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- Higher Education, Equity and Social Justice in Higher Education, Higher Education Studies, Policy and Practice as/in Higher Education, Higher Education Policy, Comparative & International Education, and 4 moreHigher Education Law, Higher Education (Sociology), Economics of Higher Education and Research, and History of higher educationedit
This book seeks to understand the effects of the current information revolution on universities by examining the effects of two previous information revolutions: Gutenberg’s invention and proof of printing in 1450 and the Scientific... more
This book seeks to understand the effects of the current information revolution on universities by examining the effects of two previous information revolutions: Gutenberg’s invention and proof of printing in 1450 and the Scientific Revolution from the mid- fifteenth to the end of the seventeenth century. I review significant changes since the early modern period in universities’ students, libraries, curriculum, pedagogy, lectures, assessment, research, and the dissemination of these changes across the globe. I argue that significant changes in the transmission and dissemination of disciplinary knowledge are shaped by the interaction of three factors: financial, technological, and physical resources; the nature, structure and level of knowledge; and the methods available for managing knowledge.
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This book seeks to increase our understanding of how vocational and higher education are structured as tertiary education systems in developed countries and possibilities for alternative structures. The study uses the method of... more
This book seeks to increase our understanding of how vocational and higher education are structured as tertiary education systems in developed countries and possibilities for alternative structures. The study uses the method of comparative education to yield these insights and the book develops an analytical framework for international educational comparisons in Chapter 2.
The study found two broad tendencies or patterns for structuring tertiary education and the book seeks to explain why countries adopt one or the other of the patterns. In the Anglo-US pattern of vocational and higher education institutions having relatively general and overlapping roles, there is a range of practices in structuring higher education. Some jurisdictions such as California formally divide their higher education institutions into segments with markedly different roles and funding levels. Other jurisdictions distinguish between their higher education institutions, but less markedly or less formally. At the other end of the continuum, some jurisdictions such as Australia and Scotland have formally unified systems of higher education. The book considers the merits of these arrangements and, in particular, considers whether formally segmenting an elite sector of higher education makes highly selective institutions less accessible to students transferring from vocational education. The book finds that it does not and seeks to explain why this is so.
A final aim is to systematize the options available to governments for structuring vocational and higher education and this is done in Chapter 9. These several aims of the book are aspects of one overall question that the book seeks to answer: Why have sectors?
The study found two broad tendencies or patterns for structuring tertiary education and the book seeks to explain why countries adopt one or the other of the patterns. In the Anglo-US pattern of vocational and higher education institutions having relatively general and overlapping roles, there is a range of practices in structuring higher education. Some jurisdictions such as California formally divide their higher education institutions into segments with markedly different roles and funding levels. Other jurisdictions distinguish between their higher education institutions, but less markedly or less formally. At the other end of the continuum, some jurisdictions such as Australia and Scotland have formally unified systems of higher education. The book considers the merits of these arrangements and, in particular, considers whether formally segmenting an elite sector of higher education makes highly selective institutions less accessible to students transferring from vocational education. The book finds that it does not and seeks to explain why this is so.
A final aim is to systematize the options available to governments for structuring vocational and higher education and this is done in Chapter 9. These several aims of the book are aspects of one overall question that the book seeks to answer: Why have sectors?
This is a submission to the Australian Senate inquiry into vocational education and training in South Australia, which was established by conservatives to try to attack the South Australian Labor Government before the forthcoming... more
This is a submission to the Australian Senate inquiry into vocational education and training in South Australia, which was established by conservatives to try to attack the South Australian Labor Government before the forthcoming election.
In it I argue that the problems with public vocational education in South Australia are shared by all other Australian states and result from the fragmentation of financing, student loans, curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and quality assurance.
I argue further that Australian vocational education and training policy also suffers by being fragmented between the Australian and State and Territory governments. This Senate review of Tafe SA perpetuates and exacerbates this fragmentation of vocational education and training policy, as if the South Australian Government’s policy and funding of vocational education and training were unrelated to its funding agreements with the Australian Government, vocational education student loans, standards, quality assurance and related issues.
In it I argue that the problems with public vocational education in South Australia are shared by all other Australian states and result from the fragmentation of financing, student loans, curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and quality assurance.
I argue further that Australian vocational education and training policy also suffers by being fragmented between the Australian and State and Territory governments. This Senate review of Tafe SA perpetuates and exacerbates this fragmentation of vocational education and training policy, as if the South Australian Government’s policy and funding of vocational education and training were unrelated to its funding agreements with the Australian Government, vocational education student loans, standards, quality assurance and related issues.
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This paper considers higher education programs that are offered by institutions that have historically and still predominantly offer vocational education programs. These arrangements are called higher education (HE) in further education... more
This paper considers higher education programs that are offered by institutions that have historically and still predominantly offer vocational education programs. These arrangements are called higher education (HE) in further education (FE) in England. The paper compares HE in FE in Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand and the US. The paper notes that what is considered ‘further’ and ‘higher’ education differs in each jurisdiction. Nonetheless, it is possible to compare bachelor degrees offered by Australia’s vocational education and training institutions, Canada’s community colleges, England’s further education colleges, New Zealand’s institutes of technology and polytechnics and the US’ 2-year colleges.
This paper reports progress with a project funded by the Australian National Centre for Vocational Education Research to examine higher education programs offered by public further education colleges, which in Australia are called Technical and Further Education (Tafe) institutes. This report concentrates on just 1 of the several issues that arose in the study: interviewees’ accounts of the implications of higher education in further education for the identity of institutions, teachers and students.
