Transcript Boundary Crossing: Transitioning students to work through

Boundary Crossing: Transitioning students to
work through authentic employment-based
training in an Australian senior secondary
VET program.
Terry O’Hanlon-Rose
Australian Technical College
Alan Roberts
Queensland University of Technology
Transitioning young people to work
Value in learning at and from work
Vocational educators have long recognised the importance of connecting school
to work
(Billett, 2007; B. Brown, 1998; Misko, 2008; Toner, 2005)
A common challenge among OECD countries has been to
develop education and training pathways that can
accommodate the growing diversity of student needs and
interests in the upper secondary level of schooling
OECD Thematic Review
Transition from Initial Education to Working Life (2000)
Education Reform has been observed as playing a part of
economic growth strategies as means to stimulate human
capital development
(Akçomak & Weel, 2007: UNU Merit Working Paper How do social capital and government support affect innovation
and growth? Evidence from the EU regional support programmes).
“There is a positive interrelationship between levels of education,
measures of social capital, and effectiveness of government support
programmes.”
(Akçomak & Weel, 2007; p1)
Human capital and skill shortages and skills development
The Australian Response
Recent responses in Australia to skills development at the upper
secondary level include a flexible VET in Schools program:
VET in Schools program – incorporating non-waged training which
complies with AQF requirements
School-based Apprenticeships and Traineeships involving a mix of school
attendance and a contract of training (waged) employment
Usually students attend vocational training or work 1 or 2 days per week
Other work-based learning such as
Learning of traditional subjects in a work-based environment
Work experience
Locally developed programs
In 2006, Australian Technical Colleges were created with the
aim to develop stronger pathways for school students in
identified skill shortage areas.
They are seen as building on the success of VETiS and
Strengthening the VET in Schools (VETiS) program in Australia
(Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, 2005)
Australian Technical Colleges (ATCs)
Represent an innovative reconfiguration of schooling providing
institutions focused on apprenticeships in the national skills
shortage areas.
Expanded student choice through a dual pathway model where
student:
Study and are able to achieve their Senior Certificate of Education
 entry to Further & Higher Education courses
Focused curriculum
Flexible model of engagement
Workplace Preparation
Begin Apprenticeship Training (Employment Training Contract)
 Certificate III level in a trade
 Identified being in National Skills Shortage area
 Nationally recognised Trade Certificate qualification
Australian Technical Colleges and the
Australian Qualifications Framework
Schools Sector
Accreditation
Vocational Education and Training
Sector Accreditation
Higher Education Sector
Accreditation
Doctoral Degree
Masters Degree
Vocational Graduate Diploma
Graduate Diploma
Vocational Graduate Certificate
Graduate Certificate
Bachelor Degree
These level of
courses are
undertaken by
those trades
professionals such
as Supervising
Forepersons
and
Project Managers
•Cert IV
•Diploma
Courses
•Advanced
Diploma
Advanced Diploma
Associate Degree
Advanced Diploma
Diploma
Diploma
Certificate IV
Certificate III
Senior Secondary Certificate
of Education
Certificate II
Certificate I
Trade
Fully qualified trades technician
Qualified
• Work on all aspects of craft
• Recognised trade qualified
throughout Australia
OECD Thematic Review
The review identified a number of Key features central to effective
transitions from education to work. Effective programs:
Connect initial education with work and further study
Provide opportunities to combine workplace experience and education
Develop tight safety nets for those at risk
Provide good information and guidance
(OECD, 2000: From initial education to working life – making transitions work)
ATC Student- Apprenticeship Model
Year 11
At College
Year 12
Essential Learnings
Essential Learnings
Trade Training
Workplace Preparation & Trade Training
At Work
Year 1 Australian School-based
Apprenticeship
25%
At Work Full Time
Finish
Stage 2 & 3
Finish
Stage 1
Year 2 Australian
School-based
Apprenticeship
Transition to
Australian
Apprenticeship
Importance
highlighted by
Post Secondary
Karmel & Mlotkowski,
2008.
Year 2
Australian
Apprenticeship
Year 3
Australian
Apprenticeship
50%
75%
Year 4
Australian
Apprenticeship
100%
The Curriculum Structure
Essential Learnings
include:
Maths
English
+
Applied
Trade
Practices
Cert II in Business
Cert II in IT
Cert II Work Prac
Cert II Outdoor
Recreation
College structure developed to
reflect work environments
College and work boundaries
blurred
ATCs as Authentic Employment-based Programs
Characterised by:
OECD - Construct
Connect initial education • Learning incorporated into activity
with work and further study • Learning situated in context
Provide opportunities to
combine workplace
experience and education
OECD - Construct
Develop tight safety nets
for those at risk
Provide good information
and guidance
• Employment closely tied to school
• Cross boundaries between school and
work through follow-through from work
• Curriculum Model (4 week rotations)
• Support Services (follow up)
• Workplace Care (pastoral visits)
• Connection with employer
Case Study of an ATC
Case study methodology is used to examine the fit of the ATC to
the elements identified
(Stake, 2006; Yin, 2003)
Australian Technical College – North Brisbane
Identified by OECD/CERI team as:
having merit and worthy of further investigation
A base of committed change agents and could function as a laboratory for
systemic change
Leadership and strong industry involvement and industry commitment as
a valuable form of human capital to be harnessed
(OECD, 2008) Systemic innovation in the Australian VET system:
country case study report.
