Neighbourhood houses and men’s sheds, adult learning in community spaces. Transforming the future of education : the role of research
- Authors: Smith, Erica , Ollis, Tracey
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: AARE 2022 International Conference of the Australian Association for Research in Education, Adelaide, 27 November-1 December 2022, AARE 2022 International Conference proceedings
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Choosing VET as a post-school activity: What are some influences on non-metropolitan students?
- Authors: Smith, Erica , Foley, Annette
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: AVETRA 21 Virtual conference: recover, rethink, rebuild: all eyes on VET, 19-23 April 2021
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- Description: This paper draws on data from recently-completed research funded by the Victorian Department of Education and Training (DET) and undertaken in the State of Victoria, in six non-metropolitan communities: three in rural/regional areas and three in peri-urban areas. The rationale for the research was that, despite decades of effort, education outcomes for rural and regional areas in Australia remain well under the Australian average (Napthine et al, 2019), partly because so many young people need to leave home to attend tertiary education (McKenzie, 2014). There is almost no specific research on peri-urban areas. For this paper we have extracted data, from selected phases of the project, specifically to find out why young people may or may not make VET choices. The method for this paper comprised analysis of data from each site, consisting of: • Interviews with VET-sector organisations; • ‘Snapshot surveys’, completed, prior to interviews and focus groups, by 80 young people in schools and 32 in their second-year out; • Publicly-available government ‘On-Track’ data (DET, 2018), of young people in their first year out of school. Recent related literature looks at VET choices in terms of the perceived and actual financial rewards of VET choices (e.g. Norton & Charastidtham, 2019); or in terms of the perceived status of VET choices (e.g. Billett, Choy & Hodge, 2019). Our research showed a complex picture with a number of factors (personal, environmental, cultural background and geographic) influencing choices; and also a perception that VET means apprenticeships, almost to the exclusion of traineeships or full-time VET. The agency of individual schools and of VET providers or apprenticeship organisations was also found to be important. The findings have clear implications for both policy and practice.
Preparation for post-school careers in rural and peri-urban Australia : connections with employers and labour markets
- Authors: Smith, Erica , Foley, Annette
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 6th International Conference on Employer Engagement: Preparing Young People for the Future, 1-2 July 2021, Virtual online
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Environmental sustainability practices : how adults learn
- Authors: Smith, Erica
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: SCUTREA (Standing Conference on University Teaching and Research in the Education of Adults) Adult Education 100: Reflections & Reconstructions, University of Nottingham, U.K., 2-4 July 2019 p. 97-106
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- Description: This paper reports on a small research project which investigated how adults in Australia learn about, and adapt to, developments in environmental sustainability practices. The project was based on two major changes in Australia in 2018: the cessation of free ‘singleuse’ plastic bags in many shops, particularly the major supermarket changes; and a gathering momentum towards more rigorous recycling practices. These changes, particularly the first, have affected the daily lives of most Australians. The research,consisting of a focus group, an expert interview and an on-line survey was undertaken with staff working for a regional university based at several campuses across the State of Victoria. This paper reports on preliminary results from the project, including analysis of the initial set of results from the survey. The results so far show that people learn from a range of sources, but some are much more common than others. Among media sources, two-thirds of the survey respondents learned from television, and around 40% from social media and the internet more generally; and among other sources, friends and family were information sources for two-thirds of people, while community information and public notices in shops or on litter bins were used by around half of the respondents. Some respondents were passionately engaged with the topic. The paper presents the responses to a number of key questions in the survey and analyses by age, and gender; and makes some suggestions about the effectiveness of learning sources on sustainability practices. The paper addresses the conference themes of formal and informal learning; adult political education; and community learning and engagement.
Young people’s decision-making as they leave school in non-metropolitan areas in Australia : insights from those working with young people
- Authors: Smith, Erica , Foley, Annette
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: SCUTREA (Standing Conference on University Teaching and Research in the Education of Adults) Adult Education 100: Reflections & Reconstructions, University of Nottingham, U.K., 2-4 July 2019 p. 107-114
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Teaching practices among college-based teachers of apprentices.