In the third part of the paper we invite reflection on 3 questions: why is higher education in further education expanding, how is higher education in further education being structured by the broader relations between the sectors, and what may be the future of higher education in further education?
This paper reports progress with a project funded by the Australian National Centre for Vocational Education Research to examine higher education programs offered by public further education colleges, which in Australia are called Technical and Further Education (Tafe) institutes. This report concentrates on just 1 of the several issues that arose in the study: interviewees’ accounts of the implications of higher education in further education for the identity of institutions, teachers and students.
In the third part of the paper we invite reflection on 3 questions: why is higher education in further education expanding, how is higher education in further education being structured by the broader relations between the sectors, and what may be the future of higher education in further education?
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This reports an investigation of the feasibility of introducing a new approach to qualifications which would involve: identifying 4 types of qualifications; supporting 3 roles of qualifications; introducing vocational streams;... more
This reports an investigation of the feasibility of introducing a new approach to qualifications which would involve:
identifying 4 types of qualifications;
supporting 3 roles of qualifications;
introducing vocational streams; and
developing ‘productive capabilities’.
identifying 4 types of qualifications;
supporting 3 roles of qualifications;
introducing vocational streams; and
developing ‘productive capabilities’.
Research Interests:
This proposes a considerable simplification of Ontario's arcane formula for allocating funds to universities, which is outlined in its operating funds distribution manual of 152 pages. I suggest that Ontario could learn a lot from the... more
This proposes a considerable simplification of Ontario's arcane formula for allocating funds to universities, which is outlined in its operating funds distribution manual of 152 pages. I suggest that Ontario could learn a lot from the arrangements of the Higher education funding council for England when it funded all higher education subjects.
Research Interests:
Australian governments made vocational education 'industry led' from the mid 1990s and greatly increased its marketisation from the 2000s. Yet employers have largely not assumed the leadership role that governments seek to thrust upon... more
Australian governments made vocational education 'industry led' from the mid 1990s and greatly increased its marketisation from the 2000s. Yet employers have largely not assumed the leadership role that governments seek to thrust upon them, aside from complaining about substantial failures of quality and standards brought about by relentless funding cuts and marketisation. The Government seeks to solve these problems with yet more employer engagement and by extending marketisation to the development of qualifications standards, and it launched this more circumscribed review than its companion so it could establish its new market by July 2015. This brief submission of 3 pages makes these points and suggests modifications of the Government's proposal to ameliorate the worst effects of the further marketisation the Government seems determined to introduce.
Research Interests:
This is a submission to the Australian Government's review of training packages, which are the nationally mandated specification of vocational qualifications. The Government's discussion paper picks up several points made by my partner... more
This is a submission to the Australian Government's review of training packages, which are the nationally mandated specification of vocational qualifications. The Government's discussion paper picks up several points made by my partner Leesa Wheelahan, colleagues and me over the last few years. However, it leaves unexamined the shackling of qualifications to atomised work tasks and has other limitations which are noted in this brief submission of 4 pages
This paper examines the policies to achieve universal participation in postsecondary education of 3 governments: those of Ontario, the UK (for England) and Australia. All 3 jurisdictions have high tuition fees and already have high access... more
This paper examines the policies to achieve universal participation in postsecondary education of 3 governments: those of Ontario, the UK (for England) and Australia. All 3 jurisdictions have high tuition fees and already have high access yet seek to further increase participation and attainment. But they do so in very different ways. The paper compares the governments’ policies on financing, relations between institutions, the involvement of community colleges and the role of private institutions in progressing towards universal postsecondary education. The paper finds two different approaches to achieving government goals in higher education – by formal planning and by constructing a market – and suggests that each is likely to achieve the goals government set for them.
This paper makes recommendations on institutional policies, governance and organisational arrangements that enhance student outcomes in dual sector universities in Australia and to consider the implications for qualifications and... more
This paper makes recommendations on institutional policies, governance and organisational arrangements that enhance student outcomes in dual sector universities in Australia and to consider the implications for qualifications and curriculum. It has been commissioned by the Dual Sector Cohesion Project under the auspices of the University of Ballarat and Swinburne University of Technology. Student outcomes include pathways, transition arrangements, cross sector development and delivery of programs such as associate degrees, joint awards, and integrated degrees as canvassed in Dual Sector University Cohesion – A Discussion Paper (Matthews and Murphy 2010). However, while this project is about Australian dual sector universities which have substantial load in both vocational and higher education, the issues discussed in this paper arise to varying extents in other cross sectoral institutions which offer vocational and higher education although with a small minority of provision in one sector. There are 90 institutions that are registered to offer both vocational education and training and higher education qualifications in Australia. This includes the five dual sector universities, about half of Australia’s remaining universities, 11 TAFEs and 57 private providers (Wheelahan, Arkoudis, Moodie, Fredman and Bexley 2011).