Quantitative
Surveys administered to employers of students undertaking an
Australian Qualifications Framework Certificate III (trade qualification) at
the Australian Technical College – North Brisbane.
Online Surveys administered to students at the Australian Technical
College – north Brisbane
To eliminate potential bias, an independent researcher was engaged to
administer the surveys.
Qualitative
Twelve students were purposively selected and interviewed to provide
qualitative feedback on their experiences at the ATC.
A methodology using data from a number of questions, known
as the Composite Satisfaction Rating, was developed to
consistently determine whether or not a student or employer
was satisfied or dissatisfied by their College experience.
Sample consisted of:
Group
Population
Response
Response Rate
Students
301
261
86.7% *
Employers
119
73
61.3% #
* Relative Std Error of 1.9
# Relative Standard Error of 1.8,
Confidence Interval of 91 – 97%
Each respondent’s answer against selected questions
was assigned a satisfaction score. To be regarded as satisfied:
Respondents must answer 3 or above on a 5 point scale
Yes or Not Sure on an answer requiring Yes/No/Not Sure
Each response converted to a satisfaction score as per:
Respondent’s
Rating Scale 1-5
Satisfaction
Score
Unsatisfied
1
0
Unsatisfied
2
0
(Base Satisfaction Score)
3
.5
Satisfied
4
1
Satisfied
5
1
No Response
.5
Respondent’s
Rating Y/N
No
Not Sure
Yes
No Response
Twelve students were purposively selected and interviewed to
provide qualitative feedback on their experiences at the ATC.
School activity is authenticated by the trade related learning
which is connected to apprentices’ work in order to operate
effectively.
(Tanggaard, 2007, p. 453)
The interview transcript is a typical example of the 12
interviews and demonstrates the concept of “boundary
crossing” between work and school, evidenced through the
apprentice acknowledging that there are different situations in
which he learns.
An extract from an interview with a Year 12 – entering his Second Year of Bricklaying Apprenticeship
Interviewer:
What’s changed since you were in Year 10?
Interviewee M (Yr 12 Student-Apprentice):
Now I pretty much jump out of bed because I just want to get to college. And towards the end of Grade 10 I just stayed in bed, I just
wouldn’t go or if I did go I’d rock up and like 9.30am. Mum’s a teacher and she’d always be like, we’re leaving before 7.30am, and
now I’m waiting at the door at quarter past seven so, yeah, I reckon I’ve improved heaps…. from the start of last year, my grades, I’ve
just been improving. I’m still improving to this day, they’ve just improved since the start of last year so…
Linked work with formal learning – Authentic Learning
Interviewer:
What has this meant to your family?
Interviewee M (Yr 12 Student-Apprentice):
Mum, she thinks I’m changing so much and Dad has also noticed it heaps, like with my shaving and my grooming and stuff. My Dad’s
mates say I’m growing up real quick and I’m mature for my age, and they say to my Dad when I’m gone, oh he’s going to be a good kid
when he gets older, like a good man when he’s older, he’s so mature for his age. And I don’t think they would have said that about me
two, three years ago when I was in year 9 or 10…. it would have been two or three weeks ago we were looking at all the photos when
that storm came through and I picked up my report card from Yr 10 and then I picked up one from the college and, yeah, I was just
like, whoa, look at that, And I was like, holy…I was like, Mum look at this, and she was like, yeah well look how many days you had off
that year and then look at how many you had this year.
Linked change to adult world– Authentic link with world
Interviewer:
Let’s talk about your trade – bricklaying. So how long do you imagine you’ll be a bricklayer, what do you imagine is going to happen in
the future?
Interviewee M (Yr 12 Student-Apprentice):
I can see myself doing it until I have to retire, until they make me retire I think. Just, yeah, I think it’s in my blood now.
Interviewer:
Change in attitude and approach – crossed boundary
Cool, and so do you think with your other experience in business IT and workplace practices, that you might one day own your own
company or just working for someone else?
Interviewee M (Yr 12 Student-Apprentice):
Yeah, I really do hope that one day I can own my own business. With my boss, yeah, it seems so cruisy but at times it gets hard and I
used to hate having a challenge but now I love it. Like out at work even, if there’s a challenge for me, I don’t ask my boss, I try and
figure it out myself first.
An extract from an interview with a Year 12 – entering his Second Year of Carpentry
Interviewer:
What’s your opinion of having to work in four week blocks for 48 weeks of the year?
Interviewee C (Yr 12 Student-Apprentice):
Yeah, I think that’s a really good idea as you actually learn things in that 4 weeks. You learn how to do the job, then come back here
and they’re teaching you the theory side, and also the practical. So you are still learning about it from both sides, from school and the
workforce. And with the 4 weeks you get a lot more time at the practical hands out there and you’re learning.
