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This report provides an update on research findings and policy directions
in relation to vocational education and trainning (VET) programs
in schools between 1997 and mid-2003. It builds on a 1997 general review
of research on the topic.
- As VET in Schools has evolved, early concerns about its value
have been addressed and it has achieved a legitimate
place in the school curriculum for senior year students in Years 10,
11 and 12. Earlier research had found that, in many
schools, VET programs were of low status and seen as
a ‘soft’ option. However, a major recent study
reports a ‘sea change’ in cultural attitudes within schools, although industry acceptance of these
programs remains an issue.
- Research undertaken towards the end of the timeframe considered
by this project and focused on short-term outcomes, suggests
that school VET is helping students to move on to work or to
post-school VET at higher qualification levels, and that structured workplace learning is a key mechanism for achieving this. It is of concern,
therefore, that the amount of real work experience is diminishing per student in VET in Schools programs.
- While a range of personal and social benefits of school VET programs
have been identified by students and their teachers—such as improved student
motivation and confidence and reduced absenteeism from school—the emerging outcomes
data suggest that VET in Schools programs apparently
have not kept more young people at school. Rather, they have
made school more attractive for those students already planning to
continue their studies.
- The literature also makes it clear that the practicalities of
implementing VET in Schools programs, including the structured workplace learning components,
remain major obstacles that are poorly understood by policy-makers and system-level
managers
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