The assessment of workplace learning by educators at the workplace is a complex and inherently social process, as the workplace is a participatory learning environment. We therefore propose seeing assessment as a process of judgment embedded in a community of practice and to this purpose use the philosophy of inferentialism to unravel the judgment…

Vocational education aims at preparing students for their future as professionals; thus, students are often required to undergo a form of on-the-job learning. Assessment of professional performance during on-the-job learning is not based on single observations, but on prolonged participation at the workplace culminating in judgement by a workplace…

The shift to Vocational Education and Training (VET) for the training of the Australian residential aged care workforce has resulted in significant variance in the competencies at graduation of those caring for people with dementia. Competence may be also be enhanced, or conversely, decline over time as a result of implicit learning gained from…

Purpose: The use of e-portfolios in recognition of prior learning (RPL) processes in workplace and professional practice contexts has attracted little attention in the literature due to its emergent nature. This study seeks to explore the growing incidence of e-portfolio-based RPL (e-RPL) and professional recognition (e-PR) processes in Australia…

Deans, officers, and staff of colleges in Northern Ireland (n=151) rated activities for effective college leadership and management based on national standards. The validity of the standards and their future usefulness were upheld by the results. (JOW)

This booklet is one in a series that has been written for the general reader who wants to understand important trends in vocational education and training in Australia. Its focus is competency-based training and assessment. The booklet starts with the specific working environment of a blackjack dealer in a casino and explores the meaning of…

This booklet is designed to assist British further education college managers responsible for appraisal, appraisal coordinators, trade union officers, and staff development officers in using national standards in appraisal. Discussed in Section 1 are the following: the role of appraisal in further education, principles and benefits of appraisal,…

Workplace assessment (WPA) of New Zealand's National Qualifications Framework (NQF) competencies has become a significant alternative pathway for vocational adult education. This article reports on a research project which compares stated intentions for workplace assessment with evidence of its practical realization. The perceptions of the…

The extent to which staff appraisal has been implemented at Britain's public sector further education (FE) institutions and the characteristics, benefits, and disadvantages of existing appraisal systems were examined in a survey of 233 FE institutions (36% of all institutions in the public FE sector). Of the FE institutions surveyed, 76% had one…

This booklet explains the operation of New Zealand's National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and its relationship to workplace assessment. Discussed first is the NQF's mission of encouraging people to continue their education and training after secondary school and permitting flexibility in where and how people train. The role of the NQF in…

This booklet is designed to assist General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQ) coordinators, National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) coordinators, staff development managers, enterprise unit managers, and assessor training coordinators in ensuring that sufficient numbers of staff members at British further education colleges are trained and…

This booklet is designed to assist British further education college managers responsible for quality assurance, human resources management (HRM), human resources development (HRD), corporate development, strategic planning, staffing/personnel, and curriculum in using national standards for HRM and HRD in further education. A synopsis, users'…

These proceedings contain 17 papers from plenary sessions, workshops, and other presentations at a conference to consider and clarify major issues in assessment and standards in vocational education and training, including identification of problems and suggested solutions. A summary of discussions follows most presentations. Plenary session…

The literature on issues of the reliability and validity of objective and performance assessments in vocational education and training was reviewed and synthesized to develop guidelines for procedures to enhance reliability and validity. The review established the following facts: (1) validity is determined largely through inferences made by both…

The implementation of competency-based assessment (CBA) under Australia's National Training Framework was evaluated to provide indicators for improvement in CBA policy and practice. The evaluation included three data collection activities: a survey of 258 teachers, trainers, and assessors (response rate, 43%); a survey of 68 Industry Training…