Search Results for
"learning"

Several studies into the response of Australian teachers, in the vocational education and training (VET) sector, to the implementation of competency-based education (CBE) have identified the role of judgement in competency-based assessment as a source of confusion and distress for assessors. This article explores the role of judgement from a philosophical perspective drawing on the work of Ryle, Geach and Polanyi. It is seen that judgement plays a pivotal role in all learning and assessment. The large component of tacit knowledge and judgement associated with vocational education requires high levels of vocational and educational expertise on the part of assessors. The implications of this for professional development of VET teachers are discussed briefly. The model of CBE that emerges from this article emphasises the exchange of tacit knowledge and the exercise of tacit judgement in learning. This model throws new light on many of the old debates in CBE and training and these are discussed. © 1999 Journal of Vocational Education and Training All rights reserved.

Post-compulsory teacher training in England has been under review, and standards developed by the Further Education Staff Development Forum were to be launched in January 1999 as a precursor to a mandatory qualification for teachers in further education in England and Wales. Until now, many further education colleges have worked in partnership with higher education institutions to run Certificate in Education programmes, which aim to develop both practical teaching skills and critical knowledge and understanding of teaching and learning in a post-compulsory context. A review of one such programme is outlined here. In a context where further education teachers must help to widen participation and promote lifelong learning, it is argued that any new arrangements for initial teacher training and continuing professional development need to include ‘competence’ in the practical skills involved in teaching and learning, but must also go beyond this, and aim to develop critical knowledge and understanding of the changing context in which staff work. It is argued that turning the new Further Education National Training Organisation standards for further education teachers in England and Wales into a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) is inadequate to this task. A strengthened partnership between further and higher education providers to develop more robust and coherent approaches to professional capability is advocated. © 1999, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

This article reports on a case study to evaluate a variety of learning models, currently being implemented within vocational education, at a large private boys’ College located near Brisbane, Queensland in Australia. This programme was designed to enable students to complete a traineeship or apprenticeship, and their senior certificate in accordance, with a variety of combined school and work programmes. including the New Apprenticeship Scheme. A multi-method approach was adopted which includes interviews with students, vocational educators and employers regarding their perceptions of: competencies, learning outcomes and training acquired during the programme. This paper presents the results of the first stage, i.e. vocational educators’ perspectives of workplace learning. © 1999 Journal of Vocational Education and Training All rights reserved.

The plight of students with disabilities has been in the spotlight for several years now. Recent legislation has made vocational training, including students with disabilities, a mainstay in most secondary schools. While there are studies that prove that training in a vocational setting does have a positive influence on students with learning disabilities, there are still ways in which the results are less impressive. With the increased number of students with learning disabilities not being able to maintain adequate time on the job, concerned parents and educators seek answers to unending questions. Some questions that come to the minds of many are such as (a) when a student with a learning disability cannot find a job or keep a job, what does he/she do with their time, and (b) how does this affect their life (i.e. physically or mentally)? In as much as the effort to overcome disability is actively sought for by many, the effects of learning disabilities on young peoples’ lives are unlikely to be eliminated entirely. Whereas disability implies a reduction in function that may influence the outcomes of people for a lifetime, this article reveals interviews from three students who have discussed their own problems with unemployment or underemployment, their dreams of success, and their worries about the future. The conclusion examines implications for teacher education and special education in general. © 1999 Journal of Vocational Education and Training. All right reserved.

The purpose of this article is to present current international and national understandings of competence, and to present research examples which are relevant to vocational education. The article presents ‘competence’ as a critical field for research and practice in vocational education, and argues for an interpretative-relational approach to the development of competence, to include all elements of a workplace environment that impact on vocational learning and practice, and one which places the meaning of engagement in practice for the student and/or worker at the centre stage. © 1999 Journal of Vocational Education and Training. All right reserved.

A broad consensus has emerged in Scotland of the need to invest in the expansion of post-16 education and training. This renewed interest in Lifelong learning has, however, become increasingly associated with expanding student numbers in full-time tertiary education. In this article, it is argued that the credentialist policies pursued in Scotland over the past 10 years, based on simple notions of economic instrumentalism and education ‘markets’, are in danger of creating greater social and economic divisions within society. An alternative policy agenda is proposed emphasising ‘work-based’ education and training, delayed entry to full-time initial post-16 education, and a strategic rethink of the role played by the Enterprise Network in creating and sustaining a skilled workforce. © 1999 Journal of Vocational Education and Training All rights reserved.

The University for Industry (UfI) is set to become the chief vehicle and change mechanism for the government's new policies for vocational education and training (VET) and lifelong learning. A principal target and priority for the UfI will be the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector, which has traditionally had a poor record of investment in education and training. We examine the chances of success for the UfI in this important sector of VET activity against the background of our recent national survey of firms, which specifically addressed the views of SME owner-managers, in particular, in terms of awareness of attitudes to and expectations of the new organisation. Given that the UfI is still in its pilot stage - with the official national launch not due until the year 2000 - the general 54% awareness amongst the 6000 firms contacted may be described as modestly optimistic. We conclude by offering a number of general recommendations based on the emerging picture and on the basis of matching owner-manager expectations against UfI priorities and strategies.

Responding to national and local initiatives, the career development profession has been engaged in efforts to aid understanding and facilitation of the school-to-work (STW) transition process. Vocational theory has been cited as one especially important area in which the career development field can contribute to the STW movement, yet career development theories do not typically highlight their relevance to the STW transition process. This special issue of The Career Development Quarterly features a set of articles that examine how several prominent career development theories (person-environment fit, social learning, developmental, and social cognitive) can be brought to bear on the STW process. Three discussants assess the theories' utility as templates for studying and facilitating the transition from school to work.

Health education graduate students were surveyed to assess perceptions of their professional responsibility to be role models of healthy behaviors, characteristics of a professional role model, and related socializing experiences during professional preparation. A total of 233 randomly selected health education graduate students participated in this study nationwide. Significant inverse associations were found between students’ year in graduate school and sense of excellence as a role model, graduate program satisfaction, and professional commitment (all ps < 0.05). Students'sense of professional marketability and competence to role model were statistically significant in predicting their perception that role modeling healthy behaviors is a professional responsibility, F(2, 215) = 110.25, p = 0.00001. Positive associations also were found between students’ desire to improve fitness behavior, nutrition, and weight and/or body fat ratio with self-ratings as role models (all ps< 0.05). Implications for the profession and preparation are provided. © 1999, Sage Publications. All rights reserved.

This article examines the development of the Higher National Certificate (HNC) in Occupational Therapy Support against the background of recent reforms and changes in health, social and educational arenas. learning theories relevant to educational initiatives are addressed briefly and a rationale for liberal humanism is proposed. The significance of role clarification, task analysis and skill mixing is highlighted within the context of the drive for effectiveness and efficiency of services. Eternal shortages of occupational therapists necessitate an increasing use of support staff. It is suggested that their role is now, more than ever, important in terms of client care and raising the profile of the profession, and that support staff may be empowered to become more flexible and reflective practitioners. Employers demand a trained and responsive workforce. Competence-based vocational education, such as the HNC, employs experiential learning programmes to encourage the link between theory and practice, thus encouraging staff to develop and update their knowledge continually.