The launch of new tools in late 2022 heralded significant growth in attention to the impacts of generative AI (GenAI) in education. Claims of the potential impact on education are contested, but there are clear risks of inappropriate use particularly where GenAI aligns poorly with learning aims. In response, in mid-2023, the Australian Federal…

Streamlining the vocational qualification development process in Australia is a current priority of the skills ministers of both the Australian Government and state and territory governments. This research summary explores the development processes associated with vocational qualifications in selected countries and compares them with the current…

Quality outcomes from vocational education and training (VET) are fundamental to ensuring a skilled workforce and supporting a productive economy. In a competency-based training system, assessment is the gatekeeper for quality. Audits undertaken by the Australian Skills and Quality Authority (ASQA) have identified concerns with compliance against…

The importance of a positive start to school has been highlighted in a range of national and international research. This has stimulated considerable ongoing research attention, as well as initiatives across policy and practice, all with the aim of promoting a positive transition to school for all children. Despite the common interests across…

This report reviews the use of loans for learning in 33 European countries and analyses the schemes in eight selected Member States: France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Finland, Sweden and the UK. The analysis shows that loan schemes vary considerably across Europe in terms of types and levels of learning covered, conditions of…

A summative evaluation of the Foreign Credential Recognition Program (FCRP) funded by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) was conducted during the spring, summer and fall of 2008. The main objective of the evaluation was to measure the relevance, impacts, and cost-effectiveness of the program. Given the timing of the evaluation…

Diana Wilkinson, Chief Social Researcher with the Scottish Government, assisted National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) to facilitate a forum to discuss the development of national research priorities for the vocational education and training sector. This paper summarises Diana Wilkinson's impression of the forum and uses two…

In this article, the authors set the scene for this research volume. They sought to emphasize and broaden their interest and concern about their "Learning to be drier" theme in this edition to the 77 per cent of Australians who live within 50 km of the Australian coast, the majority of whom also live in major cities and urban complexes.…

This paper investigates learning related to the phenomena of drying over the past decade in the southern Murray-Darling Basin in Australia, as perceived in a mid-river site within the western Riverina of New South Wales, Australia. The insights from audio-recorded interviews, with a wide range of adults across the water-dependent community, mostly…

Our paper explores how and what adults living and working in the Alpine region of Victoria understand and are learning about the changes to water availability, in a time when the response to water availability is subject to extensive debate and policy attention. Interviews for this study were conducted in the towns of Bright and Mount Beauty, with…

This article explores the adult and community learning associated with "learning to be drier" in the Riverland region of South Australia. Communities in the Riverland are currently adjusting and making changes to their understandings and practices as part of learning to live with less water. The analysis of adult and community learning…

This research project, part of a much larger study, considered how people in regional communities learnt to deal with the impact of reduced water availability as a result of drought or climate change. The communities in the Mallee-Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia, were the focus of this study and a range of local people from different sectors…

In Australia, as in the UK, much of the skills debate in research education has reflected a deficit model, whereby candidates are deemed to be in need of supplementary training. In response to the demands of employers and governments, most universities have added employability skills to postgraduate curricula, while simultaneously boosting their…

Universities have much to contribute to the improvement of health delivery, research, and teaching/learning. In progressing health reform, the Government should be mindful of the need to: (1) strengthen high quality medical research; (2) promote translation of research to teaching, population health and health services; and (3) address Health…

In this final, collaborative paper in the "Learning to be drier" edition, we reflect on and draw together some of the key threads from the diverse narratives in our four site papers from across the southern Murray-Darling Basin. Our paper title, "Wicked learning", draws on a recent body literature (Rittel & Webber 1973)…