VET teacher education in Australian universities : who are the students and what are their views about their courses?
- Authors: Smith, Erica , Hodge, Steven , Yasukawa, Keiko
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Research in Post-Compulsory Education Vol. 20, no. 4 (2015), p. 419-433
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- Description: In Australia, the question of the level and nature of qualifications for vocational education and training (VET) teachers is a highly contested and political topic. VET teachers are only required to have a pre-university, certificate level pedagogical qualification, the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. They possess substantially lower-level qualifications than teachers in other education sectors, although this was not always the case. The paper reports on research which investigated the experiences of VET teacher-education students studying for university qualifications. The research was undertaken in response to requests from policy stakeholders for evidence about the efficacy of higher-level qualifications. The research indicated student satisfaction with their courses and an alignment between what they saw as the benefits with the identified challenges of VET teaching. They also suggested areas for improvement. The findings are analysed with relation to the findings of a Productivity Commission inquiry into the VET workforce, which identified a number of capability gaps. © 2015 Association for Research in Post-Compulsory Education (ARPCE).
Learning and development expertise: an Australian analysis
- Authors: Hodge, Steven , Harvey, Jack
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Training and Development Vol. 19, no. 4 (2015), p. 270-286
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- Description: Learning and development (&) practitioners draw on a distinctive range of knowledge, skills and techniques in their work. Over the years, there have been attempts to capture this range and identify typical & roles. The research presented here was undertaken to identify characteristic areas of expertise () of & practice in ustralia, and to collect data about roles and organizational settings in which these are deployed. The research was commissioned by the Australian Institute of training and development. Literature relating to & was consulted, and Australian & experts were interviewed to draft a list of &. Responses to a survey by 589 Australian & practitioners were used to appraise the model. A principal components analysis of perceptions of the importance of the different types of expertise revealed that practitioners tended to rate one of three ‘clusters’ as important to their work: a strategy and analysis cluster, a learning facilitation cluster and a design and systems cluster. This analysis raises the question of contemporary & roles with implications for strategic policy and professional associations. The typology may be utilized to target professional & activities, and provides impetus for further research to investigate the internal relationships between cluster components.
- Description: Learning and development (&) practitioners draw on a distinctive range of knowledge, skills and techniques in their work. Over the years, there have been attempts to capture this range and identify typical & roles. The research presented here was undertaken to identify characteristic areas of expertise () of & practice in ustralia, and to collect data about roles and organizational settings in which these are deployed. The research was commissioned by the ustralian nstitute of raining and evelopment. Literature relating to & was consulted, and ustralian & experts were interviewed to draft a list of &. Responses to a survey by 589 ustralian & practitioners were used to appraise the model. A principal components analysis of perceptions of the importance of the different types of expertise revealed that practitioners tended to rate one of three ‘clusters’ as important to their work: a strategy and analysis cluster, a learning facilitation cluster and a design and systems cluster. This analysis raises the question of contemporary & roles with implications for strategic policy and professional associations. The typology may be utilized to target professional & activities, and provides impetus for further research to investigate the internal relationships between cluster components.
Discipline, governmentality and 25 years of competency-based training
- Authors: Hodge, Steven , Harris, Roger
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Studies in the Education of Adults Vol. 44, no. 2 (2012), p. 155-170
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- Description: Among the many critiques of competency-based approaches to education and training (CBT) is a strain which draws on Foucault’s analysis of ‘disciplinary’ power and knowledge. Foucault offered an interpretation of modern institutions, such as prisons, armies and schools, which revealed subtle mechanisms of surveillance and systems of knowledge that shaped the self-understanding and activity of participants. Robinson (1993) and Edwards and Usher (1994) were among the first researchers to call attention to the disciplinary potential of CBT. But Foucault went on to argue that discipline is a component in an overarching system he called ‘governmentality’. The analysis of governmentality augments the analysis of discipline by foregrounding the effects of knowledge of populations and modes of power that operate at a distance. In this article, the disciplinary critique of competency-based systems is extended by demonstrating the relevance of Foucault’s analysis of governmentality to a contemporary national system of CBT. The authors use a case of 25 years of CBT in an Australian vocational education institution as a scaffold for the argument. This case is germane because it presents a succession of practices of CBT which allows us to trace and scrutinise a shift from a disciplinary to a governmental framework.
Learning and development practitioners : identity, profession and future trajectory
- Authors: Barratt-Pugh, Llandis , Hodge, Steven , Smith, Erica
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources Vol. 58, no. 2 (2020), p. 220-246
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- Description: The increasing focus on learning and innovation within organisations has significantly changed perceptions and practices of learning. It has also generated an increasingly diverse and growing network of learning and development practitioners (L&D), constructing an emerging identity that is critical to organisational growth. Our study of nearly 800 Australian L&D practitioners explored their working roles, relationships, and development needs, in a contested environment. Our purpose was to explore how L&D practice has changed; if a professional identity for L&D practitioners is emerging; and what development needs L&D practitioners have. The practitioner responses from this study are used to model the emerging themes of L&D practice, substantiate the emergence of a ‘quasi-professional’ identity, and indicate the imperatives that underpin professional development frameworks. This knowledge provides a foundation for reconceptualising the learning and development practitioner domain. © 2018 Australian HR Institute
Towards a model of learning and development practice
- Authors: Hodge, Steven , Smith, Erica , Barratt-Pugh, Llandis
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Human Resource Development: Practice, Policy & Research Vol. 1, no. 2 (2016), p. 7-25
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- Description: It is widely acknowledged that learning and development (L&D) is key to well-being, innovation andsuccess for individuals, organizations and societies (Delahaye, 2011). Learning and development practice involves application of distinctive knowledge, skills and techniques in distinctive contexts. The sheer range of contexts and kinds of expertise associated with this work produces a complex challenge to any attempt to model L&D practice. The Australian Institute of Training and Development (AITD) took up this challenge in the Australian setting. A team of researchers was engaged to produce a model of L&D practice that the organization could use to conceptualize the work of its members and refine organizational strategy in areas such as professional development services. Although there have been attempts to represent the work of L&D practitioners (e.g. the ASTD ‘Competency Model’), the research presented here focused on the Australian setting and was also guided by a commitment to recognizing the role of organizational contexts in shaping L&D practice. This focus on context distinguishes the model from others that are concerned with the expertise and attributes of individual L&D practitioners. The model presented here thus represents contexts of L&D practice as well as knowledge and skills applied within them. The article describes the research process used to develop the model, including analysis of existing models, interviews with senior L&D practitioners and a survey of practitioners. The result is a model that acknowledges the complexity of L&D practice in a contemporary environment.