Research Interests: Higher Education, Vocational And Adult Education, Assessment in Higher Education, Vocational Education, Learning And Teaching In Higher Education, and 11 moreEquity and Social Justice in Higher Education, Higher Education Management, Higher Education Policy, Technical and Vocational Education, Vocational Training, Accreditation & Quality Assurance in Higher Education (HE), Impact of Markets on Quality in Vocational Education and Training, Technical and Vocational Education and Training, Tertiary Education, Credit Transfer, and Educational and Occupational Pathways
The boundaries between vocational and academic post compulsory education have been blurred by students combining vocational and academic studies and by students transferring increasingly between the two types of education. Institutions... more
The boundaries between vocational and academic post compulsory education have been blurred by students combining vocational and academic studies and by students transferring increasingly between the two types of education. Institutions are also blurring the boundaries between the sectors by increasingly offering programs from two and sometimes three sectors. In contrast, teachers seem more entrenched than ever in their own sector. This article reports a project on the preparation of Australian teachers of vocational education. It examines the prospect of integrating the preparation of teachers in post compulsory education to teach in schools, vocational education institutions and higher education institutions. It argues that greater differentiation between different types of vocational teachers and vocational teacher preparation can support the development of a continuum along which it would be possible to establish points of commonality with the preparation of school and higher education teachers.
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This is the first report from the 2010 Quality of Teaching in Vocational Education. There were about six reports in the project, and this report is the first research report based on interviews with key policy and institutional leaders... more
This is the first report from the 2010 Quality of Teaching in Vocational Education. There were about six reports in the project, and this report is the first research report based on interviews with key policy and institutional leaders and teachers, and a web survey in which 1400 VET teachers and other practitioners participated
Research Interests:
The New South Wales Board of Vocational Education and Training commissioned Gavin Moodie and me to prepare a paper on skills. This is the abstract from the BVET website. BVET has commissioned Leesa Wheelahan and Gavin Moodie to... more
The New South Wales Board of Vocational Education and Training commissioned Gavin Moodie and me to prepare a paper on skills.
This is the abstract from the BVET website.
BVET has commissioned Leesa Wheelahan and Gavin Moodie to prepare a paper on skills. Their report argues that vocational training has to adapt to meet the needs of a changing society and economic conditions.
This paper advocates a shift from a narrowly defined competency basis to a capability framework in order to more effectively prepare students for broad occupations in loosely defined occupational streams, a feature which may underpin the next generation of vocational education.
This is the abstract from the BVET website.
BVET has commissioned Leesa Wheelahan and Gavin Moodie to prepare a paper on skills. Their report argues that vocational training has to adapt to meet the needs of a changing society and economic conditions.
This paper advocates a shift from a narrowly defined competency basis to a capability framework in order to more effectively prepare students for broad occupations in loosely defined occupational streams, a feature which may underpin the next generation of vocational education.
This is the final report for the Quality of Teaching in Vocational Education and Training project. The project was undertaken by the LH Martin Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Management at the University of Melbourne. It... more
This is the final report for the Quality of Teaching in Vocational Education and Training project. The project was undertaken by the LH Martin Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Management at the University of Melbourne. It was funded by the Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relations and managed by the Australian College of Educators. It contains recommendations on supporting VET teaching, the structure of the VET teaching workforce, VET teacher education qualifications and continuing professional development.
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Gavin Moodie, Leesa Wheelahan, Stephen Billett, Ann Kelly 13 May 2009 Growth in mixed-sector institutions offering both vocational and higher education qualifications is expected to increase given recent and predicted policy changes.... more
Gavin Moodie, Leesa Wheelahan, Stephen Billett, Ann Kelly
13 May 2009
Growth in mixed-sector institutions offering both vocational and higher education qualifications is expected to increase given recent and predicted policy changes. This issues paper focuses on the provision and management of higher education in TAFE institutes. Issues raised for discussion include the governance of mixed-sector institutions as well as ensuring access and maintaining progression to higher education without sectoral division in the institution. Implications arising from the Bradley review of higher education are canvassed and the authors are inviting discussion on a range of questions related to the nature of policies and practices influencing the provision of higher education in TAFE.
13 May 2009
Growth in mixed-sector institutions offering both vocational and higher education qualifications is expected to increase given recent and predicted policy changes. This issues paper focuses on the provision and management of higher education in TAFE institutes. Issues raised for discussion include the governance of mixed-sector institutions as well as ensuring access and maintaining progression to higher education without sectoral division in the institution. Implications arising from the Bradley review of higher education are canvassed and the authors are inviting discussion on a range of questions related to the nature of policies and practices influencing the provision of higher education in TAFE.
Research Interests:
Most empirical analyses of the diversity of higher education systems use categorical variables, which shape the extent of diversity found. This study examines continuous variables of institutions’ enrolment size and proportions of... more
Most empirical analyses of the diversity of higher education systems use categorical variables, which shape the extent of diversity found. This study examines continuous variables of institutions’ enrolment size and proportions of postgraduate, fulltime and international students to find the extent of variation amongst doctoral granting and all higher education institutions in the UK, US and Australia. The study finds that there is less variety amongst all higher education institutions in the UK than in Australia, which in turn has much less variety than the US. This suggests that the extent of government involvement in higher education isn’t so important for institutional variety as the form which it takes. More tentatively, the paper suggests that the more limited the range of institutions for which government funding is available the stronger government involvement is needed to have variety among the limited range of institutions for which government financial support is available.
