How do qualifications delivered by enterprises contribute to improved skill levels and other benefits for companies, workers and the nation? This project investigates the role of employer-based qualifications training in developing the skills and prospects of the Australian workforce and the competitive capabilities of companies. It focuses on enterprises that are accredited to deliver qualifications to their own workers, providing data to improve and expand this form of training.
Crucibles of creativity? Australian universities and path-breaking intellectual work. The project will investigate path-breaking creative work by 60-80 Australians working at home and abroad, focusing on the role of Australian universities in forming creative persons and agendas and providing conditions for (or inhibiting) creativity. The practical question is ‘How might the role of universities in path-breaking work be enhanced?'
Identifying effective strategies to grow and sustain a professional early years workforce. The National Early Years Workforce Strategy (2012) identifies the imperative for a larger, more qualified, professional, responsive and collaborative childcare workforce. This need is urgent. By 2014, Commonwealth legislation specifies that all long day-care centres must have a qualified teacher and minimum staff qualification of Certificate III. Yet high turnover, skill loss and failure to meet existing q ....Identifying effective strategies to grow and sustain a professional early years workforce. The National Early Years Workforce Strategy (2012) identifies the imperative for a larger, more qualified, professional, responsive and collaborative childcare workforce. This need is urgent. By 2014, Commonwealth legislation specifies that all long day-care centres must have a qualified teacher and minimum staff qualification of Certificate III. Yet high turnover, skill loss and failure to meet existing qualification standards persist. Nationally, multiple strategies are being implemented to achieve the new qualification standards but there is scant evidence about their effectiveness. This project aims to identify the most effective strategies to reduce loss and increase professional engagement in the early years workforce.Read moreRead less
Undergraduate degrees from vocational institutions. This project aims to identify and understand the equity of broadening participation to undergraduate degrees through the recent expansion of higher education in vocational institutions. The intended outcomes will provide relevant knowledge about the effects of this expansion on creating opportunities for more equity groups to obtain degrees and for the higher education system to better drive national innovation and economic restructuring in way ....Undergraduate degrees from vocational institutions. This project aims to identify and understand the equity of broadening participation to undergraduate degrees through the recent expansion of higher education in vocational institutions. The intended outcomes will provide relevant knowledge about the effects of this expansion on creating opportunities for more equity groups to obtain degrees and for the higher education system to better drive national innovation and economic restructuring in ways that give a fairer chance to all equity groups to participate.Read moreRead less
Senior secondary certification: meeting the national agenda? Senior secondary certificates are subject to multiple sets of national demands that create the risk of weakening their important historical roles and undermining stakeholder support. This project will provide a deeper understanding of the nature of the tensions that need to be balanced within the design and management of the certificates and provide information for future design options in the context of national developments in secon ....Senior secondary certification: meeting the national agenda? Senior secondary certificates are subject to multiple sets of national demands that create the risk of weakening their important historical roles and undermining stakeholder support. This project will provide a deeper understanding of the nature of the tensions that need to be balanced within the design and management of the certificates and provide information for future design options in the context of national developments in secondary and tertiary education. The project has the potential to assist state and territory agencies that are responsible for senior secondary curriculum and certification in making their contributions toward the national goals and targets for education participation set by the Australian Government.Read moreRead less
Gauging the value of flexible learning options for disenfranchised youth and the Australian community. Investment in flexible learning options (FLOs) for young people who have disengaged from schooling requires understanding of how they work and evidence about their economic and social value. This project will provide both through innovative and integrated methods, analysing FLO sites across three Australian states and the Northern Territory.
International students in secondary schools. This longitudinal project aims to analyse the forms and effects of international secondary students’ transnational connectedness with different people and places in physical and online environments. It plans to examine how and why students’ relationships change across Years 10–12 of school, and the implications for students’ experience of school, Australia, and post-school pathways. The findings may provide the empirical knowledge and theoretical insi ....International students in secondary schools. This longitudinal project aims to analyse the forms and effects of international secondary students’ transnational connectedness with different people and places in physical and online environments. It plans to examine how and why students’ relationships change across Years 10–12 of school, and the implications for students’ experience of school, Australia, and post-school pathways. The findings may provide the empirical knowledge and theoretical insights to support the development of policies and practices to support international school students, protect their social, emotional and physical wellbeing, and improve the economic competitiveness of Australia’s international education sector.Read moreRead less
Teachers' professional development, communities of practice, and the secondary school subject department: The case of health and physical education. Schools are significant sites of authentic learning for teacher professional development. This study will contribute to a better understanding of how the culture of the secondary school subject department can facilitate or hinder such development. The project will: contribute to creating more supportive work contexts for teachers thereby reducing te ....Teachers' professional development, communities of practice, and the secondary school subject department: The case of health and physical education. Schools are significant sites of authentic learning for teacher professional development. This study will contribute to a better understanding of how the culture of the secondary school subject department can facilitate or hinder such development. The project will: contribute to creating more supportive work contexts for teachers thereby reducing teacher attrition; inform the development of better polices and practices surrounding teachers' professional learning communities; contribute to national and state level initiatives for the articulation of professional standards for teaching; and optimise the professional practices of HPE teachers who, as 'allied health workers', are integral to addressing Australia's health priorities.Read moreRead less
Industry-school partnerships: a strategy to enhance education and training opportunities. Australian and state governments have adopted public-private partnerships as a means of providing education systems that meet the long-term knowledge and skill requirements for key industries of the Australian economy. Identifying the elements of industry-school partnerships that enhance educational and economic outcomes will connect students in urban and regional communities to knowledge networks, access t ....Industry-school partnerships: a strategy to enhance education and training opportunities. Australian and state governments have adopted public-private partnerships as a means of providing education systems that meet the long-term knowledge and skill requirements for key industries of the Australian economy. Identifying the elements of industry-school partnerships that enhance educational and economic outcomes will connect students in urban and regional communities to knowledge networks, access to which is essential for a competitive Australian economy. To support this large investment and innovation, policy recommendations and theoretically informed partnership models resulting from the project will contribute to national economic productivity by enhancing the growth and sustainability of communities hosting partnerships.Read moreRead less
What's best for my child? Parents' perspectives of childcare quality and early learning as contributors to childcare choice. This project will explore parents' understandings of early learning and childcare quality, and how these understandings contribute to childcare choice. The project will inform the Australian Government's policy directive of giving children the best start in life and support parents' capacity to make choices that they consider are best for their child.