Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Workplace Relations

Inquiry into the Role of Institutes of TAFE
Submissions

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Submission 61.1

GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF EDUCATION

School of Vocational Technology and Arts Education

Please Contact Prof John Stevenson

Telephone (07) 38757111 Fax (07) 3875 6868

REPLY T0 - Mt Gravatt Campus Griffith University Queensland 4122 Australia

26 March 1998

At the recent public hearings in Brisbane, Dr Neilson invited me to provide any additional material that l might be able to locate to substantiate further two of the statements in the Griffith University submission: the low status of vocational education and its impact on student demand and dissatisfaction of industry with the nature of knowledge that young people bring to the workplace. I hope the following will be helpful.

The need to overcome the low status of vocational education in Australia is suggested by the reluctance to "count" vocational studies in university entry scores, the reluctance of young people to move outside of the core subjects that confer entry to university studies, the tendency to use post-school TAFE courses as an alternative route to university study rather than courses in their own right (and the subsequent government moves to attempt to reduce this), the tendency of learners to view TAFE studies as "merely" a way to add a practical component to a first degree, and so on. While there have been moves to press schools into broadening their curricula to include vocational studies, this relative status appears to have persisted and is evidenced in the case of Queensland on pages 26-29 of the report Factors affecting the training market in Queensland (Wiltshire, 1997).

Some of the work that has been published since the current inquiry began (eg Australia's Youth: Reality and Risk) (Dusseldorp Skills Forum et al, 1998) also seems to substantiate that there are problems with the status of vocational education and the demand of young people for it. For instance in the chapter of that report by Ball and Robinson, it is clear that, "over the period 1990 to 1996, participation rates in vocational education for 15-19 year olds "have remained largely unchanged at around 20 per cent" (Table 1, p. 2), with "a decline in absolute numbers" (which they attribute to a decline in population in thIs age group). Another matter of concern that arises in that particular chapter is that there appears to be also a change in the nature of studies taken with a move towards short courses and multiple courses. From their Table 4 (p. 4), it is also of concern that the kinds of changes include increases in enrolment in courses leading to operative occupations, and to only parts of occupations ("part exempt"), with a decrease in recognised trade enrolments. Together, these two trends threaten the relevance of TAFE provision to the needs for a skilled, adaptable and innovative workforce.

At the same time, the increase in para-professional higher technician is subject to a variety of interpretations, one of which has been of concern to TAPE itself, viz that these enrolments are being used to gain entry to higher education rather than the target occupation.

From the chapter of the above report by Ainley, "of the various vocational education and training courses provided in New South Wales in 1996, the largest number of enrolments was in the Joint Secondary Schools TAFE program". As noted above such enrolments, while now often stated on school certificates, are usually not given the status of counting for university entrance. It is also indicative of the status of vocational education, in the eyes of young people, that the largest enrolment is taken from the refuge of school. Some of these matters are also noted on pages 8 and 9 of the executive summary of the overall report where it is also concluded that there has, over the same period, been an increase overall in the numbers of 17-19 year olds enrolled at a university and in the proportion of "Year 12 leavers who proceeded directly to university". It is worth noting also that this non-attractiveness of vocational education to young people seems to persist despite the increasing fees to enter universities and the absence of HECS for TAFE.

Similarly, in the UK (see Young, 1997) and the USA (Grubb, 1995a, 1995b; Warren Little & Threatt, 1994; William T. Grant Foundation Commission on Work, Family and Citizenship, 1991; William T. Grant Foundation Commission on Youth and America's Future, 1988), vocational education has a low status, often associated by learners and their parents with those who are perceived as being able to do nothing else. That is, the erroneous perception is that those who are able continue their- secondary education and go on to university, while vocations and vocational education are for those who "drop out" and / or go to the "tech". The low status appears often to be related to the associated perception that vocations are to do with practical things, involving manual skills and are therefore (it is assumed) less demanding than "more intellectual" pursuits. Strangely, such low status vocations are seen as different from other more prestigious vocations also involving practical work, such as medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and engineering (the so-called professions), that are accessed from a university education. For these latter vocations, it appears to be assumed that more is required in the way of theoretical knowledge, judgement and independent thought and action; despite the extent to which the work is actually practical and routine.

