Australian trade unions are at a pivotal moment. In 2007-2008, a review of the training and education programs of the Education and Campaign Centre (ECC), the education arm of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), was conducted through a series of interviews with leaders of twenty-five unions. The review found that Australian unions do…

The last quarter century saw a restructuring of employment, production and trade and a dramatic decline in union membership and density levels. There are many explanations for this, including the hostile industrial relations framework imposed by many governments, but there have been other factors such as the growth of new non-unionized industries…

Australia once enjoyed the highest union density in the world but is now facing a "crisis of membership". Trade union membership and density have been in decline in Australia since the late 1970s with a 50 percent decrease in density since 1990. The Australian Bureau of Statistics currently puts trade union density at around 25 percent…

This monograph by four authors examines the structure and role of teacher unions in the three Australian states of New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia, and analyzes the rapidly changing shape of teacher unionism at the federal level. After an introduction by Andrew Spaull, Robert White, in chapter 2, examines developments within the…

This report presents recommendations from a working party appointed to consult and deliberate on the possible establishment of a Queensland Professional Development Consortium of teacher groups including professional associations, unions, employers, and higher education institutions. The consortium would be charged with promoting professional…

The history of the recent development of worker education in Australia and New Zealand shows that, in just the past 15 years or so, very significant improvements have occurred in delivery of trade union education. To a very large degree these developments took place because of the existence of a close relationship between the union movement and…

Training measures in the U.S. National Longitudinal Survey of Young Men, the National Child Development Study for Britain, and the Australian Longitudinal Survey of Youth were used to study determinants and labor market outcomes of postschool training received by young men. Twelve percent of U.S. youth reported getting formal training in the first…

In recent years, educators have begun to use learning portfolios as a means of evaluating student learning in higher education. Research indicates that learning portfolios can help students understand better the learning process as well as enhancing learning outcomes. They promote reflection on the learning experience and encourage students to…