Finally, activity items were selected and added to the combined jobs/study courses. Reliability of VIS scales was assessed using measures of internal consistency, split-half reliability, and test-retest coefficients. In addition, the intercorrelations of the six VIS scales, the construct validity of the VIS, and the relationship between vocational interests on the VIS and career related characteristics were measured. The appendix provides a listing which summarizes the overall responses to each item. (JAZ)

The Vocational Interest Survey (VIS) is a set of six questionnaires for measuring vocational interests. It is designed to be used in career counseling with persons 15 years and over, who want to explore and understand their vocational interests. Completion of this inventory requires: (1) active participation of respondents, (2) a setting where individuals can concentrate, and (3) an understanding of the goal of this assessment. The purpose of this paper is to outline some aspects of the administration and scoring of the VIS, with special emphasis on the relative preference index. The VIS comes with instructions for administering and completing the survey. The reading level for the instructions is estimated to be at year 5/6 level. The VIS is designed to be essentially self-scoring. The procedure for computing raw scores is the same for all scales. Based on a sample of 2,459 men and women, combined-sex norms were developed as percentile ranks for each of the six scales. The Relative Preference Index (RPI) is used to make statements about a client's level of preference on each subscale. The RPI is a variation of a mastery score that shows quantity of preference. It describes the level of performance rather than the relative standing in a group. It is cautioned that any questionnaire should be employed as only one aspect of the vocational guidance process. (JAZ)

A survey of a random sample of students from five tertiary institutions in Melbourne was conducted in 1986 to determine the nature and extent of their usage of their own university or college and other libraries. Questionnaires were mailed to 1,996 students, of whom 999 responded. The questionnaire sought information on: (1) students' backgrounds; (2) the types of libraries used; (3) the frequency of that usage; (4) the primary reasons for using academic and public libraries; (5) the resources and services used in these libraries; (6) the degree of satisfaction with services offered; and (7) the nature and extent of course-related usage of public libraries. Other comments were also solicited. A complex network of information sources used by students in fulfilling their course needs emerged from the study. Academic libraries were found to constitute the primary information source, with other sources, including public libraries, playing supplementary roles. It is noted that some of the traditional assumptions of the relative roles of different types of libraries are challenged by the data, and the final chapter explores some implications of these findings for planning library services in Victoria. Tabulated data are presented in 120 tables, and appendixes contain copies of the questionnaire and cover letter, a follow-up letter, additional cover letters, and respondents' comments. (82 references) (CGD)

The user of the Vocational Interest Survey (VIS) has available a number of interpretative approaches at various descriptive and qualitative levels. This report provides a brief outline of the various approaches. Whenever all six scales of the VIS are administered, the client's total score on all six scales should be within the average range. The average total score is 54. Fifty percent of all clients range from 26 to 72. The clients' highest scores determine their resemblance to one of the six vocational types. People who resemble many vocational types are labeled as undifferentiated or poorly defined; the average level of differentiation in a sample of 206 high school students was 58. The level of consistency refers to the compatibility between a person's highest interests. Compatibility is measured by the distance between the vocational types of interest on a hexagonal typology of interests described by Holland. The hexagonal model may also be used to obtain four degrees of person-occupation congruency. Results from the VIS can be used to search for occupations which are compatible with interests. A copy of the interest profile and list of careers in each vocational category is attached. (JAZ)

This report presents the findings of a study into the experiences of non-English speaking background (NESB) migrant women in the Australian workforce. The fieldwork, which involved interviewing over 100 immigrant women living and working in Sydney, was carried out in 1988 and 1989. The study also involved an extensive review of Australian and international literature on immigrant women in the workforce and the analysis of recent census and labor force survey data. A particular focus was the experience of newly arrived immigrants, including the relationship between their premigration histories, their participation in the workforce in Australia, and their domestic and family responsibilities. Although the economic and social conditions of Australia have changed considerably in the post-war period, the similarities in the lives of women immigrants arriving in the 1950s and 1960s were more marked than the differences. Their place in the economy has altered little, and employment continues to play a key role in structuring women's lives despite the development of an increased role for the state through ethnic affairs policies. Little evidence was found to support the theory that immigrants' work force experiences reflected their pre-migration capital endowments. Instead, women from a variety of backgrounds ended up, after immigrating to Australia, in low status, unpleasant, and unrewarding jobs. Unemployment emerges as the greatest difficulty encountered by newly arrived women in Australia. The last chapter makes recommendations in the areas of vocational guidance and training, equal employment opportunity, work conditions, participation in trade unions, and child care and family support. An appendix contains the study questionnaire. (Contains 91 references.) (SLD)

In view of recent Australian government policy favoring multiculturalism, a research study was undertaken to investigate the effect of literacy, bilingualism, and adult education and training on non-English speaking background (NESB) women in Australian society. NESB women have been identified as a migrant group with both special needs and problems as well as skills. This report reviews issues in literacy and bilingualism, new orientations in the 1990s for adult education and training, and workforce reform. The aim of the study was to enhance the opportunities for and access to further education and/or paid employment for NESB women. The methodology included a review of published and unpublished materials, interviews with a wide range of service providers and students, surveys of training opportunities, attendance at conferences and workshops, observations of a range of classes, collaboration on a literacy and basic education workshop, and development of a network of skilled informants. It is concluded that: (1) location, functioning, needs, and problems of NESB women as a specific group in Australia must continue to be the focus of research; and (2) matters of restructuring have profound implications for literacy, language, basic education and other forms of education and skills training for those in and out of the workforce. Eleven tables and figures on labor force participation rates, unemployment rates, and migration category supplement the narrative. Appended is information on the project outline, questionnaire, interview schedule, letters and survey sheets for government and community organizations, meeting agenda, and recommendations for a model for action. (LB) Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse on Literacy Education.