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This paper starts by considering the effects on universities of Gutenberg’s invention of printing. It considers four major effects: the gradual displacement of Latin as the language of scholarship with vernacular languages, the expansion... more
This paper starts by considering the effects on universities of Gutenberg’s invention of printing. It considers four major effects: the gradual displacement of Latin as the language of scholarship with vernacular languages, the expansion and eventual opening of libraries, major changes to curriculum and major changes to pedagogy including lectures. The paper does not find that the ubiquity of books changed the role of teachers as was proposed in the late fifteenth century. The paper also considers a fifth change: the eventual replacement of oral disputations with written examinations as the main form of assessment for admission to a degree. While this was radical, it owed little to the direct effects of printing. The paper concludes by considering the implications of the earlier information revolution for understanding the effects on universities of the current information revolution.
Identifying higher education is a live issue now because higher education is informally identified although not defined as the education offered by archetypal higher education institutions – universities, just as vocational education has... more
Identifying higher education is a live issue now because higher education is informally identified although not defined as the education offered by archetypal higher education institutions – universities, just as vocational education has been identified as education offered by vocational colleges. This identification is made problematic by the great diversity of institutions that offer higher education – from small community or higher education colleges whose only higher education awards are associate or foundation degrees of 2 years’ duration to big research intensive universities which have a high proportion of their students enrolled in doctoral programs (Barnett, 2004: 62). The identification of higher education with universities has been undermined more recently by the vertical integration of tertiary education – the increasing tendency of universities to offer foundation, pathways and vocational programs leading to their core program the baccalaureate, and of vocational colleges offering baccalaureates leading from their core programs certificates and diplomas.
This paper distinguishes higher education from vocational education on the one hand and school education on the other. It argues that education varies by the extent to which its context is confined to academic disciplines and the extent to which its context is outside education, most often work or the field of productive practice. Higher education is distinguished from vocational education by being more academic and less externally contextualised than vocational education. School education is also academic and less externally contextualised than vocational education; higher education is distinguished from school education in being of a different level but also in developing independent learners.
This paper distinguishes higher education from vocational education on the one hand and school education on the other. It argues that education varies by the extent to which its context is confined to academic disciplines and the extent to which its context is outside education, most often work or the field of productive practice. Higher education is distinguished from vocational education by being more academic and less externally contextualised than vocational education. School education is also academic and less externally contextualised than vocational education; higher education is distinguished from school education in being of a different level but also in developing independent learners.
Marked changes to higher education typically provoke doubts about its quality. An early example is the establishment of the University of Durham in 1832, England’s first university since the University of Cambridge was founded 600 years... more
Marked changes to higher education typically provoke doubts about its quality. An early example is the establishment of the University of Durham in 1832, England’s first university since the University of Cambridge was founded 600 years earlier. To reassure the public that Durham’s standards were similar to those of the ancient English universities, the University of Durham engaged Oxford dons to help set and mark its examinations , thus establishing the UK’s system of external examiners which continues today. More recently in Australia in the 1970s and 1980s, after a long period of growth in student numbers, several reviews examined quality and standards in Australian universities. The Dawkins changes raised similar doubts. Many claims were made at the time that quality would be diluted by the doubling of universities, professors and university students.
While Dawkins’ Green and White Papers reflected on the quality of higher education, they established no new quality-assurance process. This chapter argues that Dawkins observed a distinction between the competence and role of government and the responsibilities of academe, which many of his critics accused him of transgressing. It does so by examining the treatment of ‘quality’ in the antecedents to the Dawkins revolution, in the Green and White Papers, and in subsequent developments to the establishment of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency in 2012.
Over the last three decades, constructions of ‘quality’ have changed markedly, often without being noticed or at least noted. Sometimes the differences are in the conception of quality and sometimes in its assessment. The ‘production-measurement’ view of quality seeks to measure institutions’ ‘performance’. This led to much work on quantitative measures of outcomes—variously called performance indicators, benchmarks and metrics. Another common perception of quality is that it relates to students’ entry scores and final assessment grades. Australian Government bodies from the 1990s until the early 2000s took the view that quality is assured by processes to monitor and improve quality. The Australian Government’s current view is that quality is assured by assessing higher education providers against standards for institutions, programs, qualifications, teaching and learning, and research. Another view of quality popular with governments is that it is measured by students’ perceptions of quality and satisfaction with their education. Often set against all these views is what Alan Lindsay termed the ‘stakeholder-judgement’ view, which posits that educational quality may be judged best or even only by expert educators.
While Dawkins’ Green and White Papers reflected on the quality of higher education, they established no new quality-assurance process. This chapter argues that Dawkins observed a distinction between the competence and role of government and the responsibilities of academe, which many of his critics accused him of transgressing. It does so by examining the treatment of ‘quality’ in the antecedents to the Dawkins revolution, in the Green and White Papers, and in subsequent developments to the establishment of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency in 2012.
Over the last three decades, constructions of ‘quality’ have changed markedly, often without being noticed or at least noted. Sometimes the differences are in the conception of quality and sometimes in its assessment. The ‘production-measurement’ view of quality seeks to measure institutions’ ‘performance’. This led to much work on quantitative measures of outcomes—variously called performance indicators, benchmarks and metrics. Another common perception of quality is that it relates to students’ entry scores and final assessment grades. Australian Government bodies from the 1990s until the early 2000s took the view that quality is assured by processes to monitor and improve quality. The Australian Government’s current view is that quality is assured by assessing higher education providers against standards for institutions, programs, qualifications, teaching and learning, and research. Another view of quality popular with governments is that it is measured by students’ perceptions of quality and satisfaction with their education. Often set against all these views is what Alan Lindsay termed the ‘stakeholder-judgement’ view, which posits that educational quality may be judged best or even only by expert educators.
