Kira Clarke
Kira Clarke is a Lecturer in Education Policy within the Melbourne Graduate School of Education. Since joining the University of Melbourne in early 2004 she has completed a range of government funded, consultancy and grant based research of post-compulsory education, Vocational Education and Training (VET) and youth transitions. Kira is an emerging Australian expert of vocational education for young people and VET in Schools. She is currently beginning research (2014-2015), funded through the competitive National Vocational Education and Training Research (NVETR) program and in partnership with the Brotherhood of St Laurence and researchers from Victoria University, examining the role of the private RTOs for early school leavers. Kira regular delivers guest lectures, workshops and professional development seminars for a range of government, non-government and industry stakeholders. She is involved in a number of community engagement activities, including as the higher education representative to the VCAA's Vocational Education Reference Group, as a VET representative to the Publications Committee of the Australian College of Educators, as a member of the Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association (AVETRA) and as the Victorian Co-convener of Women in Adult and Vocational Education (WAVE).
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programs and how students are using vocational pathways. The other investigates the factors shaping effective links between VET in Schools and occupational and post-school VET outcomes. This paper draws on interviews with VET in Schools students, teachers and stakeholders in Queensland and Victoria.
Australian schools are approaching the provision of vocational programs in a variety of different ways. The needs of students, the training and skills agendas of state and federal governments, and the
needs of local and regional labour markets shape the breadth, depth and type of VET in Schools provision that schools develop. While in some states the burden of vocational provision sits firmly within the government sector, in other states there appears a greater distribution of VET in Schools participation and provision across the government, independent and Catholic sectors, with the agendas and objectives of each sector also influencing the position of vocational learning within the
senior secondary curriculum.
Current senior secondary certificate structures across Australian states and territories appear to promote a ‘hedging bets’ approach where VET in Schools students are precluded from engaging in intense or deep vocational programs and more often are participating in minimal VET in addition to a mostly academic senior secondary program. The capacity of VET in Schools to deliver stronger labour market and further education outcomes is weakened by this lack of intensity and depth of current VET in Schools provision.
Interviews with teachers indicate that school culture and teacher perceptions are strong determinants of the quality and strength of VET in Schools pathways. This paper draws on longitudinal student data and a broad range of stakeholder interviews to highlight the factors impacting the efficacy of VET in Schools.
A national framework for vocational education and training (VET) for secondary school students released at the end of 2014 set a clear objective for schools in preparing young people for the world of work.
Governments across the country are announcing funding for state-of-the-art trade training facilities. The federal government is also talking up the importance of closer ties between schools and industry, with the piloting of the controversial P-Tech model.
If the policy objective is to support young people in getting sustainable employment, is building a few new trade training schools the way to go? Do we need greater input from business in schools? Is there really a problem with current approaches to trade training in schools?
The patterns of participation in STEM and trades-based fields of education and training during school mirror and reinforce the highly gender-segregated nature of the Australian labour force. The foundation for transition from education and training to employment is established during school. It is during these formative years of schooling that young men and women are made aware of what is possible for them and what is not.
This paper draws on a national survey of career exploration practitioners and industry and VET stakeholders to highlight some of the challenges facing approaches to career exploration for young women and ways by which models of career exploration for young women could be strengthened. The key challenges for strengthening career exploration identified by stakeholders include: a lack of access of young women to mentors and successful role models within STEM and non-traditional occupations; training and resources to support the work of career education practitioners in schools; and the complex nature of school—industry relationships.
In seeking to understand how VET pathways can be strengthened for young people, the broader purposes of our post-compulsory education and training systems should be considered. This discussion crosses policy silos and requires input from stakeholders with often contrasting and competing expectations of the purpose of vocational education for young people.
This paper, focusing on the role of VET in Schools for young Australians, proposes that there are three key challenges constraining productive policy change. Firstly, current discussions of VET for young people are often focused on curriculum alone, with little examination of the role of pedagogy. Secondly, a key issue in the broader discussion of the purposes of VET for young people is what can be described as a ‘problematic certificate paradigm’. That is, there is an increasing focus on the attainment of entry-level certificates as the key policy measure of effective youth transitions, despite acknowledgment that these qualifications hold limited value in the labour market. Thirdly, policy discussions too often skirt the class-segmentation role that VET pathways can and do play.
This paper draws on two recently completed studies, one funded by NCVER and the other funded by the Australian Research Council, to highlight the impact that these three challenges are having on the national discussion on how to strengthen vocational pathways for young Australians.
