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This executive summary presents the key findings of the study, and outlines
the contribution competency-based training (CBT) is currently making to
the development of an adaptable and flexible workforce. Moreover, it provides
a set of recommendations that are intended to contribute to the governmental
policy goal of adaptability and flexibility in the workforce.
Key findings
- A range of factors within the current vocational education provisions
was identified as being likely to promote adaptability and flexibility.
- However, the degree to which CBT itself can be identified as contributing
to this outcome is problematic.
- The contributions of the broader vocational education and training
(VET) reform movement, along with the instructional and curriculum practices
that existed prior to the introduction of CBT (and which have continued
to this time), were more significant to the development of an adaptable
and flexible workforce than CBT specifically.
These findings are now elaborated upon below.
Curriculum
Factors identified in the development of curriculum associated with
securing adaptability and flexibility were as follows:
- determination of curriculum intents (aims, goals and objectives)
and content involving industry/enterprises assists in making the goals
for, and content of, courses relevant
- currency of teachers' knowledge of the requirements for the workplace
assists the development of transferable knowledge in students
- experience in the workplace is important for students in enabling
them to develop knowledge applicable to workplace settings. The development
of understanding and higher order procedures is particularly important
for workplace performance
- a combination of instructional approaches (e.g. group learning, self-directed
learning, teacher guided activities) provide the student with access
to problem-solving skills, the reinforcement of knowledge, opportunities
to work with others and access to knowledge which learners cannot discover
by themselves. Such outcomes of instruction assist the development of
adaptability and flexibility
- project work, self-directed learning and combinations of on- and off-the-job
experiences have the potential to develop in students the forms of knowledge
which permit transfer and, hence, adaptability and flexibility
Assessment
Factors associated with assessing students' attainment of the knowledge
required for flexibility and adaptability follow.
- Performance measures must reflect the complexity, depth, routineness
and non-routineness of the vocational activities being assessed.
- Assessment must include judgements of the ability of students to engage
in non-routine activities, more than just routine activities.
- Assessment must account for situational factors, with validity found
in their application. For instance, on-the-job assessment is likely
to be useful to indicate validity in terms of authenticity.
- Dispositional factors (values, attitudes) need to be assessed as they
underpin the thinking and acting processes valued by government, industry
and enterprises alike.
- Multiple learning outcomes need to be assessed as they reflect requirements
for work practice (e.g. project work as the basis for assessment).
Teachers' work
Factors associated with teachers' work that contribute to the development
of this knowledge were identified as follows.
- Teachers' involvement in selecting and providing appropriate kinds
of experiences for students is essential in determining how these experiences
are best organised for a given group or individual.
- Teachers require currency of knowledge about kinds of settings (e.g.
different kinds of workplaces) in order to develop appropriate experiences
for students.
- Direct engagement with students is required for teachers in order
for them to understand student needs, to organise experiences and to
provide guidance appropriate to students' level of development.
- A broad role is required for teachers in identifying and determining
needs at the situational level and responding to those needs.
- Teachers must value a strong student focus in organising appropriate
experiences, tailoring arrangements to the needs of the learner, and
providing support and guidance underpinned by currency of knowledge.
Contributions to developing adaptability and flexibility
Associated with these findings, the contributions to developing adaptability
and flexibility are identifiable from three sources: (i) CBT itself; (ii)
the broader reform movement, and (iii) existing practice, as stated in
the following paragraphs.
Contributions of CBT itself
Shifting the focus for determining curriculum intents and content to
outside the vocational education system has enhanced the relevance of
what was taught.
Adoption of accreditation and registration processes has pressed for
the use of external advice and for teacher currency. These processes have
contributed to the enhanced currency of the content as well as the goals
for learning.
Contributions of the broader reform movement
Increased interactions between providers and enterprises have resulted
in the development of clearer goals and content for courses.
Increased opportunities for students to engage in workplace experiences
have increased their potential to develop appropriate knowledge.
Self-paced and text-based learning experiences pressed capable learners
into higher orders of learning.
Greater emphasis on individualised learning resulted in meeting learners'
needs.
Broadening of teachers' industry engagement with training through market-based
reforms provides a currency for teachers as curriculum makers and instructors.
Contributions of existing practice
Teachers' work in addressing students' needs, tailoring curriculum experiences
and direct instruction secured positive outcomes for learners.
Teachers mediated the limitations of self-paced and text-based instructional
activities and their take-up by students.
Teachers made links for the students between the classroom and the workplace,
hence enhancing the prospect of transfer of knowledge.
Teachers' expertise in both content and pedagogy is valued by learners
and value-adds the development of the kinds of knowledge required for
flexibility and adaptability.
Instructional practices such as the use of group work, simulated workplace
tasks and problem-solving activities are likely to develop transferable
knowledge.
Consistently, it was reported that the quality of educational encounters
determined whether adaptability and flexibility are realised in students.
It seems that group activities, individualised learning, resource-based
activities, project work and teacher guided experiences, as well as
combinations of classroom and workplace-based experiences, are likely
to deliver outcomes associated with adaptability and flexibility. However,
it is the combination of these experiences that are at the core
of these outcomes. Hence, it is the quality of the 'enacted curriculum',
something managed best by teachers with appropriate pedagogical knowledge
and skills, that is central to the quality of learning and the prospect
of securing the outcomes desired by industry, enterprise and individuals.
