Local Learning and Employment Networks (LLENs) are incorporated organizations and groups whose mission is to facilitate local partnerships for the purpose of improving young people's education and training outcomes in Australia. LLENs are supported by grants from Australia's Department of Education and Training. Of the 31 LLENs currently existing…

Of the 477,800 students reported to Australia's national vocational education and training (VET) data collection in 2000, 237,900 were enrolled in a vocational adult and community education (ACE) program. More than 70% of the latter individuals undertook informal training. Vocational ACE programs accounted for 49.8% of all ACE students and nearly…

Data taken primarily from the Australian Youth Survey were used to model unemployment as a function of personal characteristics, family structure, and neighborhood composition using binomial probit estimation techniques. The cross-sectional model developed indicated that significant neighborhood effects on unemployment outcomes exist in high- and…

Two innovative approaches to delivering vocational education and training (VET) in schools were examined to identify ways of helping Australia's indigenous students achieve academic success by ensuring a close cultural fit between course content and the realities of local employment opportunities. The first VET-in-School program, which was located…

The issue of how the outcomes of research on vocational education and training (VET) are influenced by categories that frame thinking about research and learning was explored. Special attention was paid to the following issues: (1) the role of researchers' culture and race in identification of adult learning principles; (2) the need for…

Workplace mentoring has been identified as an important aspect of work-based learning in projects conducted under the School-to-Work Opportunities Act. By establishing relationships with caring and competent adults who can provide emotional support and facilitate skill development, less-experienced youths and adults are more likely to bridge the…

This document contains 19 papers presented at an international forum on education in penal systems. The following papers are included: "Burning" (Craig W.J. Minogue); "The Acquisition of Cognitive Skills as a Means of Recidivism Reduction: A Former Prisoner's Perspective" (Trevor Darryl Doherty); "CEA (Correctional…

This document consists of the first two volumes of the 1997 annual report on Australia's vocational education and training (VET) system. Examined in volume 1 are the following topics: strategic directions for 1997; overview of the VET system's operation and the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) agreement; key initiatives in 1997 (the…

The effects that recent changes in Australia's vocational education and training (VET) system over the past decade have had on VET practitioners were examined. Interviews were conducted with 28 VET teachers working at a variety of sites across Australia, including technical and further education, adult and community education, private colleges,…

The literacy programs and policies implemented in Australia over the past decade were reviewed to identify initiatives that have and have not had a positive impact on vocational education and training (VET) and lifelong learning opportunities. Policies and practices in seven other countries were also reviewed. The following themes received…

The social and economic impacts of adult and community education (ACE) in Australia were examined in an exploratory study. A provider survey that was sent to approximately 1,900 ACE providers elicited 315 responses (response rate, approximately 17%), and a student survey that was sent to 4,000 ACE students generated 400 responses (response rate,…

In recent years, Australia's system of adult and community education (ACE) has broadened to include vocational learning as well as the hobby, enrichment, and personal development traditionally provided by ACE in the past. A study examined the views of ACE providers, ACE students, and industry organizations regarding ACE vocational education and…

This volume presents articles and information to support and improve literacy practices in schools, the community, and the workplace. Selected article titles are as follows: "Reaching Learners Where They Are" (Linda Shohet); "The Learners' Wall: Experiences in the Health Care System"; "In-Sites: A Study in Workforce…

This paper begins with three very "public" examples of how education providers across Australia are attempting to assimilate new teaching and learning technologies into existing teaching and learning structures. The transition, as predicted, is not altogether smooth. The dual concepts of the online classrooms as a "self-actualising…

Outcome measures are one of three key dimensions of the performance of Australia's vocational education and training (VET) system. The government, employers, students, and the broader community all share an interest in ensuring that Australia's VET system produces skills needed in the labor market. However, each group's views of what constitutes a…