Significantly, even in countries where it is reputed that vocational education enjoys a higher status, where "academic" and "vocational" education are said to be of equivalent status, and where "vocational" education can be pursued at levels regarded as equivalent to university qualifications (e.g. Germany), the divisions between the two so-called kinds of education are so pronounced that:

(a) it appears that the theoretical instruction provided in the schools (say, as part of the German dual apprenticeship scheme) is taught in academic ways that seems to make little contact with the practical activities of work, and

(b) it appears to be difficult to move between "vocational" and "academic" education.

Elsewhere, I (Stevenson, 1993) refer to these rival constructions, which exist as polarised and impermeable Discourses in both general and vocational education as follows:

"the construction of general education in schools and universities is based on a long history of debates about the relationships among views on the nature of knowledge and the foundations of education, and views about the nature of curricula appropriate for the general development of individuals for a wide range of life pursuits. An important aspect of the persistence of the construction of general education has been the discourse which has evolved to describe its policies, goals and practices: words and phrases like general (vs specific); academic (vs skills based); conceptual (vs practical); thinking (vs doing); disciplines (vs problems); learning processes (vs products); articulated (vs tacit) knowledge; education (vs training); preparation for life (vs work); and so on. Thus, in the case of the institution of general education, there has, over a long period of time, been little space for disagreement - no legitimate discourse in which alternative views about the role of general education could be advanced. Thus, general education has been like an institution with its own special language, and this institution has been supported by a physical infrastructure - government departments and Boards concerned with "protecting" the basic ingredients in school curricula, assessment procedures and the reporting of results, and their relationships with subsequent education, especially in universities.

Consider next the contemporary construction of vocational education. Recent changes in vocational education, in Western English-speaking nations, have been directed at pressing educators into conceiving education more from industrial, business, management and economic perspectives - manifested most prominently in the form of the pervasive physical and legislative infrastructure of the Competency-Based Training (CBT) movement.

And this institution has been accompanied by its own special language (Stevenson, 1991): training (vs growth, development); competence (vs ability, excellence, knowledge); economic growth (vs quality of life); productivity (vs conservation); responding to contingencies and breakdowns in routine (vs adaptability); training (vs teaching or learning); task skills and task management skills (vs expertise); teamwork (vs interpersonal interactions); outcomes (vs processes); flexibility (vs coherence); etc. (See The National Training Board, 1990, 1991, 1992)."

Such dualisms are stark for a young person choosing between the modularised, disaggregated competency- based world of VET, and the ways in which knowledge is valued and acquired in the arts, sciences and medicine

As suggested at the public hearings, employer and other groups continue to express dissatisfaction with the knowledge that young people bring to work. The nation-wide current emphases on improving literacy and information technology capacities of young people are persistent examples of this. The report by Coopers and Lybrand (1994) that TAFE provision could offer small businesses little is another example. The whole National Training Reform agenda since 1989 is full of government reports arguing for the need for change. This agenda, argued in the name of `industry-driven' education, is a more general example of an attempt to convince industry that they are now responsible for getting what they want (albeit, a most dangerous location for singular responsibility for a social good). That little seems to have changed is supported by more recent evidence of the need to redress ongoing perceptions of industry and/or to improve educational provision to overcome inadequacies, for example on pages 15-20 of Factors affecting the training market in Queens land (Wiltshire, 1997). The extent of up-take in industry of vocational courses is another indicator of the level of satisfaction; and this and related matters receive attention in various journals such as the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Vocational Education Research (eg See Kilpatrick, 1997; Wooden, 1996). (Other articles in this journal and the Australian Vocational Education Review provide many analyses of the inadequacies of the current state of vocational education and training in Australia).

