VET researchers and policy-makers have historically displayed a keen interest in the future. Two assumptions link VET to the future. The first is that there is a singular object called VET and, secondly, that it can influence a forthcoming state of reality. This relationship is investigated through a rarely utilised post-structuralist discourse…

"Local Schools, Local Decisions" (LSLD) was a package of school autonomy reforms operating in the state of New South Wales, Australia from 2012 to 2020. The set of reforms centred on the devolution of additional powers and responsibilities to school principals, namely enhanced capacity to manage staffing and financial functions in…

An international effort is under way to measure and assess the nature of imposed political reforms to education systems. Education is changing in relation to new structures and practices brought about during the process of reform at the school level. This paper investigates policy analysis of national reform in Australia, and in various states of…

The author attempts to reflect accurately the present dichotomy in adult education many Australians feel between established institutions, especially universities, and the processes of change emanating from both government and ground-swell activity and need. A perpetual tug-of-war between "Federal" and "State" elements is…

This bibliography includes entries for works published up to and including 1972. Australian education has been given a wide interpretation to encompass works published by Australians, in Australia, or about Australian education. Mimeographed as well as printed material have been included. Journals and journal articles, calendars, courses of study,…

After describing the political context and history of Australian adult education (termed, "depressing"), the author briefly discusses the reports, delivered or impending, of three government-sponsored committees on recommended future policy: on open tertiary education, on technical and further education, and on retraining. He predicts…

Eleven papers from an Australian Technical and Further Education (TAFE) conference are included: "The TAFE System and the Training Reform Agenda" (Gregor Ramsey) raises issues to keep the impetus going for national system improvement and development. "Towards the Best of Both Worlds: Models for Governance of TAFE Colleges" (Ian…

This study of policies, strategies, and practices designed to create a learning and training culture focuses on Britain, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United States. Part I provides an overview of key contextual changes influencing development of policy for building a learning culture in the countries; sets out the approach adopted…

Australian governments at both federal and state levels have collaborated for the past 15 years to lift Indigenous students from their position as the nation's most educationally disadvantaged group. The introduction in 1989 of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Plan was accompanied by an ambitious target of achieving…

These proceedings consist of 46 papers on the influence of vocational education and training (VET) research on policy and practice. These papers are grouped into these categories: impact of research; equity in participation; partnerships and stakeholders; practice and practitioners; research and policy; learning, work, and organizations; and VET,…