The effects of neoliberalism: Teachers’ experiences and ethical dilemmas to policy initiatives within vocational education and training in Australia

2021 ◽  
pp. 147821032110403
Author(s):  
Sonal Nakar ◽  
Mark Olssen
Keyword(s):  
Vocational Education ◽  
Ethical Dilemmas ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Quality Education ◽  
Vocational Education And Training ◽  
Ethical Behaviour ◽  
Ethical Conflicts ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Training

Neoliberal policy reforms have had a marked influence on nearly every aspect of education, including the enrolment practices employed by institutions, teaching and assessment practices, and even the outcomes for students and society. There is a widespread expectation that teachers should contribute to quality outcomes for students along with their moral/ethical development and character formation while at the same time behaving ethically in the currently challenging environment of the education sector, including the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector. However, this apparent pressure for maintaining quality education while simultaneously conforming to the ethicality of professional practices in the context of rapid policy changes of a neoliberal sort masks considerable controversy around the meaning of quality education with respect to both moral/ethical behaviour in education and the appropriate forms of practice that would constitute this area of education. A recent research project into the impact of the changing contemporary cultural context of VET on the creation of moral dilemmas facing VET teachers in their work has identified the VET teachers’ perspectives of the ethical dilemmas experienced, by identifying the tensions between competing values and the resulting interactions. The research design for the study drew primarily on exploratory and discursive interviews with 18 VET teachers in South-East Queensland, selected from those responding to a call for participation in the study. The study pointed to the value of dilemmas as constructs through which to generate knowledge of ethical conflicts arising from contextual changes in policy. Four drivers that they attributed to causing those dilemmas were identified: changing immigration rules, changing funding requirements, changing culture and philosophy of RTOs, and inadequate teacher preparation. In each of these respects, the ambitious business expectations engendered by neoliberal restructuring and reform in recent years can be seen as articulating or presupposing values pertaining to standards of practice and performance of the RTO, which in turn can be seen to compromise traditional norms associated with teacher professionalism. It is with these values and conflicts that we are concerned in this paper.

Reformed and reduced: Vocational education and structural oppression

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 276-291
Author(s):  
Teressa Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Vocational Education ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Critical Social Theory ◽  
Vocational Education And Training ◽  
Competency Based Education ◽  
Competency Based ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Training

Internationally, vocational education and training (VET) is intended to fulfil important economic and social objectives. There is, however, a concerning discourse relating to funding, esteem, reputation and quality, and questions have been raised about whether social mobility aspirations of the sector’s students are achieved or achievable. This paper argues that rather than resulting from deficiency or fault of VET, these issues are, instead, manifestations of the sector’s structural oppression. Further, unless this oppression is recognised and addressed as an underlying cause, VET’s troubles will remain. While acknowledging the claim may be contentious, the paper applies Freirean philosophy and contemporary critical social theory to examine the case of Australian VET, identifying the oppressive structures and policies which have progressively rendered the sector powerless and lacking the autonomy needed to enact positive and necessary change. It expounds upon Australian VET’s vulnerability to neoliberal educational reform along with the impact of competency based education and training (CBE/T), its reductionist curriculum, and the de-professionalisation of VET, its teachers and the vocations it serves, before proposing that any further reforms must be led from within the sector itself. While the paper focuses on Australian VET, its examination will likely hold meaning elsewhere.

scholarly journals Australian prison vocational education and training and returns to custody among male and female ex-prisoners: A cross-jurisdictional study

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse Cale ◽  
Andrew Day ◽  
Sharon Casey ◽  
David Bright ◽  
Jo Wodak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vocational Education ◽  
Behavioural Change ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Vocational Education And Training ◽  
Risk Level ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Female Prisoners ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
And Training

The current study examined the impact of vocational education and training in the custody setting on returns to custody among Australian adult prisoners from selected jurisdictions. Vocational education and training, education, and behavioural change programme participation in custody and demographic and risk assessment data were provided by correctional services in four Australian states for 10,834 Australian prisoners released from custody in 2010–2011. This information was used to predict returns to custody by 2015–2016. Overall, the results showed that participating in vocational education and training in custody contributed to the likelihood of remaining custody free at two and five years post-release for both male and female prisoners. However, for males the relationship was moderated by risk level. These findings are discussed in the context of developing vocational education and training in prison settings to address the specific needs of individuals and expectation of the wider community.