For international comparisons, several articles in the British journal Vocational Education and Training also canvass the current state of vocational education and training (eg see Cockrill & Scott, 1997; Matlay, 1997). For an up-to-date analysis of the current situation in the UK, I refer you to Hodgson & Spours, 1997, and the various Dearing reviews of the educational sectors of the UK. One of the major problems that continues to be of concern in the UK is the apparent preference of employers for A-levels rather than NVQs or GNVQs, and for older qualifications rather than the VQ kind. There is even now developing some UK evidence that completion of an entire bachelor degree at a university might have a greater chance of leading to employment than completing the same degree after gaining credit for vocational studies outside the university system.

l hope this material assists you in your inquiry. Please let me know if I can assist further.

John Stevenson

Professor of Post-Compulsory Education and Training

Head of School of Vocational, Technology and Arts Education

References

Cockrill, A. & Scott, P. (1997). Vocational education and training in Germany: trends and issues. Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 49(3), 337-350.

Coopers~& Lybrand. (1994). TAFE NSW Training plans and preferences of small businesses in Australia. A report for vocational education and training providers. Sydney: Coopers and Lybrand

Dusseldorp Skills Forum et al (1998). Australia's youth: reality and risk. Sydney: Dusseldorp Skills Forum

Grubb, W.N. (1995a). The cunning hand, the cultured mind: sources of support for curriculum integration. in Grubb, W. N. (Ed.), Education through occupations in American high schools. Vol. 1, Chapter 1. New York: Teachers' College Press.

Grubb, W.N. (1995b). A continuum of approaches to curriculum integration. in Grubb, W. N. (Ed.), Education through occupations in American high schools. Vol. 1, Chapter 4. New York: Teachers' College Press.

Hodgson, A. & Spours, K. (Eds.) (1997a). Dearing and beyond: 1419 quahfications, frameworks and systems.

London: Kogan Page.

Kilpatrick, S. (1997). Education and training: impacts on profitability in agriculture. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Vocational Education Research, 5(2), 11-36.

Matlay, H. (1997). The paradox of training in the small business sector of the British economy. Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 49(4), 573-590.

Stevenson, j. C. (1991). New speak or old speak? Competency-based education and training. Summit 100: fraining and education for the next century. Sydney. 24-25 October. (Reproduced in Stevenson, 1994, Chapter 3).

Stevenson, J.C. (1993). interests: vested or community? Afler competence: the fiiture of postcompulsory education and training. First international Conference. Centre for Skill Formation Research and Development, Griffith University. Brisbane. December.

Stevenson, J. C. (1994). The changing context of vocational education. Selected papers presented by John Stevenson at conferences from 1987 to 1993. Griffith University: Centre for Skill Formation Research and Development.

The National Training Board. (1990). Setting national skills standards. A discussion paper. Canberra: National Training Board Ltd.

The National Training Board. (1991). National competency standards. Policy and guidelines. Canberra: National Training Board Ltd.

The National Training Board. (1992) National competency standards. Policy and guidelines. Second Edition. Canberra: The National Training Board Ltd.

US Department of Labour Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills. (1992). Learning a living: a blueprint for high performance. A SCAN's report for America 2000. Washington DC: US Department of Labor.

Warren Little, J. & Threatt, S. M. (1994). Work on the margins: compromises of purposes and content in secondary schools. Curriculum Inquiry, 24 (3), 270-291.

William T. Grant Foundation Commission on Work, Family and Citizenship. (1991). States and communities on the move: policy initiatives to create a world- class workforce. Washington, D. C. : William T. Grant Foundation

William T. Grant Foundation Commission on Youth and America's Future. (1988). The forgotten half pathways to success for America's youth and young families. Washington, D. C. : William T. Grant Foundation.

Wiltshire, K. (1997). Factors affecting the training market in Queensland. Recommendations to the Hon. Santo Santoro, MLA arising from a consultation on issues affecting providers in the Queensland vocational education and training market. Brisbane.

Wooden, M. (1996). Firm size and the provision of employee training: an analysis of the 1993 survey of education and training. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Vocational Education Research,4(2), 89-120.

Young, M. (1997). The Dearing review of 16-19 qualifications: a step towards a unified system? in A. Hodgson & K. Spours (Eds.), Dearing and beyond: 14-19 qualifications, frameworks and systems. (pp. 25-39). London: Kogan Page.

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