In his 1988 Higher education: A policy statement John Dawkins argued that his changes would promote ‘greater diversity’. Simon Marginson and Ian Marshman argue in their chapter that Dawkins’ changes resulted in less mission diversity,... more
In his 1988 Higher education: A policy statement John Dawkins argued that his changes would promote ‘greater diversity’. Simon Marginson and Ian Marshman argue in their chapter that Dawkins’ changes resulted in less mission diversity, with more institutions trying to do the same things. This chapter examines enrolment data to consider whether, at least on these measures, Dawkins’ ‘unified national system’ of higher education resulted in a uniform national system of higher education. The chapter analyses higher education institutions’ enrolment size and their number and proportion of postgraduate, part time, external and international students.
Though data collection before Dawkins is less comprehensive than now, the results are clear enough. On the measures considered Australian higher education institutions became somewhat less diverse from 1987 until 1999, a decade after the establishment of the unified national system of higher education. By 2009 diversity had increased on both 1987 and 1999 due to an expansion of private higher education. The number and size of private higher education providers in Australia was stimulated by the explosion of international education from the mid-1990s and the introduction of FEE-HELP in 2005. As a result, Australian higher education institutions were rather more diverse than UK institutions but rather less diverse than US institutions in 2009. Universities enrolled 94% of all higher education students in Australia in 2009 compared to 99% in the UK. But doctoral-granting institutions enrolled only 43% of bachelor students in the US.
Though data collection before Dawkins is less comprehensive than now, the results are clear enough. On the measures considered Australian higher education institutions became somewhat less diverse from 1987 until 1999, a decade after the establishment of the unified national system of higher education. By 2009 diversity had increased on both 1987 and 1999 due to an expansion of private higher education. The number and size of private higher education providers in Australia was stimulated by the explosion of international education from the mid-1990s and the introduction of FEE-HELP in 2005. As a result, Australian higher education institutions were rather more diverse than UK institutions but rather less diverse than US institutions in 2009. Universities enrolled 94% of all higher education students in Australia in 2009 compared to 99% in the UK. But doctoral-granting institutions enrolled only 43% of bachelor students in the US.
The Australian Government has been allocating block research grants to higher education institutions by a rudimentary metrics based system since 1990. It has gradually refined and expanded the system so that in 2007 almost all... more
The Australian Government has been allocating block research grants to higher education institutions by a rudimentary metrics based system since 1990. It has gradually refined and expanded the system so that in 2007 almost all universities’ government block research funds are allocated by metrics and only residual research funding is available from universities’ general operating grants. In November 2006 the Australian Government announced that it would implement in 2008 a research quality framework that had been developed by an expert advisory group chaired by the late Professor Sir Gareth Roberts from December 2004 to December 2005. The research quality framework will be part of quality and accessibility frameworks for publicly funded research announced by the Prime Minister in May 2004.
This seminar will report Australian universities’ experience with the Australian metrics based allocation of Government block research grants and its progress with implementing the research assessment exercise in Australia.
This seminar will report Australian universities’ experience with the Australian metrics based allocation of Government block research grants and its progress with implementing the research assessment exercise in Australia.
This paper with Nick Fredman, Emmaline Bexley and Leesa Wheelahan examines the roles of mid level vocational qualifications in helping their graduates enter and progress in vocations. The paper starts by examining Australian mid level... more
This paper with Nick Fredman, Emmaline Bexley and Leesa Wheelahan examines the roles of mid level vocational qualifications in helping their graduates enter and progress in vocations.
The paper starts by examining Australian mid level vocational qualifications' employment rates, proportions of graduates employed in the same field as their qualification and proportions of graduates proceeding to further study. It finds that these outcomes vary very considerably by field and by level.
The paper finds no strong evidence that people whose highest qualification is a bachelor degree are being employed at lower level occupations, nor does it find strong evidence that people whose highest qualification is a bachelor are displacing people whose highest qualification is a diploma or advanced diploma from employment in management, professional or lower level
occupations.
Finally, the paper considers how the role of tertiary education qualifications in assisting their graduates to gain entry to and progression in work may be strengthened by examining the development of mid level qualifications in engineering and finance, for physician assistants (health) and veterinary technologists (agriculture).
The paper starts by examining Australian mid level vocational qualifications' employment rates, proportions of graduates employed in the same field as their qualification and proportions of graduates proceeding to further study. It finds that these outcomes vary very considerably by field and by level.
The paper finds no strong evidence that people whose highest qualification is a bachelor degree are being employed at lower level occupations, nor does it find strong evidence that people whose highest qualification is a bachelor are displacing people whose highest qualification is a diploma or advanced diploma from employment in management, professional or lower level
occupations.
Finally, the paper considers how the role of tertiary education qualifications in assisting their graduates to gain entry to and progression in work may be strengthened by examining the development of mid level qualifications in engineering and finance, for physician assistants (health) and veterinary technologists (agriculture).
The boundaries between vocational and academic post compulsory education have been blurred by students combining vocational and academic studies and by students transferring increasingly between the two types of education. Institutions... more
The boundaries between vocational and academic post compulsory education have been blurred by students combining vocational and academic studies and by students transferring increasingly between the two types of education. Institutions are also blurring the boundaries between the sectors by increasingly offering programs from two and sometimes three sectors. In contrast, teachers seem more entrenched than ever in their own sector. This article reports a project on the preparation of Australian teachers of vocational education. It examines the prospect of integrating the preparation of teachers in post compulsory education to teach in schools, vocational education institutions and higher education institutions. It argues that greater differentiation between different types of vocational teachers and vocational teacher preparation can support the development of a continuum along which it would be possible to establish points of commonality with the preparation of school and higher education teachers.
