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The purpose of this study was to identify the factors which help successful equity initiatives that had been ‘seeded’ in technical and further education (TAFE) institutes through short-term funding to ‘take root and spread’. Overall, we found such initiatives lack cohesion and their spread was minimal. Equity clients are those who need extra support because they are disadvantaged in relation to learning.
- The cause of equity appears to have lost ground during the past decade of vocational education and training (VET) reform. Many are of the view that equity needs to be reinstated as a priority principle in the sector, in line with the social justice foundations of VET established by Kangan in 1974.
- Funds allocated through short-term pilot equity initiatives have been primarily used to purchase direct support for learners, including a substantial increase in teacher-to-student ratios. This individual support for disadvantaged clients—often with multiple disadvantages—results in good outcomes. However, the initiatives rarely permeate into the institutes to the extent of influencing other practitioners.
- The most successful initiatives are those which had been established by people in the community rather than by government or government agencies, ‘outsiders’ who had a long-term commitment to the specific equity group.
- The funding model—‘seed funding’—is flawed. One-off pilot projects rarely generate ongoing provision. Furthermore, pilot projects need to be systematically applied in other contexts to test their long-term applicability.
- Policy-makers and funding bodies responsible for equity in the VET sector need to rethink the funding mechanisms currently used to stimulate innovative equity practice.
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