Numeracy for access to traineeships and apprenticeships, vocational studies, empowerment and low-achieving post Year 10 students. On completion of Year 10,a significant proportion of students have insufficient numeracy to find gainful employment or to undertake a VET course. New government policy requires schools and TAFEs to provide numeracy learning opportunities to facilitate employment or formal qualification. This project studies vocational situations in which these students can acquire the ....Numeracy for access to traineeships and apprenticeships, vocational studies, empowerment and low-achieving post Year 10 students. On completion of Year 10,a significant proportion of students have insufficient numeracy to find gainful employment or to undertake a VET course. New government policy requires schools and TAFEs to provide numeracy learning opportunities to facilitate employment or formal qualification. This project studies vocational situations in which these students can acquire the functional and abstract numeracy essential for access to formal VET qualifications and constructs theories to explain what makes learning direct and distance learning materials effective. The Industry Partners will develop direct and distance instructional materials, and will disseminate these resources throughout Queensland, Australia, and Asia.Read moreRead less
Skilling Indigenous Australia: Effective numeracy learning for employment by regional and remote Indigenous students in vocational education and training courses. Increasing levels of Indigenous VET certification will enable Indigenous inclusion in local labour markets, which are currently experiencing skills shortages in education, health, construction and mining. This will reduce welfare dependence and the need for intervention programs, in turn improving Australia's economic activity. This pr ....Skilling Indigenous Australia: Effective numeracy learning for employment by regional and remote Indigenous students in vocational education and training courses. Increasing levels of Indigenous VET certification will enable Indigenous inclusion in local labour markets, which are currently experiencing skills shortages in education, health, construction and mining. This will reduce welfare dependence and the need for intervention programs, in turn improving Australia's economic activity. This project is a significant collaboration between schools, TAFEs and Industry representatives that service remote areas, which aims to develop a theory about effective numeracy instruction. This theoretical framework will provide strategies for VET teachers and supervisors to facilitate Indigenous student's numeracy learning in a manner that is culturally empowering, builds pride and sustains community linkages. Read moreRead less
Numeracy, Youth and Employment: A study of numeracy demands in contemporary workplaces in regional Queensland. In contemporary workplaces, the numeracy demands are varied, yet little is known about their form or skill requirements. In order for schools and other agencies to better prepare Australian youth for the demands of contemporary work, a clearer understanding of the intersection of numeracy and work is needed. This project seeks to identify the numeracy demands across a range of industr ....Numeracy, Youth and Employment: A study of numeracy demands in contemporary workplaces in regional Queensland. In contemporary workplaces, the numeracy demands are varied, yet little is known about their form or skill requirements. In order for schools and other agencies to better prepare Australian youth for the demands of contemporary work, a clearer understanding of the intersection of numeracy and work is needed. This project seeks to identify the numeracy demands across a range of industries in the Gold Coast region of Queensland. As well as examining the types of numeracy demands, the project identifies some of the best ways in which numeracy skills can be improved to meet the demands across those industries.Read moreRead less
Recruit to Retain: From Medical School to Rural Practitioner. In order to make use of assets and resources the Government is providing for medical training and to address the problem of inequitable distribution of GPs in Australia this project aims to develop a theoretical yet practical understanding of the personal attributes of medical students, residents, registrars and general practitioners that are directly applicable to their recruitment and retention into rural practice. Application of th ....Recruit to Retain: From Medical School to Rural Practitioner. In order to make use of assets and resources the Government is providing for medical training and to address the problem of inequitable distribution of GPs in Australia this project aims to develop a theoretical yet practical understanding of the personal attributes of medical students, residents, registrars and general practitioners that are directly applicable to their recruitment and retention into rural practice. Application of this theoretical perspective will inform and help modify existing training for medical professionals at all levels who have opted for a rural pathway in order to better equip and retain them for life in rural practice.Read moreRead less