- Authors: Smith, Erica
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Modern apprenticeships: Widening their scope, sustaining their quality, 7th Research Conference of the International Network on Innovative Apprenticeship; US Bureau of Labor Statistics,Washington; 1-2 October, 201 p. 47-53
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- Description: This paper provides a glimpse into current teaching practices among teachers working with traditional trade apprentices (‘trade teachers’) at Australian public and private providers of vocational education and training (VET), which are known as Registered Training Organisations (RTOs). The research is drawn from a major national study funded by the Australian Research Council, designed to examine the effects of different levels of vocational teachers’ qualifications upon the quality of VET teaching. For this paper, data from trade teachers, in different industry areas, was drawn out from a major survey of VET teachers/trainers, which included questions about their teaching approaches, as well as from focus groups of trade teachers.
VET teachers' and trainers' participation in professional development : a national overview
- Authors: Tuck, Jacqueline , Smith, Erica
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: AVETRA 20th Annual Conference, 18-20 April 2017
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- Description: This paper reports on the professional development of vocational education and training (VET) teachers and trainers in Australia. It utilises the data on professional development (PD) gathered from two national surveys undertaken in 2016 as part of a major ARC-funded national research project on VET teachers and their qualifications. Part of the first survey, which focused mainly on VET teachers’ qualifications and teaching approaches, examined the PD activities undertaken by the respondents. It explored the nature and frequency of the activities, the motivations for participation and the support provided for PD. The second survey was sent to VET teachers/trainers who had participated in PD activities offered by three major PD providers for VET. It focused on the external PD activities undertaken by respondents and explored the frequency, content and nature of activities. The paper provides evidence on the current state of professional development, both formal and informal, for teachers/trainers across the VET sector and compares differences among teachers working for different types of provider. Detailed data are presented on participation in a range of industry and VET PD activities (both within and external to the RTO), the motivations for participation, and who pays for PD. The findings show the type of PD activities that were valued, and what participants would like to see in the future. The findings are expected to inform policy discussions about VET teacher development and will be useful for managers in TAFE Institutes and RTOs; and for those external organisations delivering PD to the VET workforce.
Enterprise RTOs in Australia: An overview from research data
- Authors: Smith, Erica , Smith, Andy , Walker, Andrew
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: AVETRA, Sydney, 8th-10th April, 2015
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- Description: This paper reports on overview data from a national research project funded through the Australian Research Council Linkage program. The research question for the project as a whole was 'How do qualifications delivered by enterprises contribute to improved skill levels and other benefits for companies, workers and the nation?' The research was carried out with the support of the Enterprise RTO Association. Enterprise registered training organisations (RTOs) are companies that are accredited to deliver qualifications to their own workers. These 250 RTOs have to meet the same registration and quality standards as institutional training providers. The project as a whole included qualitative and quantitative components. It included longitudinal case studies in eight enterprise RTOs. This paper reports on part of the quantitative research. It presents findings and preliminary analysis of two surveys of enterprise RTOs (2012 and 2014), and a 2013 learner survey undertaken in the case study RTOs. The enterprise RTO surveys included a range of questions about the enterprise itself, and about the RTO's qualifications, learners, and training methods. The learner survey asked respondents about their views about training and outcomes. The response rates for the surveys were 35.7 per cent and 26 per cent respectively, with a representative distribution across industry areas. The paper provides a snapshot of the operations of enterprise RTOs and the views of those gaining qualifications in this context. Published abstract.
