Developing academic relationships between vocational colleges and universities in Australia has been problematic, with exchanges between the two sectors limited to linear articulation and prescribed credit transfer. Whilst some very good examples of collaboration exist, the two sectors generally operate independently of each other. The isolation…

Sourcing data from the National VET Provider Collection and the Higher Education Statistics Collection, this publication provides a summary of participation in tertiary education and training in Australia. It covers participation in Australian Qualifications Framework certificate I qualifications through to doctorates by research, as well as…

This article provides some of the key findings of a comparative study commissioned by the International Labour Organization (ILO), which attempted to understand more about the impact and implementation of national qualifications frameworks (NQFs). Sixteen case studies were produced, on qualifications frameworks in Australia; Bangladesh; Botswana;…

An exploratory study of 473 academics in a metropolitan university investigated the attitudes of academic supervisors towards training for university teaching for doctoral students. The study investigated academic supervisors' levels of awareness and knowledge of teacher training opportunities, the relative importance of teaching--both lecturing…

The boundaries between vocational and academic post compulsory education have been blurred by students combining vocational and academic studies and by students transferring increasingly between the two types of education. Institutions are also blurring the boundaries between the sectors by increasingly offering programs from two and sometimes…

In 2007, a new upper secondary course, Earth and Environmental Science (EES) was introduced in Western Australia. The development and implementation of the course was supported by Earth Science Western Australia (ESWA), a consortium of universities, the CSIRO and other organisations. The role of ESWA is to support the teaching of earth science in…

In this article, the authors report on an individualized professional learning activity, based on the principles described by Gersten and colleagues, implemented by two academics with three teachers without special education qualifications teaching students with severe and multiple disabilities. The professional learning consisted of consultation…

Governments recognize that workers in the twenty-first century need to keep pace with increasingly technical employment environments in order to remain competitive in the global market. The Australian government has developed a set of policies to address impending shortfalls in high-level technicians and paraprofessionals across many professions.…

This paper puts forward the view that engineering educators have a responsibility to prepare graduates for engineering work and careers. The current literature reveals gaps between the competencies required for engineering work and those developed in engineering education. Generic competencies feature in these competency gaps. Literature suggests…

Increasing the pathways between vocational and higher education is a central concern of Australian governments. Governments want more pathways to support occupational progression, skills deepening and social inclusion. They consider that the number of pathways and number of students traversing them to be inadequate, and have commissioned many…

Introduction: Although the family day care workforce has changed over the past decade in response to evolving childcare regulations and accreditation requirements, there is little research on family day care educators in Australia. The aim of this study was to describe characteristics of Australian family day care educators, including their…

This commentary reviews recent literature on a number of problematic issues arising from the use of English proficiency tests by registration bodies as the sole assessment of the professional communication skills of overseas qualified health professionals from non-English-speaking backgrounds. It discusses differences between the assessment…

Recent educational attainment targets set by Australian governments recognise education and training as pivotal to the economic and social well-being of Australians. The targets seek to close the gaps in attainment that socially and economically divide the population, and, in doing so, raise the levels of skills of the workforce and improve the…

Up until the global financial crisis in late 2008, youth unemployment in Australia had been at its lowest recorded level since the 1970s. However, at just over 8%, this was still twice the rate for all people. Following the downturn, unemployment rates for those aged 15-24 years have increased to around 10%, a figure still twice that for all…

The international mobility of teachers is gaining increased attention as particular developing countries become significant sources of supply for more developed countries that have shortages. Most attention so far has focused on Africa's contribution to the United Kingdom workforce. This article examines the patterns of teacher migration for…