Debate about the benefits and problems with competency-based training (CBT) has not paid sufficient attention to the fact that the model satisfies a unique, contemporary demand for cross-occupational curriculum. The adoption of CBT in the UK and Australia, along with at least some of its problems, can be understood in terms of this demand. We…

Australia's vocational education and training (VET) qualifications comprise units of competency that are bundled together in qualifications and nestled in training packages developed for particular industries. This article argues that this model is broken and cannot be fixed by patching bits of the system. Competency-based training (CBT) is based…

This literature review, commissioned by the National Quality Council, provides a historical account of the development of competency-based training in Australia and summarises the issues arising from the range of reviews conducted on elements of the national training system. It also explores the variety of ways in which competence is conceived…

Preparing graduates for the professions is increasingly recognised as involving a partnership approach to curriculum design, implementation and evaluation. Experiential placements play a critical role in developing discipline-specific knowledge and skills and also generic professional dispositions including relationships, communication, problem…

Reviews competency-based models developed by the Ontario Society for Training and Development, American Society for Training and Development, Australia's National Training Board, and Britain's Training and Development Lead Body. Suggests an integrated approach that identifies knowledge, skills, and attributes underlying performance without rigid…

The issue of training career counsellors in Australia requires considerable review in respect to theory and practice. This paper describes an internship model of training career counsellors. The model is derived from a current program of workplace training for candidates doing their masters in psychology. The program takes a competency-based…

Suggests several areas in Australian adult education and training where a competency-based educational model would have application. Areas include the professional development of staff in educational institutions and industrial training establishments, training of educational administrators, vocational training of college students, and the…

Focuses on the quality of competency standards used to inform curriculum development processes in Australia. Argues that quality issues have received scant attention in the development of standards, leading to the use of inappropriate methods to establish competency standards. (12 references) (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education)…

This study examined a model of assessment that could be applied nationally for Year Twelve Vocational Education and Training (VET) subjects and which could yield both a differentiating score and recognition of competence. More than fifty colleges across all states and territories of Australia field-tested the approach over one school year. Results…

A rural health care staff development unit in New South Wales (Australia) switched from face-to-face teaching to a model encompassing competency-based training, recognition of prior learning, portfolio assessment, and flexible delivery using telecommunications technologies. Recommendations for ongoing implementation and marketing of…

Written in competency-based format, this professional development package is targeted at Australian teachers of adult English language, literacy, and numeracy working in labor market programs. The approximately 26-hour-long course aims to increase knowledge of and skills in liaising and negotiating with the Commonwealth Employment Service, labor…

The implementation of an educational reform and the subsequent reconfiguration of curricula in a competency format prompted research into the learning experiences of students within a newly reconfigured competency-based curriculum. The curriculum was the technical and further education (TAFE) New South Wales (NSW) Tertiary Preparation Certificate…

In Australia the usual evaluation of whether a student will perform adequately as a doctor is a subjective evaluation of his clinical performance, usually at the completion of five or six years at medical school. The evaluation is performed on an inadequate and uncontrolled patient sample and appears to be subject to many errors. Recent work…

This publication contains six essays that offer a range of practical and theoretical perspectives on work-related curriculum. It is part of the study materials for the one-semester distance education unit, Curriculum and Competencies, in the Open Campus Program at Deakin University (Australia). An introduction proposes a course design and pedagogy…

The impact of competency-based training (CBT)on the role and responsibilities of instructors across Australia's vocational education and training (VET) sector was examined. The study focused on the following: quality and nature of CBT instruction throughout Australia; ways VET instructors have adapted their practice to accommodate CBT; and staff…