Work and learning in jobs that are traditionally considered unskilled or low-skilled
- Authors: Smith, Erica , Smith, Andy
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Work and Learning in the Era of Globalisation: Challenges for the 21st Century, 9th International Conference on Researching Work and Learning, Singapore, 9-11th December, 2015 p. 1-13
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- Description: This paper reports on part of a major research project on jobs traditionally considered to be unskilled. The project was funded by the Australian Research Council and involved detailed exploration of nine occupations, seven of which are considered to be low-skilled, to attempt to uncover the skill that was present in those jobs. It is common for the general public, policy-makers and, indeed, researchers to dismiss certain jobs as unskilled or low-skilled. In fact these perceptions are often the result of social construction of skill (Sawchuk, 2006; Healy, Hansen & Ledwith, 2006) and do not reflect the actual, or indeed potential, skills content of the occupations. As Vallas (1990) points out, judgments about skill in work have real consequences, which can affect people’s lives in fundamental ways. The project hoped to correct some perceptions of these types of job, to effect an improvement in training for the occupations, and to provide evidence for industry stakeholders to help improve the perceptions of the jobs and the people that undertake them. As the economy continues to evolve, new jobs will emerge and the findings of the project will continue to be of utility. In this paper we look at so-called low-skilled work through the lens of three of the nine occupations: retail assistant (non-supermarket), security officer and concrete products worker. In these occupations the consequences of perceptions about lack of skill are manifested in low pay, low status, low levels of government funding for training, poor quality training, and self-perception by workers that their jobs are not worthwhile. The method for each occupation was as follows: six interviews at national stakeholder level, two company case studies, a validation forum with industry personnel, and an examination of the respective qualifications. The research showed that all three jobs involved many technical and non-technical skills that were not generally recognised. The workers tended to internalise external negative perceptions of skill in the job, finding it difficult to articulate many of the skills they deployed. Managers and industry stakeholders, on the other hand, tended to be more aware of the inherent skill in the occupations. The paper uses the research in these three occupations to examine a number of issues. These include the reasons for perceptions of low skill in the jobs; consequences for workers and their on-the-job learning, of perceptions of low skill; the interplay of training quality and training take-up with the respect accorded to the occupation; and the ways in which perceptions of skill in work might be more closely aligned to the real nature of occupations.
Views of skill in low-wage jobs : Australian security guards and cleaners
- Authors: Smith, Erica , Junor, Anne , Hampson, Ian , Smith, Andrew
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: AIRAANZ Conference 2014: Work, Employment and HR: The redistribution of economic and social power? p. 1-13
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- Description: This paper discusses under-codified and possibly undervalued skills of security staff and cleaners, as part of an empirical study of skill perceptions and their impacts in a range of low-status occupations. In both industries, contracting has contributed to restricted bargaining power, low wages and undifferentiated classification structures. Yet divergent views of skill requirements emerged from 30 cross-sectional interviews conducted in 2012 in these two industries. In peak employer and employee bodies, the relevant industry skills council and training organisations, security and cleaning jobs were seen as being more skilled than commonly stereotyped. Follow-up case studies in two security and two cleaning organisations elicited a range of perspectives from senior managers, HR managers, supervisors and workers, suggesting that on criteria such as discretion, judgment, self-organisation and communication skills, there is scope for enhanced work value recognition and career pathing in both occupations.
What do senior figures in Australian VET and industrial relations think about the concept of skill in work?
- Authors: Smith, Erica , Smith, Andrew , Junor, Anne , Hampson, Ian
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Proceedings from Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association (AVETRA) p. 1-9
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- Description: This paper reports on perceptions of skill and the effects that they have on policy. Interviews were carried out with people holding senior positions in State and national government departments (some in vocational education and training, some in industrial relations), tertiary sector bodies, and major employer and employee organisations. The interviews formed the initial phase of a national ARC-funded project on recognising the skill in jobs traditionally considered low-skilled. Interviewees were asked what they thought a skilled job was and how they arrived at that definition; about changes over time in ideas about skill; and about how perceptions of skill affected debates and policy in their own areas and more generally. The interview transcripts were analysed to draw out key themes. On the whole, strong support was expressed for a view that all jobs contained skill, but it was noted by several people that their organisations used systems for allocating resources based on parameters that did not accord with this view. The interviewees discussed the effects of perceptions of skill on funding, on qualifications and on migration policies, as well as effects on self-esteem among workers. The findings provided a useful backdrop for subsequent phases of the project, which have been based around nine occupations across several industry areas.
