Two Worlds? Higher Education and Post-School VET in Australia and the Movement of Learners between Them

Relationships between higher education and VET are significant and complex, and of increasing interest in many countries. Most analyses focus on systems, policies and structures. This paper takes a different perspective: what are the learners doing and thinking? It is based on data from research on students commencing study in one sector with experience of study in the other sector. It analyses their characteristics, motivations for study, how they experience study in both sectors and how they perceive their moves. The paper finds that, for these students, their learning trajectories are more circuitous than linear, which raises issues concerning seamlessness, equity and efficiency. Yet pathways are possible, are being used and allow for flexibility. The two educational sectors may be seen as parallel worlds. however, a more apt metaphor may be as tectonic plates creating convergent boundaries. The paper concludes that their relationships require serious rethinking. (Contains 1 figure, 3 tables, and a bibliography.)