Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Workplace Relations

Inquiry into the Role of Institutes of TAFE
Submissions

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Submission 92

Australian Association of Adult and Community Education Inc

PO Box 308
Jamison Centre
ACT 2614
AUSTRALIA

16 January, 1998

Mary Hannan
National Office Manager

AAACE submission to the Inquiry into the Appropriate Roles of Institutes of Technical and Further Education

Introduction

The terms of reference for the above inquiry are to report on:
- the appropriate roles of institutes of technical and ftuther education
- the extent to which those roles should overlap with universities

The interest of the Australian Association of Adult and Community Education (AAACE) in the above inquiry is threefold:

1. AAACE is concerned with how the Adult and Community Education Sector (ACE), contributes to vocational education and training (VET) in Australia, through and with TAFE Institutes and other providers.

2. AAACE is concerned very broadly with the provision and quality of adult learning opportunities wherever those opportunities can be realised: in formal education, in the workplace, or in the community.

3. AAACE is concerned with promoting lifelong learning: the idea that educational opportunities should exist throughout the lifespan to enhance vocational, community, personal, or civic goals.

The above concerns lead to a view about how TAFE Institutes should perform their current role and how this role can be reconfigured within the broader concept of lifelong learning.

Below is set out:
1. Some comments on the relationship between ACE and VET, mainly to illustrate the extent of this relationship.
2. An ACE perspective view of the desirable features of a TAFE Institute, which picks up on some of the issues raised in recent reports and policy documents in the ACE area (in particular The National Policy on Adult Community Education, 1997; Planning Pathways, 1997; Think Local and Compete, 1996; Developing the Training Market of the Future, 1996; the Report on the Senate Standing Committee Inquiry into Adult and Community Education, 1997).

The relationship between ACE and VET

The ANTA report 'Think Local and Compete' (1996) notes, among others, the following involvement of ACE in VET:

• (estimate) of all registered training providers in Australia are ACE providers

• ACE providers account for 1.5% - 2.0% of VET course activity

• of ACE provision is in the area of General Education and Training (literacy, basic education, ESL) - this represents the comparative strength of ACE in the national VET system

• of ACE provision is in the area of Non-Industry Specific Occupational Training (eg. business, clerical, computing)

• where public funding has been accessible to ACE providers, they have been able to deliver VET programs to equity target groups

• ACE providers have been able to deliver recognised VET programs in rural and remote communities where other VET provision is limited or non-existent

• the is potential for ACE providers to deliver a greater proportion of Stream 2000 - 4000 courses than is currently the case.

The report goes on the stipulate the ways in which ACE adds value to VET:

• training market value - ACE providers in the training market diversifies supply, reduces costs, diversifies methods of delivery, and enables delivery to under-serviced groups.

• locality value - ACE providers are strongly focussed on their local and regional labour markets

• community value - community-based ACE providers are able to assist the effective integration of VET activities with other regional and local economic and social developments.

• organisational orientation value - the principles of lifelong learning and learner-centred adult education pervade all ACE provision.

The above are mentioned to highlight the need to consider the impact of a growing ACE sector in VET on the role of TAFE Institutes, and to point to the potential and need to address the interface between TAFE and ACE as common VET providers. This growth is likely to continue, especially if the regulatory framework continues to support the development of a training market, and if ACE providers of VET programs have increasing access to VET system funds. It is important to keep in mind that, because of differences between the states in both ACE and TAFE provision, it is difficult to provide a national analysis of the changes necessary to promote a more effective interface. However the features set out below attempt to capture the directions in which individual institutes should be heading, at least from an ACE perspective.

Desirable features of TAFE Institutes from an ACE perspective:

1. Lifelong

• flexible entry, exit, and re-entry
• curricula which integrate rather than separate the components of professional preparation (general knowledge, generic skills, professional knowledge, experience).
• strong learner support and guidance services
• recognition of learning and achievement demonstrated outside TAFE
• equitable and accessible with different pathways for learning
• supports for access through bridging and enabling courses

2. Diverse, flexible, and responsive

• diverse structures for delivering education
• recognition of the diversity of the students in teaching practices and the curriculum
• flexibility in the pace, timing and location of learning
• processes which are responsive to the sometimes specific, local or short term needs of the community
• sufficient autonomy and control of resources to allow responsiveness and competitiveness

3. Learner centred

• a pedagogy which utilises learners' experiences
• curricula which develop the capacity for lifelong learning
• an emphasis on supporting learning individually and in groups

4. Strong links with industry, the community and other providers

• cross-sectoral collaboration (delivery, pathway agreements, development of consultative mechanisms, and strategic alliances)
• community education programs
• course units which are open to auditing
• contribution to and participation in community and regional development.
• public lectures, performances, and exhibitions which contribute to cultural and intellectual life.
• partnerships with industry, commerce, and community organisations

5. Institutes which are themselves examples of 'learning organisations'

• quality staff development programs
• provision of supports for learning within the Organisation
• a culture which values and encourages learning among all employees

In summary, the AAACE supports the idea of lifelong learning as a principle for policy development and planning in Australian education. A lifelong learning perspective has implications at the system, sectoral and institutional level. One of the key implications is the opening up of choice through diversity of provision and existence of a variety of learning pathways. A crucial element of this is the breaking down of sectoral barriers to learning, which often means considerable overlap in awards and provision between the sectors - but this should not be seen as inefficient, but as fostering both competition and collaboration in the delivery of learning opportunities for adults.

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