'The national custodian': How interest groups and academics combine to restrict access of working people to qualifications
- Authors: Smith, Erica
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: The value and voice of VET research for individuals, industry, community and the nation
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- Description: An Australian ‘Expert Panel on apprenticeships’ worked during 2010-11 to propose sweeping changes to the Australian apprenticeship and training system which would have removed the access of workers in large segments of the economy to publicly-funded training. One suggestion was the establishment of a ‘national custodian’ who would decide which occupations were to get funded training and which were not. The eventual policy outcomes of this attempt, by a combination of interest groups and academics, to ‘guard’ access to funded training, are not yet known. However a minor policy change has already removed employers’ incentive payments for Certificate II qualifications. A similar process has been taking place during 2011 in England, where similar alliances are opposing the expansion of the apprenticeship system to broader sections of the economy. This paper analyses policy documents, and statements by academics and people from other research institutions, to examine, and attempt to theorise, their attempts to deny funded training to workers. These arguments are tested against the broader apprenticeship literature and the implications of these seemingly elitist arguments on the policy objective of social inclusion through VET.
Good practice in apprenticeship systems: Evidence from an international study
- Authors: Kemmis, Ros Brennan , Smith, Erica
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Proceedings of the 2nd UPI International Conference on Technical and Vocational Education and Training
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- Description: Apprenticeships can be seen as the ultimate in co-operation between TVET providers and industry as they are based on a combination of work and study. Ideally they should provide appropriate skills for companies and also all-round occupational and generic skills. However there are many different actual and potential models of apprenticeship.This paper uses part of the work undertaken for a project funded by the International Labor Organization and the World Bank to compare and contrast apprenticeship systems in 11 countries, for the purpose of drawing out features of good practice. The project was undertaken to provide suggestions for the process of reform of the Indian apprenticeship system [Planning Commission 2009]. Experiences of other countries, both in the developed and the developing world, indicate that apprenticeship systems cannot be transplanted among countries; however, key features of countries’ systems can be identified and sensitively developed in other countries. The paper describes a method for undertaking this task, and the findings. Eleven individual country case studies, based on reports and literature, were produced by a team of national experts, and subjected to a cross-case analysis. The use of national experts was judged to be more effective than having people write on other countries’ systems; the latter method has proved in many instances to result in inaccurate reports, susceptibility to the influence of limited numbers of stakeholders and a lack of sophistication in analysing trends. The country case studies took into account agreed international benchmarks for describing, analysing and evaluating apprenticeships, based on the framework described in the recently-released memorandum by INAP, the International Network on Innovative Apprenticeship [INAP Commission 2012] and the framework developed by one of the authors in the International Encyclopedia of Education [Smith 2010]. The countries were selected to cover a range of variables. A cross-case analysis was undertaken which drew together data from the countries using a thematic approach and simple data display techniques [Miles and Huberman 1994]. The analysis covered both systemic issues and 'the life cycle of the apprentice'. The data were then further reduced to develop an identification of the features of a model apprenticeship system, and proposed measures of success and associated challenges, derived from the data.
Managing apprentices and managing PhD students: Current concerns and transferable tips
- Authors: Smith, Erica
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: The value and voice of VET research for individuals, industry, community and the nation
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- Description: Apprenticeships and doctoral studies share many characteristics in common, such as the length of the ‘training contract’, and there has been considerable policy attention to both forms of ‘contracted training’ recently, with similar issues raised such as completion rates, timely completion, quality and so on. Companies that manage large numbers of apprentices or trainees face similar challenges to universities that manage large numbers of PhD students. The paper analyses four in-depth interviews drawn from larger research projects - two interviews with company managers responsible for apprentices and trainees, and two with Deans of Graduate Studies at Australian universities, who oversee the management of PhD students. The key points of policy documents in both areas are used to analyse the responses. Differences and similarities in management systems are highlighted, and good practices that could be transplanted between the two environments are identified.
Has Australia turned its back on international students?
- Authors: Smith, Andy , Smith, Erica
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at Creating and Sustaining International Connections: 41st annual conference of SCUTREA, the Standing Conference on University Teaching and Research in the Education of Adults Lancaster University 5th-7th July, 2011 p. 138-146
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The importance of the psychological contract for effective learning in apprenticeships
- Authors: Smith, Erica , Walker, Arlene , Kemmis, Ros Brennan
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Assuring the acquisition of expertise: Apprenticeship in the modern economy Beijing Normal University 26th-27th May, 2011 p. 141-144
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- Description: This paper looks at apprenticeship learning and training from a new standpoint – the psychological contract. The notion of the psychological contract is commonly used in the human resource management field to understand the nature of employment relationships. It has not previously been applied to apprenticeships in any systematic manner. This paper reports on a research project that applied a preexisting instrument to apprentices and employers and also included qualitative case studies in nine companies.
