The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of fixed vs floating facilitator approaches of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) on students' achievement and interest in Elementary Structural Design (ESD). The design was quasi-experimental with a pretest-posttest nonequivalent 2 × 2 factorial design. The participants (78) were randomized to…

Pakistan is among the emerging economies of South Asia. Despite the current progress and ambitious future goals set by the government, the nation faces many challenges, foremost being poverty and unemployment. Pakistan a nation of 210 million people with 60% of the population under 30 years of age, has a dire need for training its burgeoning young…

Asia is known as an economic success story but for many people growth has not been inclusive. The increased mechanization of work and other trends are likely to deepen existing social inequalities. Skills can help address these challenges, but a new and broader perspective is needed in skills development policy. This article argues that while…

Adelaide College of the Arts is a 20 year old, purpose-built hub of technical performing arts training in South Australia. Its performing arts training is made up of specialisations in technical theatre and design, dance and acting practicums. They represent an example of a learning ecology whereby emergent cultural products and processes are…

Misconceptions are persistent beliefs that contradict the accepted scientific views, impacting how subsequent information is interpreted. Research to date has not examined the sources, or prevalence of, fundamental exercise science misconceptions in higher education (HE) or vocational education (VET) students. Both HE and VET educators were…

This paper considers the inclusion of TVET and skills in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and analyses the key changes likely to impact on TVET and skill systems from now until 2030. It argues that despite SDG implementation and monitoring challenges, the new emphasis on TVET, skills and lifelong learning will reinforce efforts of…

Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is an essential component of learning in and for the workplace, and a key building block of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO's) "Key Features of Learning Cities." TVET provides pathways to employment, particularly for young people, and…

While Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have launched a number of economic and education reforms to align their education and training systems with macroeconomic policies to develop diversified, knowledge-based economies, female technical and vocational education and training (TVET) faces an identity crisis. The Gulf States are struggling…

The international TVET literature stresses the role of TVET in development. UNESCO's 2015 Recommendation envisioned TVET contribution to sustainable development as 'empowering individuals, organizations, enterprises and communities and fostering employment, decent work and lifelong learning'. This paper illustrates the achieved functionings and…

Budgetary constraints on the public purse have led Australian Federal and State governments to focus increasingly on the efficiency of public institutions, including Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutes. In this study, we define efficiency as the relationship between financial and administrative inputs and educational outputs. We…

The journey from VET practitioner to academic researcher is not an easy one, especially for VET teachers whose educational research training in action and ethnographic research have been inculcated through years of practice. This paper discusses the highlights of the journey from practitioner to practitioner researcher including a discussion of…

The topic of quality rankings of academic journals generated a great deal of debate and opinion in Australia during their time at the forefront of interest in the mid-to-late 2000s. However, there has been little empirical research to inform the debate. This paper reports on and analyses the journal ranking experiences of one small…

Since the introduction of the competitive vocational education and training market model in the Australia in the 1990s, the growth and participation of international students and private providers has led to sustained debates about training standards in commercial-for-profit, private registered training organisations. Much of this debate has been…

There is a growing enthusiasm for developing a more highly skilled workforce in both Australia and internationally. Federal and state policies are directed towards increasing productivity and the engagement of formerly disengaged senior school students and the wider society. There is a new determination to manage transition arrangements between…

The nominal group technique (NGT) is a structured process to gather information from a group. The technique was first described in 1975 and has since become a widely-used standard to facilitate working groups. The NGT is effective for generating large numbers of creative new ideas and for group priority setting. This paper describes the process of…