Research Interests: Teacher Education, Higher Education, Teacher Training, Vocational Education, Comparative Education, and 8 moreTeacher Development, Further Education, Vocational education and training, Education Systems, Teacher Preparation, Curriculum and Pedagogy, Higher Education Institution, and Vocational Education Training
In this commentary I posit 4 ways of learning, each of which requires a different level of learning skill. Together they form a hierarchy of learning independence, from the highly dependent to the autonomous learner. The learning ways... more
In this commentary I posit 4 ways of learning, each of which requires a different level of learning skill. Together they form a hierarchy of learning independence, from the highly dependent to the autonomous learner. The learning ways overlap in their operation, but I believe they are useful in showing the strengths, weaknesses and possible applications of different teaching-learning modes or technologies. Most of the commentary is based on simple observation. I have not been able to find correction or elaboration in the literature and would be grateful for an accessible reference.
This paper considers the diversity of students, cultures, institutions and disciplines in higher education. Diversity of some forms such as students and cultures seems desirable and attracts wide support. Greater diversity of institutions... more
This paper considers the diversity of students, cultures, institutions and disciplines in higher education. Diversity of some forms such as students and cultures seems desirable and attracts wide support. Greater diversity of institutions is advocated by many but resisted by others. The paper argues that the promotion of some generic skills such as employability skills suppresses or at least diverts attention away from the differentiation and specialisation of knowledge that has been so fruitful since the 19th century. Thus not all forms of diversity are agreed and valuable, which has led to some differences in higher education being celebrated while others are suppressed.
Those of us raised in the Anglo‐US tradition, dominant amongst wealthy countries, often find it difficult to understand the very different arrangements in other, even wealthy European countries. One difference which is important for... more
Those of us raised in the Anglo‐US tradition, dominant amongst wealthy countries, often find it difficult to understand the very different arrangements in other, even wealthy European countries. One difference which is important for higher education in common with the rest of society is the very different roles of the state.
Most discussions of the (re)structure of Australian tertiary education concentrate on the number of sectors (the most favoured being from 1 to 3, with adult and community education still ignored by most), the extent and nature of... more
Most discussions of the (re)structure of Australian tertiary education concentrate on the number of sectors (the most favoured being from 1 to 3, with adult and community education still ignored by most), the extent and nature of differences in the sectors’ organisational and financial arrangements, and the division of sectoral turf in the Australian qualifications framework.
This paper considers another factor in the structure of tertiary education, student transfers from vocational education and training to higher education. It compares rates of transfer from vocational education and training to highly selective and moderately selective higher education institutions in Australia and 3 US states. It finds that the so-called unified national system of higher education in Australia has more differentiated VET transfer rates than the formally segmented Californian system and less segmented systems in other US states.
The paper concludes by considering the implications of differential student transfer rates for the structure of tertiary education and tertiary education policy generally.
This paper considers another factor in the structure of tertiary education, student transfers from vocational education and training to higher education. It compares rates of transfer from vocational education and training to highly selective and moderately selective higher education institutions in Australia and 3 US states. It finds that the so-called unified national system of higher education in Australia has more differentiated VET transfer rates than the formally segmented Californian system and less segmented systems in other US states.
The paper concludes by considering the implications of differential student transfer rates for the structure of tertiary education and tertiary education policy generally.
This research overview provides the key messages arising from two related projects investigating tertiary education institutions that have recently begun to offer tertiary programs outside the sector of their initial establishment and the... more
This research overview provides the key messages arising from two related projects investigating tertiary education institutions that have recently begun to offer tertiary programs outside the sector of their initial establishment and the sector of the majority of their enrolments. These are TAFE institutes offering higher education programs, universities offering vocational education programs, and private providers offering both.
This session starts by outlining the Australian qualifications framework and the qualifications of interest in considering higher education within the closest Australian analogues to further education colleges, institutes of technical and... more
This session starts by outlining the Australian qualifications framework and the qualifications of interest in considering higher education within the closest Australian analogues to further education colleges, institutes of technical and further education (Tafe). I note the ambiguous position of the diploma. I then outline the Australian policy context for HE within FE and the regulatory approval and financing a vocational education institution has to obtain to offer higher education programs. I draw attention to 2 drivers of public vocational education institutions’ introduction of higher education programs: the move higher of their private enterprise competitors, and the competition for international students and their fee revenue. I describe 2 prominent examples of public vocational education institutes offering higher education programs. I close the expository part of the session with a brief description of an Australian oddity, the dual sector university.
The session will raise these questions and areas for discussion in breakout groups following the presentation. To what extent should the academic differences between the sectors be accompanied by differences in their institutional, fee-charging, financial, accreditation, quality assurance, coordination and policy arrangements? To what extent should publicly and privately funded places be considered separately? Is there a blurring or a sharpening of the boundaries between HE and FE and should the boundaries be made sharper or blurred further?
The session will raise these questions and areas for discussion in breakout groups following the presentation. To what extent should the academic differences between the sectors be accompanied by differences in their institutional, fee-charging, financial, accreditation, quality assurance, coordination and policy arrangements? To what extent should publicly and privately funded places be considered separately? Is there a blurring or a sharpening of the boundaries between HE and FE and should the boundaries be made sharper or blurred further?