Pedagogy not political pointscoring: How training providers teach international students
- Authors: Smith, Erica
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: AVETRA 13th Annual Conference: VET Research: Leading and responding in turbulent times p. 1-12
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- Description: 2009 was a bad year for Australia's international vocational education and training (VET) industry. Racism affecting international students on the streets and in the national media discouraged students from applying to study in Australia and made international education the centre of political controversy. In such an environment it has been easy to lose sight of the teaching and learning processes that are at the heart of VET for international students. This paper reports on part of a research project, funded by Service Skills Australia, that examined VET practitioners in the service industries. As part of that project the author carried out case studies in two registered training organisations (RTOs) that delivered training to substantial numbers of hospitality students and interviewed senior managers from four other RTOs. Staff and students alike reported on the benefits of having international students enrolled in their courses, and reported instances of good practice in pedagogy that have implications well beyond the international student cohort.
Social construction of skill viewed through the lens of training for the cleaning industry
- Authors: Smith, Erica
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at AVERTA 12th Annual Conference: Aligning Participants, Policy and Pedagogy: Traction and Tensions in VET Research, Crown Plaza Coogee Beach, Sydney, New South Wales : 16th-17th April 2009
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- Description: Most people would agree that an objective measurement of skill in work is not possible. Many perceptions of what is skilled work privilege 'male' over 'female' occupations, and pre-1950 industrial and craft jobs over more recently-established and service sector jobs. Theories of social construction of skill centre around claim-making by interest groups, structural conditions that allow or prevent such claims, and the institutionalisation of those claims. As skill cannot be measured objectively, the social construction of skill takes on immense significance in defining what are worthy and non-worthy occupations, and the training that is available and valued within those occupations.
- Description: 2003007930
What are the pros and cons of gaining qualifications through work?
- Authors: Smith, Erica , Smith, Andy
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 5th International Centre for Research in Lifelong Learning Conference : Lifelong Learning Revisited : What Next?, University of Stirling, Scotland : 23rd-26th June 2009
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- Description: An important plank in lifelong learning policy in both the UK and Australia has been the opportunity for workers to gain qualifications through work. In Australia this opportunity has often been provided through the traineeship system which is a form of ‘modern apprenticeship’ that has now been in place for twenty years. Two national Australian research projects on the delivery of qualifications through work have been undertaken over a five-year period by the authors and colleagues. Both projects involved research with workers, managers, training providers, industry bodies, and relevant officials at State and national level. The 2003 project surveyed 400 companies that provided qualification-based training at work and also included twelve enterprise case studies. The 2008 project involved six indepth industry case studies, each of which involved interviews with relevant senior stakeholders and two enterprise case studies, as well as in-depth interviews with senior policy officials, employer peak bodies and trade unions. The studies showed that many advantages accrue to workers as well as to employers from the delivery of qualifications through work. However there are also some disadvantages and problematic areas for workers, some of which may become more apparent as the global financial crisis affects employment. In the discussion, some parallels are drawn between the Australian and the UK approach to delivering qualifications to lower-level workers through work.
- Description: 2003007929
The crowded market: agencies dealing with apprenticeships in Australia
- Authors: Smith, Erica
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Situated competence development through innovative apprenticeships: the role of different stakeholders p. 17-23
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- Description: In Australia approximately 3.5% of the working population is employed in apprenticeships and their newer counterparts traineeships (both of these are combined under the title of Australian Apprenticeships). While apprenticeships were originally intended for young school-leavers they are now open to people of all ages and to part-time as well as full-time workers. The huge growth in numbers, over 300% since the mid-1990s, has been the result of very conscious planning and financial investment by the Australian government. This paper, using data drawn from a series of research projects, analyses the different agencies that help to promote and manage the apprenticeship system. The paper points out both positive and negative effects of the large numbers of agencies involved.