The early childhood education and care sector in Australia has long been characterised by low skill/low pay jobs. The current policy environment, however, may offer scope for the sector to toward a path of skill growth. This report, based on case studies of four early childhood education and care providers, investigates how innovative employers are overcoming challenges in the sector to improve workforce development.
Innovation is an important aspect to teaching and learning in the VET sector, and a range of workshops conducted in 2009 identified some key ways of promoting this: using networks to spread new ideas, learning to change in small degrees rather than by radical reform, and encouraging practitioners to reflect on organisational change.
This study provides an important innovation to the existing literature by explicitly attempting to measure 'cultural attachment' and its relationship with post-compulsory education and training.
In this interview, Steve Davis talks with researcher Yvonne Hillier about her report, 'Innovation in teaching and learning in vocational education and training: International perspectives'. This publication explores both the characteristics and examples of innovative teaching and learning practice internationally. It found that technologies can be used to support networks of practitioners and resource banks to foster better professional practice and help practitioners exchange ideas and resources.
This publication explores both the characteristics and examples of innovative teaching and learning practice in Australia.
This publication explores both the characteristics and examples of innovative teaching and learning practice internationally. It found that technologies can be used to support networks of practitioners and resource banks to foster better professional practice and help practitioners exchange ideas and resources. In addition, it is important for practitioners to be able to step back from their 'daily grind' to think about what they can do differently and how. They need to be supported to test out new resources and pedagogies in a culture of active experimentation.
This report describes seven essential characteristics of employment service organisations that lead to successful employment outcomes for their Indigenous clients.
An overview of research on innovative teaching and learning practice in Australia is discussed in this publication, which was based on discussions with practitioners and vocational education and training (VET) managers responsible for teaching and learning. It examines why and how people are changing their pedagogy, and with what results. It found that improvements in teaching and learning practice arise from a perceived need to change. The imperatives to change are usually locally based and their success is dependent on a commitment by all those supporting the learner. Practice is best shared through effective mentoring and by using networks effectively.
This overview of research into innovative teaching and learning practice internationally found that technologies can be used to support networks of practitioners and resource banks to foster better professional practice and help practitioners exchange ideas and resources. In addition, it is important for practitioners to be able to step back from their 'daily grind' to think about what they can do differently and how. They need to be supported to test out new resources and pedagogies in a culture of active experimentation.
The findings of a study examining organisational culture and structure in ten public, private, community and enterprise-based Australian registered training organisations is presented in this report. It identifies the ways in which organisational cultures and structures shape what is possible within registered training organisations and how to manage change to build organisational capability.
Delivered as a keynote address at SEAMEO Vocational Training and Education Research and Networking Conference in Bali, July 2008, this paper considers the role of evidence in public policy and how research can contribute to better policies and innovations in practice. It argues that the right institutional and cultural settings need to be in place before research can play its proper role in policy-making.
Design is an increasingly important component of our world-at-work. This project reveals the views of design educators working within vocational education and training (VET). Research participants called for a review of design education teaching methods in the VET context, with a particular focus on promoting innovation and creativity in diploma level programs.
This publication reports on the participant feedback provided at the recent NCVER Research Forums, which showcased the findings of the Consortium Research Program, 'Supporting vocational education and training providers in building capability for the future'.
This research examines innovative solutions developed by the vocational education and training (VET) sector in response to skill shortages in the health sector. The study focuses on VET-trained workers in the health industry, and includes enrolled nurses, nursing assistants, personal care assistants, allied health assistants and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers. The research, which also examines innovative overseas approaches to skill shortages in this industry, found that a partnership approach was one answer to dealing with skills shortages in this sector.
This report identifies what individual learners and industry clients want from vocational education and training (VET) and proposes how these needs can best be met. It also identifies a tension between compliance and creativity which needs to be addressed in quality frameworks at the system level. In addition, providers need to reshape their structures and modify their cultures so they are open to creativity and flexibility but also able to meet compliance requirements. At the practitioner level, ongoing funding for the professional development of staff is needed so they have the time and space to develop innovative strategies for teaching, learning and assessment.
The development of a uniquely Australian system of innovation and its relation to the vocational education and training (VET) system is considered in this discussion paper. It asserts that the Australian system of innovation fits the pattern of incremental innovation and diffusion of technical knowledge. It focuses on arrangements prior to the formation of the technical and further education system in the late 1970s. It concludes that the diffusion of knowledge and the development of a workforce capable of developing innovative local technical solutions has long been the domain of VET institutions in Australia.
Australia's innovation capacity is, in part, reliant on its teaching workforce - to teach and promote new technologies to industry. This pilot study examines how vocational education and training (VET) teachers, in particular TAFE teachers, maintain the currency of their skills and knowledge base. It also explores their role in the development and diffusion of innovative practices and new technologies in the manufacturing sector. Despite the lack of recognition of TAFE teachers in national innovation policies and programs, they do provide a technology diffusion function. However, there are impediments to maintaining the currency of teacher skills and equipment, including inadequate capital expenditure on equipment, an aging teaching workforce and reduced access to professional development and return-to-industry programs.
Innovation, from high profile scientific discoveries to lower profile changes in processes or practices, is crucial to Australia's economic development. However, its impact on the wider community is usually relatively small. Promotion of innovation across all sectors is required to produce the biggest changes. This report focuses on the roles of the vocational education and training (VET) sectors of Finland and Singapore - countries with strong track records in innovation. It argues that a whole-of-government approach supporting a national innovation system could benefit Australia. Further, the national VET sector is ideally placed to have a more direct role in the promotion and diffusion of smaller scale innovations provided incentives in the form of specific funding are put in place. This activity could also enhance the sector's links with business, particularly small to medium sized enterprises and those in regional areas.
Innovation in business, particularly across the major industries on which Australia's economy rests, requires a skilled workforce. This book of research readings explores the role Australia's vocational education and training (VET) sector can fulfill to assist business innovation. In doing so, various chapters consider the implications of innovation for Australian workers and identify the VET sector's contribution. Other chapters, based on international comparisons, evaluate elements of the national innovation system currently missing or under-emphasised. It finds VET providers have a vital role to play in the provision of training for innovative enterprises. To do so, providers must identify their strengths and build industry partnerships in these areas, which may require working more effectively across disciplines and develop more personalised arrangements for delivery.
Highly innovative organisations demonstrate six key characteristics. They create learning cultures which promote innovation as a core organisational capability; employ leaders who are 'failure-tolerant'; identify innovators; reward people who propose innovative ideas; use partnerships; and, promote innovation through teams. This report analyses how well vocational education and training (VET) providers employ the above characteristics. It finds VET organisations are making good progress as innovators, but this progress is uneven as three characteristics often dominate the building of innovation. Typically, VET providers identify innovators, develop partnerships and promote innovation through teams and communities of practice well. To develop innovation further, the author suggests VET organisations need to broaden the range of strategies they are using to promote innovation and offers practical steps to do so.