For administrative, professional and academics working or teaching in higher education, this is of course the ‘real world’. But do people really care about universities and higher education? Is it still the preserve of a few? This paper... more
For administrative, professional and academics working or teaching in higher education, this is of course the ‘real world’. But do people really care about universities and higher education? Is it still the preserve of a few? This paper reviews some of the standard literature on the media’s influence on public opinion and policy.
It's a sunny Saturday morning in late February. The College campus has the air of a country show. Attendants in dustcoats direct vehicles towards temporary car parks on the lawns. Families unpack and some complete their journey with a... more
It's a sunny Saturday morning in late February. The College campus has the air of a country show. Attendants in dustcoats direct vehicles towards temporary car parks on the lawns. Families unpack and some complete their journey with a late picnic breakfast. Ovemighters-both bright and bleary-eyed-are wandering up from the student residences, bearing bags and baskets filled with books, folders and other tools of scholarly trade. Temporary signs abound, beckoning unfamiliar and partly familiar students to key areas.
Various pathways and forms of articulation into higher education are classified, described, and discussed: direct entry, vertical and horizontal transfer, transition programs, adult and continuing education, work experience, open entry,... more
Various pathways and forms of articulation into higher education are classified, described, and discussed: direct entry, vertical and horizontal transfer, transition programs, adult and continuing education, work experience, open entry, dual award programs, and twinning and nested awards. Some data on the diversification of pathways are presented. Pathways and articulation in transnational higher education is noted.
This presentation covered two aspects of a research project conducted by Ontario CAAT Baccalaureates team. The research project, which is funded by Ontario Human Capital Research and Innovation Fund (OHCRIF), explores the impact of... more
This presentation covered two aspects of a research project conducted by Ontario CAAT Baccalaureates team. The research project, which is funded by Ontario Human Capital Research and Innovation Fund (OHCRIF), explores the impact of college baccalaureate degrees on colleges and students in Ontario. The double session featured two members of CAAT Baccalaureates team. In the first part entitled 'Apples to Apples? Are College and University Baccalaureates the Same?' Diane Simpson, a doctoral student at OISE, discussed the curriculum analysis of college baccalaureate programmes in comparison to university baccalaureate programmes in research university and applied university. Her findings provided insight into the orientation of the degree programs offered by different types of institutions. The second part entitle 'Access and the Identity of College Baccalaureate Students in Ontario', Edmund Adam, a doctoral student at OISE, focused on the impact of college baccalaureates on access for students from disadvantaged backgrounds and student identity. Edmund discussed the analysis of interviews with baccalaureate students at five Ontario colleges. His findings provided empirical evidence for the role of college baccalaureates in widening accessibility to undergraduate education in the province.
Research Interests:
Presentation to the symposium on pathways to education and work convened by the pathways to education and work research group of the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, held on 5 April 2016. This... more
Presentation to the symposium on pathways to education and work convened by the pathways to education and work research group of the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, held on 5 April 2016.
This presentation is of the proposed principles and framework of making decisions on pathways in Ontario.
This presentation is of the proposed principles and framework of making decisions on pathways in Ontario.
Research Interests:
Notes for a presentation to the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities’ Strategic Policy and Programs Division and the Corporate Coordination Branch conversation on innovation: part III, 6 June 2016, MaRS Discovery... more
Notes for a presentation to the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities’ Strategic Policy and Programs Division and the Corporate Coordination Branch conversation on innovation: part III, 6 June 2016, MaRS Discovery District, Toronto.
These notes observe that while Australian colleges are valued by regional communities, they have a minimal if any role in the federal government's policies and programs for regional development. The notes observe the well established distinction between invention and innovation and cite Australian data which finds that innovation is not concentrated in high technology industries and that innovation is not mainly the commercialisation of research.
The notes conclude that while Australian colleges' role is normally confined to preparing graduates for work and upgrading and broadening the skills of people already in work, colleges have potentially valuable roles in accelerating the diffusion of new techniques amongst existing industry hubs and fomenting alliances amongst firms with common interests.
These notes observe that while Australian colleges are valued by regional communities, they have a minimal if any role in the federal government's policies and programs for regional development. The notes observe the well established distinction between invention and innovation and cite Australian data which finds that innovation is not concentrated in high technology industries and that innovation is not mainly the commercialisation of research.
The notes conclude that while Australian colleges' role is normally confined to preparing graduates for work and upgrading and broadening the skills of people already in work, colleges have potentially valuable roles in accelerating the diffusion of new techniques amongst existing industry hubs and fomenting alliances amongst firms with common interests.
Research Interests:
Notes for discussant comments for the symposium on President Obama's policy for community colleges: evidence of organizational change and impact on underserved students, AERA 2016 annual meeting, April 12, Washington, DC.
Research Interests:
Paper prepared for Holmesglen Institute’s higher education conference 2013, 31 May, Moorabbin.
Research Interests:
This elaborates on part of Griffith University’s submission to the Productivity Commission’s study of public support for science and innovation in 2006. The paper argues that concentrating on commercialising intellectual property may be... more
This elaborates on part of Griffith University’s submission to the Productivity Commission’s study of public support for science and innovation in 2006. The paper argues that concentrating on commercialising intellectual property may be an obstacle to its diffusion. It suggests that the better approach may be for universities to simply give away most intellectual property as a contribution to the general good. Universities may include in their intellectual property licensing agreements a general ‘jackpot’ or ‘blockbuster’ clause that provides that should the intellectual property contribute to a ‘jackpot’ of revenues of, say, $50 million over 10 years, there would be a sharing of revenue determined by a nominated commercial arbitrator.
