This paper argues that assessment can play a central role in teaching and learning, and selecting an appropriate mix of assessment strategies can satisfy multiple goals of key stakeholders in vocational education and training. These goals include promoting learning, certifying learning and program evaluation. These objectives must be understood in a broad context delineated by the structures of education systems and of labour markets which, in turn, reside within national policy objectives. Forms of assessment must be consistent with the goals of learning and with a broad range of valued learning outcomes.
The community services and health industries have experienced a period of growth in recent times. This report focuses on the sub-section, alcohol and other drugs, which has had difficulty recruiting staff.
This paper explores a range of issues related to the development of the VET workforce. It examines key issues underpinning professional development structures and proposes a set of features integral to a comprehensive workforce development strategy.
Student intentions and outcomes in regard to studying the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment at NSW community colleges is the subject of this paper. Gaining employment and acquiring presentation skills were the most common reasons given for undertaking the course, but for many students the course did not deliver this. Those students who accessed pre-course information and thus had more realistic expectations of what the course would entail were more likely to report that the course met their expectations. The research was funded through the NCVER's Building Researcher Capacity initiative and was undertaken by a novice researcher in the Community of Practice scholarship program.
Rubrics are a tool that can be used to provide graded assessment for articulation from vocational education and training (VET) into higher education. By mentoring teachers to use rubrics and interviewing them to determine their experiences in using them, the author explored the potential of rubrics as an assessment tool. Overall, teachers found rubrics not only useful for grading assessments but also for conveying assessment expectations to students. The research was undertaken by a novice researcher in the community of practice program and was funded as part of NCVER's Building Researcher Capacity initiative.