This briefing paper presents information about the initial tertiary education experiences, such as satisfaction with aspects of student life and changes to initial enrolments, of two groups of young people, based on two recent LSAY research reports. One study focussed on the first year experiences of a group of young people who completed Year 12 in 2001 and entered tertiary education (university and TAFE) the following year. In this study, TAFE students who were enrolled in traineeships or apprenticeships were excluded from the analyses. The second study examined course changes and attrition from university study among a group of young people who completed Year 12 in 1998 and entered university in 1999 or 2000. Their experiences of university study were analysed up until the end of 2001, that is, during their first two years of study. Briefing paper no.14 This paper, published by the Australian Council for Educational Reasearch (ACER), is part of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) research program.
This briefing paper looks at participation in VET in Schools programs by members of three groups of young people who have been part of LSAY since 1995, when VET in Schools offerings experienced sustained growth. The first group comprises young people who were in Year 9 in 1995 and included vocational education and training (VET) subjects as part of their Year 11 or Year 12 studies in 1997 and 1998. The second group comprises young people who were in Year 9 in 1998 and included VET subjects as part of their senior secondary studies in 2000 and 2001. Both of these groups participated in VET in Schools while the program was still developing and have provided valuable data on their post-school pathways. The third group included in this briefing paper were 15 years old in 2003. At the time, some were in Year 11, but most were in Year 11 in 2004. For this group, data are available for Year 11 only. The three cohorts provide an opportunity to examine changes in participation in VET in Schools between 1997 and 2004 and their outcomes. Briefing paper no.15 This paper, published by the Australian Council for Educational Reasearch (ACER), is part of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) research program.
The data for this briefing paper are from the 1995 cohort of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY). The findings reported here are from three recent LSAY research reports, which are listed at the end of this briefing paper. The cohort comprises young people who were in Year 9 at school in 1995. Data in this briefing paper have been collected annually to 2005. This briefing paper concentrates on those who undertook an apprenticeship or traineeship after leaving school, or enrolled for non-apprenticeship study at a TAFE institution or a private VET provider. Briefing paper no.17 This paper, published by the Australian Council for Educational Reasearch (ACER), is part of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) research program.
This briefing paper provides a summary of students' experiences at school and their attitudes and perceptions of these experiences at ages 15 and 16. It is based on information obtained in both years from these young people who participated in PISA in 2003 and who are now part of the LSAY 2003 cohort. Table 1 shows the distribution, by year level, of the cohort in both 2003 and 2004. Briefing paper no.16 This paper, published by the Australian Council for Educational Reasearch (ACER), is part of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) research program.
The data for this briefing paper were collected from two LSAY cohorts: the Year 9 class of 1995 and the Year 9 class of 1998. Information on the education and labour market activities of these groups has been collected annually. The findings reported here follow the experiences of university entrants from these groups up to age 23. The findings are discussed in further detail in three recent LSAY research reports on the first year experience (Hillman, 2005), university completion (Marks, 2007) and unmet demand (Marks, 2005). Earlier LSAY research, based upon previous groups of young people followed over longer periods of time, are also used. Briefing paper no.18 This paper, published by the Australian Council for Educational Reasearch (ACER), is part of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) research program.
This technical paper examines some large and unusual movements for data in the 2007 VET Provider Collection by comparison with 2006. Changes in the patterns of courses undertaken explain most of the divergence between students, enrolments and hours.
This report investigates the effect of post-secondary education and training on the occupation and earnings of young people. The majority of young Australians undertake further education and training after leaving school, and it is important to better understand the pathways that they follow, and the impact of different types of experience on the early career. Such analyses can help young people in choosing appropriate programs as well as assist policy makers in identifying resource priorities. They can also contribute to debates about the role of education in promoting social mobility and economic development. Research report no. 55 This report, published by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), is part of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) research program.
Recognition of prior learning has been a longstanding major policy initiative within the education and training landscape. This report provides insights into how people become aware of their recognition options and explores factors that encourage or inhibit access to recognition of prior learning. This may assist practitioners offering recognition of prior learning services to make changes which could enhance the experience for those people wishing to pursue this pathway.
Recent trends in the provision of vocational education and training (VET) diplomas and advanced diplomas are outlined in this paper. The paper also looks at how people with diplomas and advanced diplomas are faring in the labour market. The picture is rather mixed, suggesting that those with diplomas and advanced diplomas fare, on average, better than those with other VET qualifications or no post-school qualifications.
This project focuses on the interpersonal networking processes, or non-market mechanisms, through which training needs are signalled to VET providers in a rural region. A detailed single case-study approach shows that VET users also consider interpersonal relationships, based on trust, when selecting programs for participation.
This technical paper provides information on changes to the method of calculating government recurrent expenditure used for national efficiency Key Performance Measure 6.
There has been much research and discussion about how people with a disability engage with vocational education and training (VET). This paper summarises what we know about VET participation, education and employment outcomes, and the costs and benefits of vocational education and training for people with a disability. In doing so, it also highlights further questions and where future research efforts could be focused.
Reading is a crucial skill for adults participating in social and work contexts. However, its importance can often be missed in the programming of adult literacy classes. Where reading has been a focus in adult literacy and English as a second language (ESL) classes, activities often focus on assessment rather than the teaching of reading. That is, the activities are more about seeing who can and cannot read, and are generally not concerned with extending the reading ability of the student. This guide outlines a way to apply a more systematic approach to the teaching of reading in adult literacy and ESL classes.
This study examined the implementation of an intensive reading pedagogy, Reading-to-Learn, in adult literacy classrooms. In this method, the teacher plays a crucial role in carefully selecting relevant topics, genres and texts that are slightly beyond the current reading ability of students, and in designing 'scaffolding moves' that build very deliberate preparation into every level of classroom tasks. This approach had a positive impact for students in terms of achievements in reading and writing, and for teachers in terms of growth in professional knowledge. There were also flow-on implications for day-to-day practice in systematic and principled planning and teaching.
School-based apprentices and trainees have recently been given more prominence as an element of vocational education and training in school, partly as a response to skill shortages in a wide range of areas. The purpose of this paper is to provide data on school-based apprentices and trainees to enable a judgement to be made about how this policy push is unfolding. The number of school-based apprentices and trainees is small but growing rapidly, numbers are concentrated in retail and hospitality training packages. Completion rates are lowest in the trades.
This research examines how vocational education and training (VET) providers can create an environment where learning becomes a central, natural, ongoing and integral part of the way they work. It does this by exploring what research says are the key features needed to foster effective learning in the workplace. It then uses this research to develop and trial an instrument which larger providers can use to assess their organisation's learning environment. A set of questions in the fact sheet supporting this report will help smaller providers consider how good their learning environment is.
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.
Building organisational capability relies on effective workforce development. This study examines the processes that registered training organisations (RTO) use to make workforce development decisions. It also looked at how well these align to the personal decisions RTO staff make about their own development. The research found that workforce development needs to be comprehensive, well integrated within the organisation and used strategically.
This report forms part of a comprehensive research program that has examined issues related to building the organisational capability of vocational education and training providers. In particular, this report focuses on the current state of human resource management practice in both technical and further education and private registered training organisations. It also provides an assessment of the extent to which human resource management plays a truly strategic role and proposes approaches to improve both human resource management practice and its impact.
This report examines the ways in which Australian employers retain skilled staff and the ways in which employers enhance their ability to use the skills of their people. The study found that while strategies such as increasing wages and family friendly policies may increase an employee's job satisfaction, the key driver in employee retention is if they feel they are learning and progressing in their careers.