Work in Progress

Crazy Paving or stepping stones? Learning pathways within and between VET and higher education

• Summary
• Purpose
• Approach
• Research questions
• Methodology
• Organisations

Summary

Purpose

The project will focus on the choices and learning pathways available to, and used by, young people. Specifically it will analyse initiatives that have been implemented in recent years to 'broaden choices for young people' and 'facilitate clear and easy pathways'. It will also investigate patterns in learner movement through a quantitative analysis of data in sector-based collections to illuminate how these initiatives have operated in practice. Finally, it will examine the more qualitative issues of moving within and between various pathways through interviews with a sample of learners.

Approach

Literature review, interviews, data gathering and analysis.

Research questions

1) What initiatives have been implemented in recent years to 'broaden choices for young people' and to facilitate 'clear and easy pathways' between VET and higher education? How effective have they been seen to be, and how might pathways be better integrated?

2) What is the extent and nature of the student movement between available pathways both within VET and between VET and higher education, and from these learning pathways to employment?

3) Are there particular groups of young students who access, and benefit from, this movement within VET, and between VET and HE?

4) Are there barriers that hinder or prevent students from accessing these education and training pathways? If so, how can these barriers be addressed?

5) To what extent do young people use VET as basis for further study, and how effective is VET as a bridge to further education and/or work?

6) Which groups of young people enrol in VET and is this changing over time?

Methodology

This study employs a mixed methods approach to address these research questions. It uses three research methods: review of literature, analysis of extant databases and interviews with students in two States. These different methods provide the triangulation necessary for increasing confidence in the robustness of the findings. The project will be undertaken in four main stages as follows.

Stage 1 Planning and preparation

Main activities

literature review of initiatives on pathways and research on student movement; requests to DEST and NCVER for national and state/territory statistics; negotiations for student interviews; development of interview schedule; approval from UniSA Human Research Ethics Committee.

Data sources/organisations/key people to be targeted:

* Relevant Australian and international literature

* Extant statistics -

- NCVER: national and state/territory data on commencing VET students with higher education achievement who had moved to the VET sector over the past 12 years (1992-2003) - data on such variables as age, gender, field of study, geographical location, indicators of socio-economic background, etc. (from the National VET Provider Collection and the Student Outcomes Surveys)

- DEST: national and state/territory data on commencing undergraduate students in the higher education sector over the past 12 years (1992-2003) and who had VET experience - data on age, gender, field of education, basis of admission, geographical location, indicators of socio-economic background, etc. (the elements and their specifications are listed at http://www.unisa.edu.au/pas/bai/information/reference/Help/student_home.htm

* Samples - will comprise young students (under 25 years) who have moved sectors in Adelaide region of SA and in the Hunter region of NSW. The SA students will be from those who returned questionnaires in our 2003 survey on two-way student traffic and who stated that they were willing to be followed up. The NSW students similarly will be from 2003 commencers at the Hunter Institute of TAFE and the University of Newcastle. How data is to be gathered

* SA students will be followed up by telephone/email/post (whichever contact they have provided), and NSW students will be obtained from the statistical work that has been undertaken between the two institutions named.

Stage 2 Data gathering and analysis

Main activities

* Conduct interviews, analyse data

Data gathering

* Approximately 50 young students in the Adelaide region and 25 young students in the Hunter region will be interviewed (preferably face-to-face). The focus will be on gathering personal narratives on their learning pathways, expectations, experiences, helps and hindrances, reasons for decisions taken and how they were made, perceived consequences and so on. These interviews will be audio-taped with their permission, and key aspects transcribed.

Data analysis

* Data from databases will be analysed in the light of the research questions and checked with key informants knowledgeable on the validity/reliability of the data. Results will be presented in tables and figures as appropriate to nature of the data.

* Data from the interview transcripts will be coded, analysed and searched for patterns, using NUD.ist software to assist in these processes. Interest will focus on both typical and atypical cases. The intended outcome is the construction of a typology of student pathways.

Stage 3 Report writing and feedback

Main activities

* Write up the research into a Draft Report

*Submit Draft Report to NCVER for review

Stage 4

Prepare the Final Report in the light of feedback, and submit to NCVER

Organisations

Centre for Research in Education, Equity and Work (CREEW)

CREEW is a recognised and funded research centre within the University of SA. Started in 1994, its current membership comprises part-time staff of 10 Key Researchers, 15 Associate Researchers, a Centre Administrator, 40 higher degree research students and several research assistants. CREEW has excellent infrastructure support, with dedicated physical facilities, electronic communication systems and access to a range of other academic and general staff. Its website lists previous projects undertaken which provide the grounding for this study based on the established networks and successful record in VET research developed by CREEW over time.

Recognition Centre of Hunter Institute, TAFE NSW

The Recognition Centre of Hunter Institute, TAFE NSW, was established in 1995. The Centre coordinates the assessment of over 14,000 recognition applications per year for the Institute's 53,000 students, and advises staff and students on recognition policy and procedures. The Centre also undertakes research on recognition, and comments on and contributes to state and national policy involved with recognition. Staff of the Centre have experience in large-scale recognition assessments for industry, and in the development of articulation arrangements with other training providers, and the Centre has won contracts for the development of recognition guides and tools for a variety of indus

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