The past 20 years have seen the steady 'datafication' of school systems -- i.e. the rendering of key aspects of school practice into data that is digitally collected, processed and circulated. In contrast to assumptions of 'data-driven' schools as sites of more efficient and automated forms of data work, this paper examines the extensive human…

National Qualifications Frameworks (NQFs) are intended to promote stronger linkages between education institutions and the labour market. This paper examines how industrial relations institutions mediate the relationship between formal qualifications, job classifications and pay outcomes in Australian manufacturing. In Australia a tribunal sets…

The Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey of 2,353 companies showed sporadic employee participation in decision making. Although case studies of Ford Motor, Australia Post, Lend Lease, Telecom Australia, and Woodlawn Mining illustrate successful programs, most managers appear cautious about industrial democracy. (SK)

Includes "AWIRS (Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey) and Productivity" (Wooden); "Workplace Productivity and Joint Consultation" (Alexander, Green); "Impact of Unions on Workplace Productivity in Australia" (Crockett et al.); and "AWIRS and Workplace Performance" (Drago, Wooden). (SK)

Transcripts of interviews with trade union trainers in Australia identified contradictory discourses: discourse of struggle and discourse on the economy. Some training activities focused on consensus building in workplace relations, but trainers' informal theories acknowledged the power imbalance between the working class and management. (SK)

This book is a study of the Australian Education Union (AEU), a federal organization of government schoolteachers in the states and territories of Australia. Founded in 1984 as the Australian Teachers Union, it became the AEU in 1993. By 1998, the AEU had grown to become the third largest trade union in Australian, with some 157,000 members. This…

An analysis of the productivity offsets to achieve second tier wage increases for workers covered by Australian national and Queensland awards shows that the two-tier wage system increased competitiveness and productivity, especially in blue-collar industries. (JOW)

Interviews with female employees of a clothing company moving to lean production and teamwork indicate that Taylorism is being reinvented in the contemporary workplace. Restructuring produces higher productivity but greater work pressures and lower wages, despite rhetoric about autonomy, job satisfaction, and workplace democracy. (Contains 57…

Case studies of seven Australian manufacturers found the following: (1) relationship between training and deliberate business strategy; (2) more training in more-automated firms; (3) relationship between work form (autonomy/control) and training type (behavioral/technical); (4) more training associated with less-formal labor relations; and (5)…

Based on interviews and participant-observation, a matrix of nine categories is proposed that classifies teachers in unions according to the intensity of their identification with the union ("us") and the union leadership's opponents ("them"). A complex image of teacher activism emerges, providing material for further research.…

A study of employment practices in unionized workplaces received 1,579 responses indicating that organizations tend to cut employees without considering the long-term costs and implications. Smaller workplaces were less likely to have had reductions in the workforce. (JOW)

Describes how a principal of an Australian parochial school tackled an onsite enterprise bargaining process. Indepth interviews suggested that to succeed, principals must be opportunists and reassurers, initiators and communicators, researchers and information providers, learners and responders, and standard-bearers and pragmatists. (Contains 25…

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…

This document contains papers from a conference on the economic impact of Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Australia and elsewhere. The following papers are included: "Introduction" (C. Selby Smith, Fran Ferrier); "Opening Address" (Peter LeP. Darvall); "Trends and Issues in Vocational Education and Training: A…