During 2008-2011, the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) funded a programme to build Australian VET research capacity and rejuvenate what has been seen as the existing "greying" researcher pool. This paper is a reflective narrative about experiences of constructing the programme with a specific focus on the mentoring…

Due to safety considerations, students' practice and learning of welding is conducted within individual welding booths. The booth setting presents some challenges to student learning as collaborative learning within a workshop learning environment is compromised. The project reported in this paper, established peer-learning (i.e., students…

The Gen Green research in 2008 and 2011 indicates that skills for sustainability public policy and business initiatives are having an impact, but that young skilled Australians' high level of interest in sustainability skills is confounded by a lack of guidance and incentives from employers, the market and educators. The research indicates that,…

The Federal government is seeking to increase the proportion of Australians with bachelor degrees and to increase the proportion of low SES students in higher education. This will focus attention on degree completion rates for all students, including non-traditional students who have previously been reported as having lower higher education…

Although there has been substantial research and reform in Vocational Education and Training (VET) over the past 30 years, it is argued that this has ostensibly had limited effectiveness on practices in TAFE colleges. Many policy changes during this period have not resulted in the requisite changed practices by TAFE teachers. This paper reports on…

The paper explores ways that vocational education and training (VET) might become involved in the development of moral "know-how", ready for workplace practice. The primary concern here is the transformation of earlier-learnt ethical principles to their applied moral behaviour, essential for appropriate practice within workplace environments. The…

This paper examines what is arguably the most important issue in qualitative research--access to willing participants--specifically in the context of companies. This is of considerable importance in vocational education and training (VET) as workplaces are the site of much VET activity. While research textbooks discuss many issues in research, few…

This paper is a preliminary investigation of the place that theory plays in vocational education and training (VET) research. Vocational education and training is an academic discipline, whose theory base has not previously been analysed in detail. The VET research community considers itself to be somewhat undervalued both by the broader education…

The paper is based on a qualitative study of 66 skilled workers comprising drivers, tailors, electricians and also murtikars, a traditional craft group. All of them had taken informal training through family, apprenticeship or self-learning. The paper reflects on access, quality and relevance issues arising from such training. The findings reveal…

This paper contributes to pedagogical debates on how to meet the learning needs of young people who are disconnected from school. It presents a case study of a program which aimed to prepare students for their Year 10 equivalent school leaving qualification in a basic education section of a Technical and Further Education (TAFE) college in…

Issues arising from an ageing society, a low fertility rate and growing need for a skilled work force have seen increased government commitment to improving the participation rate of mature-aged workers. Education and training are seen as a principal strategy to increase the employability of these workers, yet participation in training is low and…

This paper meets at the crossroads of personal experience and public policy. The personal is the experience of learning as described by five TAFE students with a mental illness. The public policy context is the increased political pressure on Australia's major vocational training providers to increase workforce participation of people with mental…

This paper discusses the issue of attrition in apprenticeship programs, a topic that has attracted growing attention by VET researchers and policy-makers in many developed countries. It commences with a brief overview of the key issues challenging initial vocational education in Switzerland, and links these issues to similar concerns in Australia.…

"Transformative learning" is a term used by Mezirow (1991) and his followers to designate a specifically "adult" kind of learning that involves shifts in how learners view the world and themselves. New research into learning in VET suggests that in some subject areas transformative learning may play more than an incidental role. Among the…

Australian Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutes are perhaps the most heterogeneous of the nation's educational sectors. However, TAFE institutes' capacity to provide inclusive education is constrained by their curriculum focus and pedagogical practices and culturally premised assumptions that may inhibit learning for students from…