As researchers working within a neoliberalist academic regime propagated by discourses of responsibilisation, risk and prudentialism, we experienced a dilemma about whether to publicly present views expressed by research participants that critiqued the policy position of the government department that funded the research. Our dilemma was…

Context: The persistent low female participation in male-dominated trades and VET courses is not attracting a high level of public attention and policy action. There are determined, albeit ad hoc actions by advocates to raise awareness of the economic and social benefits that can result from increased female participation in the male-dominated…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the issues affecting successful employment outcomes for young women in male-dominated careers, focusing on those generally accessed via a traditional Australian apprenticeship model. Current patterns of participation in trades-based fields of education and training reinforce the highly…

This article is about the educational work of governesses on Australia's remote cattle and sheep stations. These stations occupy vast tracts of land in the outback, and form part of global food supply chains exporting meat to countries around the world. The article explores the nature of governesses' work, the boundaries they negotiate to perform…

In the past few decades, especially since the 2008-09 economic downturn, the faculty of American colleges and universities has undergone a far-reaching transformation. Multiple factors, mainly extraneous to the campus itself, are reshaping higher education, and as a result a reprioritizing of the internal allocation of resources is occurring. The…

Gendered educational and occupational pathways are entrenched in many countries. The underrepresentation of women in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields has ramifications for individuals and for workforces. Girls' declining interest in STEM coincides with an increasing demand for STEM-skilled professionals across the…

This article examines student life in an Australian rural teachers college. The paper is informed by studies on university student life and extends these to Australia's first rural teachers college in the period 1945-1955. It explores the diversity of students' experiences in a small college with predominately female students gradually…

Oral testimonies generated in a research project involving a group of women graduates of Western Australia's state teachers' college indicate that contradictions existed between competing discourses of femininity and teaching in the State in the early decades of the twentieth century, and that these opened up new possibilities for women teachers.…

Loyalty raises a dilemma for women's career progression and leadership because it signals confidence in the organisation, despite the ongoing constraints that organisations present for women and their leadership aspirations. The research investigates women's loyalty in the context of higher education. Focussing on a select group of mid-level…

This groundbreaking book critiques the boundaries of where adult education takes place through a candid examination of teaching, learning, and working practices in the social periphery. Lives in this context are diverse and made through complex practices that take place in the shadows of formal systems: on streetscapes and farms, in vehicles and…

Aim: This article presents preliminary results of a cross cultural study of gender and management in universities. Methodology: Qualitative interviews with senior managers in each country were analysed in relation to key concepts of career paths, support, gate keeping, management skills, disciplinary factors, gendered leadership styles and…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a reflection on the growth in qualifications available through work, over the 50 years of Education + Training. Design/methodology/approach: The approach adopted is that of providing a viewpoint, reflecting back on the availability of qualifications today compared with the 1950s. Findings: The…

Implicit in the human capital approach of 20th-century educational rhetoric in Australia was the belief that schools imparted vocationally useful cognitive skills beyond basic literacy and numeracy. These skills were believed to be transferable to the workplace and to increase the productivity of the individual to the benefit of society. For…

Women remain outsiders in university leadership and management. The literature indicates that discipline base, career mobility, experience outside academia, selection processes, and gender stereotyping may impact on women becoming senior managers. This article reports on research with current and former Vice-Chancellors, senior managers, and…

In early twentieth-century Australia, men managed coeducational state training colleges (equivalent to normal schools) but teacher education programmes for kindergartners were initiatives of the free kindergarten movement and firmly in women's hands. The Kindergarten Training College in Adelaide, South Australia, was established in 1907 with…