Research Interests:
Notes for a presentation to the Canadian Institutional Research and Planning Association 2017 conference, October 22 – 24, Toronto. This presentation uses data from Statistics Canada’s National Graduate Survey 2013 and its 2011 National... more
Notes for a presentation to the Canadian Institutional Research and Planning Association 2017 conference, October 22 – 24, Toronto.
This presentation uses data from Statistics Canada’s National Graduate Survey 2013 and its 2011 National Household Survey to investigate the further study and employment destinations of Canadian college and university graduates. Outcomes differ markedly by field but for unregulated fields, the proportion of graduates who proceed to further study or employment in the same field is much lower than commonly assumed. This has implications for student services, for curriculum and for the design of pathways between study and work. This work offers institutions national data against which they may compare their analyses of their own data.
This presentation uses data from Statistics Canada’s National Graduate Survey 2013 and its 2011 National Household Survey to investigate the further study and employment destinations of Canadian college and university graduates. Outcomes differ markedly by field but for unregulated fields, the proportion of graduates who proceed to further study or employment in the same field is much lower than commonly assumed. This has implications for student services, for curriculum and for the design of pathways between study and work. This work offers institutions national data against which they may compare their analyses of their own data.
Research Interests:
Notes for a presentation to the Canadian Institutional Research and Planning Association 2017 conference, October 22 – 24, Toronto. This presentation uses data from Statistics Canada’s National Graduate Survey 2013 and its 2011 National... more
Notes for a presentation to the Canadian Institutional Research and Planning Association 2017 conference, October 22 – 24, Toronto.
This presentation uses data from Statistics Canada’s National Graduate Survey 2013 and its 2011 National Household Survey to investigate the further study and employment destinations of Canadian college and university graduates. Outcomes differ markedly by field but for unregulated fields, the proportion of graduates who proceed to further study or employment in the same field is much lower than commonly assumed. This has implications for student services, for curriculum and for the design of pathways between study and work. This work offers institutions national data against which they may compare their analyses of their own data.
This presentation uses data from Statistics Canada’s National Graduate Survey 2013 and its 2011 National Household Survey to investigate the further study and employment destinations of Canadian college and university graduates. Outcomes differ markedly by field but for unregulated fields, the proportion of graduates who proceed to further study or employment in the same field is much lower than commonly assumed. This has implications for student services, for curriculum and for the design of pathways between study and work. This work offers institutions national data against which they may compare their analyses of their own data.
Research Interests:
This gives the steps of my argument about digital disruption presented in my book 'Universities, disruptive technologies, and continuity in higher education: the impact of information revolutions' (Moodie, 2016).
Research Interests:
VET FEE HELP is a program of income contingent loans that the Australian Government makes available to all citizens enrolled in accredited vocational education and training diplomas. It is similar to HECS, the income contingent loans that... more
VET FEE HELP is a program of income contingent loans that the Australian Government makes available to all citizens enrolled in accredited vocational education and training diplomas. It is similar to HECS, the income contingent loans that have been unproblematic in higher education since they were introduced in 1989. However, VET FEE HELP has been scammed and successive Australian governments have introduced successive changes to try to stop the scams.
On 29 April 2016 the Australian Government published a paper inviting discussion of a number of ideas for ending the scamming of VET FEE HELP
https://docs.education.gov.au/documents/2017-vet-fee-help-scheme-redesign-discussion-paper
This is my first draft submission. I welcome comments. Submissions are due by 30 June 2016.
On 29 April 2016 the Australian Government published a paper inviting discussion of a number of ideas for ending the scamming of VET FEE HELP
https://docs.education.gov.au/documents/2017-vet-fee-help-scheme-redesign-discussion-paper
This is my first draft submission. I welcome comments. Submissions are due by 30 June 2016.
Research Interests:
The key question this paper considers is 'what should vocational qualifications look like if the links between qualifications and jobs are so weak?' It focuses on vocational education and training in wealthy liberal market countries. It... more
The key question this paper considers is 'what should vocational qualifications look like if the links between qualifications and jobs are so weak?' It focuses on vocational education and training in wealthy liberal market countries. It shows that VET institutions are blamed for skills mismatches and for not producing the right kind of worker with the right kind of skills required by employers, when it is the structures of the labour market that shape and condition the way qualifications are used in the labour market. The key distinction is between regulated occupations which have tight links to qualifications, and unregulated occupations which have loose links to qualifications. The paper uses the Varieties of Capitalism approach, skills ecosystems and transition systems literature to consider the relationship between VET and the labour market on the one hand, and to education more broadly on the other. It shows that VET's low status in liberal market economies arises from its impoverished notions of skills, its weak links to the labour market, and that it functions as a weak, second-‐class educational pathway. The paper uses concepts of vocations and vocational streams to argue that VET needs to prepare students for a broader field of occupational practice, using curriculum designed to produce autonomous agents who are skilled at work, who can contribute to their families, communities and society. It argues that VET policy needs to become more differentiated to reflect the differences between regulated and unregulated occupations, and between the requirements of different vocational streams.