Understanding and improving pilot learning and development at critical stages of their career: Maintaining airline safety in changing times. Pilot training has never been more important with intense competitive pressure on airlines to improve training in response to rapid growth and a tight supply of experienced pilots. In an industry where economic imperatives and aircraft safety are tightly interlinked, regional airlines in particular are under pressure to recruit and promote less experienced ....Understanding and improving pilot learning and development at critical stages of their career: Maintaining airline safety in changing times. Pilot training has never been more important with intense competitive pressure on airlines to improve training in response to rapid growth and a tight supply of experienced pilots. In an industry where economic imperatives and aircraft safety are tightly interlinked, regional airlines in particular are under pressure to recruit and promote less experienced pilots. The study aims to follow two cohorts of pilots at critical stages in their careers: new pilots entering an airline and first officers seeking promotion to Captain. This project aims to fill a gap in research on pilot training through closely observed investigation into how pilots learn to fly, creating innovations in pilot training, with applicability to other complex work environments.Read moreRead less
Work-life learning to sustain employability: practices and policies. This project aims to explore how Australian workers can sustain their employability across their working lives. The project intends to analyse retrospective accounts from workers in order to identify the kinds of learning required by workers for their life-long employability, as well as the practices and policies that might be adopted by workplaces and tertiary education in order for Australian workers to sustain their employme ....Work-life learning to sustain employability: practices and policies. This project aims to explore how Australian workers can sustain their employability across their working lives. The project intends to analyse retrospective accounts from workers in order to identify the kinds of learning required by workers for their life-long employability, as well as the practices and policies that might be adopted by workplaces and tertiary education in order for Australian workers to sustain their employment and secure advancement. This project will provide significant benefits to a society where the working lives of Australians are lengthening and sustained employability has become a policy priority.Read moreRead less
Increasing the rural medical workforce: investigating personal traits to enhance our understanding and improve training of rural registrars. This project will research new methodologies for increasing the number of rural doctors in Australia. A better understanding of those individuals best suited for rural practice will provide value for money to the Government by making the most efficient use of initiatives to increase recruitment and retention of the rural workforce.
Elaborating a model of learning to teach mathematical inquiry. Australia's pioneering workforce in scientific and technological innovation requires classrooms which promote creative and flexible thinking, curiosity and persistence, deep disciplinary knowledge, and facility with technology, particularly in mathematics. International comparisons indicate Australia's classrooms teach out-dated procedural knowledge in maths that neglects 21st century needs. Mathematical knowledge developed through i ....Elaborating a model of learning to teach mathematical inquiry. Australia's pioneering workforce in scientific and technological innovation requires classrooms which promote creative and flexible thinking, curiosity and persistence, deep disciplinary knowledge, and facility with technology, particularly in mathematics. International comparisons indicate Australia's classrooms teach out-dated procedural knowledge in maths that neglects 21st century needs. Mathematical knowledge developed through inquiry of authentic problems can provide purpose and deeper understanding as well as to cultivate capacity to grapple with uncertainty and greater complexity. This project is a university-schools partnership committed to the same purpose: promote the teaching of mathematical inquiry.Read moreRead less
A Future Beyond the Wall: Improving Post-release Employment Outcomes for People Leaving Prison. Engaging in meaningful work has been shown to reduce re-offending by ex-prisoners, but few prison releasees internationally or in Australia gain employment, and successful pathways to employment for this group are poorly researched and understood. This study aims to gather and analyse, for the first time, comparative data from Australian jurisdictions and employment agencies on the relationship betwee ....A Future Beyond the Wall: Improving Post-release Employment Outcomes for People Leaving Prison. Engaging in meaningful work has been shown to reduce re-offending by ex-prisoners, but few prison releasees internationally or in Australia gain employment, and successful pathways to employment for this group are poorly researched and understood. This study aims to gather and analyse, for the first time, comparative data from Australian jurisdictions and employment agencies on the relationship between in-prison and post-prison vocational education and employment programs, employment and recidivism. It aims to identify effective elements, strategies, program and policy directions in offender training and employment. This is a unique partnership amongst key academics in the field, peak national bodies, correctional and employment organisations.Read moreRead less
Enhancing practice-based learning experiences: towards a curriculum, pedagogy and epistemology of practice. Workplaces are increasingly seen as essential sites for learning about occupations and continuing to be competent across working lives. Focussing on healthcare work, this project seeks to maximise and improve learning experiences in workplaces and integrate them effectively into educational programs to improve occupational competence.