There is limited evidence that CBT itself is directly associated with
the development of a skilful and adaptable workforce. Most of the factors
identified in this investigation were associated with the broader movement
for reform of vocational education and those practices which existed
prior to CBT and remain unaffected by it.
Conceptually, the key antagonism between CBT and the development of
adaptability and flexibility is vested in CBT's focus on outcomes, rather
than process. This distinction raises concerns about educational orientation
and practice. This antagonism manifests itself as follows.
Standards based upon measurable performance de-emphasise the very processes
of thinking and acting which make these performances possible and which
can most sensibly inform future performance (e.g. transfer and adaptability).
The development of detailed national standards made the prescribed intents
of education remote from the circumstances in which student performance
was to be judged, thereby denying that local enterprises and individuals
may have particular performance requirements.
The process of the development of standards did not involve input from
the individuals who would have to teach and assess against those standards
(e.g. teachers and trainers).
The means by which national curriculum prescriptions were imposed upon
the training system and its clients was associated with mandation rather
than processes consistent with developing teachers' commitment.
The importance of approaches to instruction likely to secure skilfulness
is downplayed by the need for flexibility in delivery, and learning that
focusses on the attainment of measurable performance.
The validity of mandated assessment processes must be questioned given
their failure to address the qualities associated with adaptability and
flexibility, and by the absence of appropriate moderation processes to
give consistency in assessment
Put simply, the orientation employed for developing the educational
intents denied the very thinking and acting which determined performance.
The national focus and the means of implementation also misrepresented
the complexity of vocational knowledge, its situatedness, the teaching
and assessment of that knowledge, and the basis by which teachers commit
themselves to their practice.
Recommendations
The recommendations advanced here are aimed at building on the contributions
to adaptability and flexibility identified above.
Curriculum
Recommendations on curriculum are directed to two key areas: the kinds
of intents and content, and the quality of the learning experiences.
Kinds of intents and content
Objectives that emphasise process and values should be established in
combination with objectives that are focussed on behavioural outcomes.
Negotiation at the local level is required in the determination of objectives
and detailed content.
Broader statements of intent (aims and goals) and recommended content
are best developed at the national level which is linked to certification.
However, such statements should not preclude a capacity for local variation.
Quality of learning experiences
Accreditation processes should be used to emphasise the role in learning
of factors such as the kinds of instructional activities and learning
experiences likely to develop skilfulness.
Combinations of instructional experiences should be given greater emphasis
in curriculum planning and accreditation arrangements.
Processes to determine the readiness of learners for instructional encounters
(e.g. literacy and numeracy) are required if self-paced and other forms
of independent modes of learning are to be adopted.
The view of curriculum and its organisation needs to be extended to
include consideration of the combination of integrated experiences.
Assessment
Recommendations on assessment are classified in terms of validity,
reliability and incentives for learning.
Validity
For assessment to be valid, the bases for judgement (e.g. objectives)
need to consider the forms of knowledge which are to be assessed, the
circumstances in which performance actually occurs, the need to assess
both understanding as well as practice, and the dispositional attributes
which are important and underpin good practice.
Matters of complexity, authenticity and integration need to be considered
more fully as criteria for the selection of approaches to assessment.
Benchmarks other than behavioral objectives need to be considered and
their negotiation needs to take into account an understanding of the situational
factors.
Integrated knowledge and skills for the performance of creative, and
reflective and innovative tasks need to be developed to help ensure adaptability
in a climate of changing work practices.
Reliability
Measures to assist reliability in the decade of CBT focussed on the
use of standards and outcome statements. Now with greater diversity of
learning contexts, standards of reliability need to be considered to maintain
the standing of judgements about student performance and certification
within vocational education.
While there may be differences in the detailing of intents against which
assessment will be made, approaches such as moderation across a range
of contexts will need to be considered in order to assist reliability.
Incentive
Incentive is at the core of individuals' learning. Non-graded passes
appear to remove a key source of incentive for learners. Hence, it is
recommended that some form of graded assessment that measures the skills
required for students to be adaptable and flexible be re-introduced to
provide important incentives for learners.
Teachers' practice
Recommendations on teachers' practice are presented in terms of broadening
and deepening of role and developing teachers' knowledge.
Broadening the teachers' role
Teachers' roles necessarily need to be extended beyond that of being
just implementers of content and curriculum intent developed elsewhere.
Teachers need to be engaged as adapters, developers and researchers
of both pedagogy and practice.
Teachers must be given discretion in the management and interpretation
of curriculum in order to determine the appropriate array of routine and
non-routine experiences, the best integration of experiences, and effective
combinations of independent, group and teacher-led experiences.
Deepening the role
The valuing of pedagogic expertise, that is, an emphasis on instruction
and learning, needs to be acknowledged hand-in-hand with vocational knowledge.
Teachers must possess the appropriate expertise to furnish the experiences
required to develop workplace adaptability and flexibility within learners.
Teachers must posses a capacity to evaluate their impact on learning,
and to refine and improve their learning processes.
Hence, a greater emphasis on pedagogic principles and practice needs
to be engendered within VET teachers.
Developing teachers' knowledge
The broader and deeper role suggested above requires that the professional
practice aspects of teachers' work be given due attention.
Professional development activities such as maintaining currency and
extending knowledge should emphasise pedagogic as much as vocational aspects
of practice.
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