scholarly journals Training in Companies: Educational Practices at the Heart of the World of Work

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 317-336
Author(s):  
Nadia Lamamra ◽  
Roberta Besozzi
Keyword(s):  
Vocational Education ◽  
Compulsory Education ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Vocational Education And Training ◽  
Educational Practices ◽  
The People ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Training

Abstract In Switzerland, dual vocational education and training, which is practice- and employment-oriented, is the most frequently chosen path after compulsory education. The analysis of the training provided in the company by the people in charge of the apprentices questions the influences of the world of work on educational practices. The analysis of 80 semi-directive interviews highlights the tension between production and training, the different representations of apprentices, and the impact of these two elements on training practices.

scholarly journals Vocational education, transitions, marginalisation and social justice in the Nordic countries: Reflections on the special issue

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 376-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Avis
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Vocational Education ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Nordic Countries ◽  
Vocational Education And Training ◽  
Academic Education ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Just Society ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Training

This paper engages with and reflects on the arguments developed by contributors to the special issue. These papers serve to provide a corrective to English and, on occasion, European perceptions, which often view the Nordic countries as being all of a piece and beacons of progressivism. The contributors provide analyses that not only point to the impact of neo-liberalism upon vocational education and training but also the different ways in which it is delivered across the Nordic countries. They alert us to vocational education and training’s complexity and varied forms. Nevertheless, it appears there are a set of repertoires that can be mobilised to address the relationship between vocational education and training and youth transitions to work and vocational study, which seem to circulate across time and place. The circulation of these models suggests they fail to address the deeper issues facing vocational education and training, namely the relation of it in particular and ‘academic’ education in general to capitalism, and, importantly, the salience of these processes in the current conjuncture. These relations raise questions about the reproduction of class relations and the specificity of the socio-economic contexts. This leads to a consideration of notions of social justice and an interrogation of vocational education and training with this particular question in mind. An important issue that needs to be explored is the way in which the curriculum opens up or closes down access to powerful knowledge. Whilst education, in Bernstein’s words, ‘cannot compensate for society’, can it nevertheless be a resource in the transformative struggle for a just society?

Examining the impact of goal attainment and training goal on overall training satisfaction among vocational education and training completers

2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 523-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Skues ◽  
Sarah-Louise Alexander ◽  
Lisa Wise
Keyword(s):  
Vocational Education ◽  
Goal Attainment ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Vocational Education And Training ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Training Satisfaction ◽  
Final Sample ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Training

Purpose The purpose of this paper was to examine whether there is a relationship between goal attainment and overall training satisfaction among vocational education and training (VET) completers, and in turn whether this relationship varies across the different goals for undertaking training in a VET course. Design/methodology/approach A request was made to the National Centre for Vocational Education Research in Australia for access to the unit record data from the 2016 Student Outcomes Survey. Approval was obtained. The final sample comprised 149,632 students who completed a VET course in 2016, where 55 per cent of the sample were women and the average age was 36.55 years (SD=13.17). Findings Students who achieved or did not yet know whether they had achieved their training goal were more satisfied with their overall training compared with those who partly achieved their goal, who in turn were more satisfied than those who did not attain their goal across the various training goals. However, participants who were training for personal reasons or reasons other than for employment or pursuing further study, and either partly achieved, did not achieve or did not know yet whether they had achieved their training goal reported the lowest levels of training satisfaction, although these participants were still satisfied overall with their training. Originality/value These results highlight the importance of understanding the impact of goals on achievement-related activities and should be used to inform learning and teaching approaches as well as the provision of support services in the VET sector.

The Impact of Vocational Education and Training Programs on Recidivism: A Systematic Review of Current Experimental Evidence

2016 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle Newton ◽  
Andrew Day ◽  
Margaret Giles ◽  
Joanne Wodak ◽  
Joe Graffam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Vocational Education ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Vocational Education And Training ◽  
Correct Selection ◽  
Program Outcomes ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Training

Although the association between unemployment and offending is well established, relatively little is known about the impact of vocational education and training programs on re-offending, with much of the previous work in this area failing to control for, or correct, selection bias. This article reports the findings of a systematic review, which considers the findings of only those studies that have used experimental or quasi-experimental designs to evaluate vocational training and employment program outcomes for adult offenders. The analysis identifies key features, based on these studies, of those programs associated with the best outcomes and recommends selection criteria for those who are most likely to benefit from prison vocational education and training.

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