Interviews with 200 training professionals in Australia suggested that the way competence and standards are constituted in competency-based education is not entirely congruent with employer needs. They could be reconsidered in order to represent the nature of vocational knowledge and characteristics of work. (SK)

Data from an Australian evaluation of competency-based training (CBT) suggest that it emphasizes development of procedural, technical knowledge over reflective problem solving and precludes transformative learning. CBT's empowerment discourses are often belied by workplace realities. Identities of workers and vocational educators are circumscribed…

Observations of two learning groups of young women studying office administration identified one group as middle-class Anglo-Celtic, the other as working class, varied ethnic groups. They had different cultural assumptions about the teacher's role in assisting student learning; one group recognized their own lack of familiarity with group work.…

Interviews with 195 Australian training managers found that competency-based training is effective for workplace-relevant learning, organizational development, and standardization. However, it marginalizes cultural, conceptual, and tacit knowledge. Although it achieves some stakeholders' objectives, it privileges certain enterprises, workers, and…

Four groups of mostly female students, differing in age, English proficiency, ethnicity, and social class, were surveyed in Australian competency-based technical and further education programs. They appreciated the practical focus and continuous assessment of competency-based training. However, some aspects of it made it unsuitable for certain…

The contribution of competency-based training (CBT) to Australia's vocational education and training (VET) sector was examined through three data collection activities: review of Australian and international literature on VET and CBT; telephone survey of a sample of training managers of 195 companies across Australia; and 8 intensive case studies…