Across advanced industrial economies, programs in higher education are increasingly becoming occupationally specific and universities are being seen as providers of "higher vocational education". With this have come expectations that graduates from these programs will enjoy smooth transitions into professional practice. Aligned with these…

This paper elaborates the role and development of personal epistemologies when learning through and for work. It does this by drawing on explanatory propositions from psychology, sociology and philosophical accounts. The aim here is to go beyond conceptions of epistemological beliefs and to position personal epistemologies as being active,…

Continuing education and training is an emerging priority for the nation's tertiary education and training system. Changing work, new work requirements, an ageing workforce and lengthening working lives are some of the factors now influencing this priority. Yet, many of the purposes and processes of the Australian tertiary education and training…

As many, perhaps most, high-school students engage in paid part-time employment, there is available in any Australian senior school classroom a range of work experiences that can be used to assist students to consider and reflect on working life and post-school pathways. Furthermore, these experiences are more readily available and authentic than…

The goal of workplace learning should be development of robust vocational knowledge. A model to achieve this includes guided learning strategies such as modeling, coaching, and questioning used by expert co-workers and opportunities for participation in workplace activities that provide learning experiences. (SK)

The way school students understand work through their paid part-time work and participation in school-based apprenticeships has the potential to inform career decision making and further education pathways. Through classroom-based interventions this project sought to assist student's and teacher's understandings of 'authentic' work experiences.…

Transfer involves disembodying knowledge and transferring it for use in different contexts. Vocational knowledge arises in communities of practice, and difficulties arise in transferring it from one distinct community, such as a workplace, to another, such as a classroom. (SK)

This paper advances some bases for a workplace curriculum. These are premised on conceptions of curriculum as intents directed to individual's progression towards full and effective workplace performance, yet whose enactment is shaped by workplace factors and is ultimately experienced by workers as learners. So whether the intentions will be…

This paper contributes to the ongoing debate about the relationship between the social and the individual as it is enacted in personal learning and the remaking of cultural practices through work. It discusses progress in a two-year study of the work, working lives and learning of 12 individuals: four groups of three employees each. The concept of…

Recent (within the past 6 years) research on returns to Australian enterprises from investment in vocational education and training (VET) was reviewed. Special attention was paid to the following topics: relationship between enterprise size, specialization, and location and investment in formal training; approaches to appraising enterprises'…

The factors that influence learning in workplaces were examined through a study of guided learning in five workplaces. Special attention was paid to the dual considerations of how workplaces afford opportunities for learning and how individuals elect to engage in activities and the guidance provided by the workplace. The readiness of the workplace…

The reciprocal process of engaging in and learning through work was examined. Reciprocity between how workplaces invite individuals to participate in and learn through work (its invitational qualities) and individuals' engagement in the workplace was proposed as a means of understanding how learning through work proceeds. Workplaces' invitational…

The needs of the clients of Australia's vocational education and training (VET) sector were examined in this report. Case studies of client groups in rural, urban, and metropolitan areas were also conducted. The client groups studied included: (1) enterprises (4 owners/managers or workplace experts/delegates per region); (2) industry (at least 1…

The contribution of competency-based training (CBT) to the development of an adaptable and flexible workforce was examined by analyzing documents and gathering data from teachers, industry representatives, enterprises, and students in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan sites in two Australian states: Victoria and Queensland. The study focused on…

Recent research on Australia's vocational education and training (VET) system and women in small business was synthesized to identify ways of making VET more responsive to the needs of women in small business. Special attention was paid to the following topics: key issues affecting public policy (globalization, economic development, industry…