The culmination of nearly three years of investigation into this issue, this report highlights important themes and structural changes for strengthening VET in Schools. The author tests these changes through consultations with stakeholders, who include representatives from departments of education and training, boards of study, industry, schools and vocational education and training (VET) providers.
This report is part of a wider three-year program of research, Vocations: the link between post-compulsory education and the labour market, which is investigating the educational and occupational paths that people take and examining how their study relates to their work.
programs and how students are using vocational pathways. The other investigates the factors shaping effective links between VET in Schools and occupational and post-school VET outcomes. This paper draws on interviews with VET in Schools students, teachers and stakeholders in Queensland and Victoria.
Australian schools are approaching the provision of vocational programs in a variety of different ways. The needs of students, the training and skills agendas of state and federal governments, and the
needs of local and regional labour markets shape the breadth, depth and type of VET in Schools provision that schools develop. While in some states the burden of vocational provision sits firmly within the government sector, in other states there appears a greater distribution of VET in Schools participation and provision across the government, independent and Catholic sectors, with the agendas and objectives of each sector also influencing the position of vocational learning within the
senior secondary curriculum.
Current senior secondary certificate structures across Australian states and territories appear to promote a ‘hedging bets’ approach where VET in Schools students are precluded from engaging in intense or deep vocational programs and more often are participating in minimal VET in addition to a mostly academic senior secondary program. The capacity of VET in Schools to deliver stronger labour market and further education outcomes is weakened by this lack of intensity and depth of current VET in Schools provision.
Interviews with teachers indicate that school culture and teacher perceptions are strong determinants of the quality and strength of VET in Schools pathways. This paper draws on longitudinal student data and a broad range of stakeholder interviews to highlight the factors impacting the efficacy of VET in Schools.
A national framework for vocational education and training (VET) for secondary school students released at the end of 2014 set a clear objective for schools in preparing young people for the world of work.
Governments across the country are announcing funding for state-of-the-art trade training facilities. The federal government is also talking up the importance of closer ties between schools and industry, with the piloting of the controversial P-Tech model.
If the policy objective is to support young people in getting sustainable employment, is building a few new trade training schools the way to go? Do we need greater input from business in schools? Is there really a problem with current approaches to trade training in schools?
The patterns of participation in STEM and trades-based fields of education and training during school mirror and reinforce the highly gender-segregated nature of the Australian labour force. The foundation for transition from education and training to employment is established during school. It is during these formative years of schooling that young men and women are made aware of what is possible for them and what is not.
This paper draws on a national survey of career exploration practitioners and industry and VET stakeholders to highlight some of the challenges facing approaches to career exploration for young women and ways by which models of career exploration for young women could be strengthened. The key challenges for strengthening career exploration identified by stakeholders include: a lack of access of young women to mentors and successful role models within STEM and non-traditional occupations; training and resources to support the work of career education practitioners in schools; and the complex nature of school—industry relationships.
In seeking to understand how VET pathways can be strengthened for young people, the broader purposes of our post-compulsory education and training systems should be considered. This discussion crosses policy silos and requires input from stakeholders with often contrasting and competing expectations of the purpose of vocational education for young people.
This paper, focusing on the role of VET in Schools for young Australians, proposes that there are three key challenges constraining productive policy change. Firstly, current discussions of VET for young people are often focused on curriculum alone, with little examination of the role of pedagogy. Secondly, a key issue in the broader discussion of the purposes of VET for young people is what can be described as a ‘problematic certificate paradigm’. That is, there is an increasing focus on the attainment of entry-level certificates as the key policy measure of effective youth transitions, despite acknowledgment that these qualifications hold limited value in the labour market. Thirdly, policy discussions too often skirt the class-segmentation role that VET pathways can and do play.
This paper draws on two recently completed studies, one funded by NCVER and the other funded by the Australian Research Council, to highlight the impact that these three challenges are having on the national discussion on how to strengthen vocational pathways for young Australians.
The culmination of nearly three years of investigation into this issue, this report highlights important themes and structural changes for strengthening VET in Schools. The author tests these changes through consultations with stakeholders, who include representatives from departments of education and training, boards of study, industry, schools and vocational education and training (VET) providers.
This report is part of a wider three-year program of research, Vocations: the link between post-compulsory education and the labour market, which is investigating the educational and occupational paths that people take and examining how their study relates to their work.