Linked work with formal learning – “crossed boundary”
Interviewer:
So when you are at work, how many guys help you learn on the job?
Interviewee C (Yr 12 Student-Apprentice):
I have only worked with one, well two, but my other boss was never really out on site, he had to do the paperwork.
Interviewer:
And at College, how many do you work with?
Interviewee C (Yr 12 Student-Apprentice):
Acknowledged that there are different situations in which
you learn – connected school to work
Two and it’s good to get different sort of people cause Mr X and Mr Y, they’re both different teachers and they have different ideas.
So it’s good to learn from different people – three different people. So when I am here I learn this way, but at the worksite I may
learn a different way, and a quicker, maybe easier, different or better looking way. So it’s good to learn from tradesmen who have
different qualifications in different areas.
Interviewer:
So, three different people are teaching you to be a carpenter?
Interviewee C (Yr 12 Student-Apprentice):
Yeah, they’ve each got different areas of being good at or special at certain things, specialties kind of things.
Interviewer:
So, that helps you get ….
Linked learning to success in
Interviewee C (Yr 12 Student-Apprentice):
the Adult World
Yeah, a bigger understanding of different things. Like not just about a set one thing, you’re learning in different ways so you can have
an idea of how the other person – like the customer might want it a certain way too, and so if this person knows it and maybe not
that person, you can go to this person and they can explain how they do it.
Independent Satisfaction Surveys (2008)
96.5% Industry (Employer) satisfaction (overall)
97% - Metal Engineering
92% - Automotive
96% - Building & Construction
92% - Electrotechnology
93% - Commercial Cookery (Chefs)
98.5 % Student Satisfaction (Overall)
Learning what they need to get through Senior……
Satisfied education is meeting training needs ……..
Satisfaction with relevance of education to Trade ..
Satisfaction with work readiness …………………………
Satisfied trade training will meet future needs …..
Satisfaction with Support for apprenticeship ……….
Satisfaction with workplace experience ………………
No problems with current employer relationship ..
89.3%
87%
88%
88.9%
85.1%
82.1%
84.7%
85.8%
The case studies analyses indicated that the relationship
between the place of learning and practice is more than
applying learned theory to practice.
Interviews with the twelve apprentices consistently revealed
aspects of “boundary crossing” when learning is situated in
authentic contexts and work.
The interviews highlighted the real world connections made by
students through learning in these situated contexts established
through the ATC Curriculum and Learner Support constructs.
a practical demonstration of Lave and Wenger’s (1991) conception of
Communities of Practice and Legitimate Peripheral Participation.
Community is wider than work, it includes learning at school in authentic
contexts
In all 12 cases common themes emerged. These included:
Change of behaviour
connection of learning to work
operating in an adult way
A Destination Survey of the 2008 Year 12 Cohort was conducted
with the following Post Year 12 Outcomes:
98.25% employed or in further study
92% as full-time apprentice
6% as part-time or full-time study/work
1.75 % unemployed
The aim of future study is to determine the effectiveness of the
different construct approaches to implementing employmentbased training n the Senior Curriculum
How does the VETiS delivery model impact on:
Continuation of the apprenticeship
Engaging in further education or training
Attitudes of employers, students and staff
In addressing the research question, a multiple case study approach is to be used.
Four of the cases (four providers) selected because of their purposeful orientation of providing
stand-alone VET employment-based training and Senior Education on site.
A further four cases (four providers) selected from a pool of providers where no consideration is
given to the orientation of the provision of VET (VET may be provided partially or wholly offsite).
The use of a multiple case study analysis can be considered analogous to the replication used in
multiple experiments (Yin, 2003). It is argued that the Stand-Alone VET providers (Cases 1-4)
would produce similar results (a literal replication) whereas the Embedded VET providers (Cases
5 - 8) would have contrasting results to those of the purpose-designed Stand-Alone VET
providers (a theoretical replication).
Construct 1
Organisational
Delivery
•Organisational Structure
•Scheduling
•RTO Arrangements
•Work authenticity
Model
CULTURE
BUILDING
Construct 2
Student &
Employer
Support
•Curriculum Model
•Support Services
•Workplace Care
Recent Australian experience
The delivery of VETiS programs places significant burdens on schools, teachers and
students because it entails working in environments of adult learning and workplace
disciplines and expectations which are far from the normal experience of schools and
their personnel (Barnett & Ryan, 2005; Jung et al., 2004).
Lack of flexibility in the school timetabling practices is one of the frequently identified
problems of the limitations of schools to implement VETiS programs (Jung et al., 2004).
Lamb & Vickers (2006) analysed data from LSAY and concluded that VET programs in
Schools which were closely aligned with VET system (TAFEs and Private RTOs) resulted
in smoother transitions to work
Karmel and Mlotkowski (2008) analysed data on school-based apprentices and found
that the lowest completion rates of the School-based apprenticeships were in the
trades and they further suggested that drop-out after completion of school is
relatively high for school-based apprenticeships.
No comprehensive data are available as to the lifespan of participation of employers
in VET-in-Schools and industry partnership arrangements but case study evidence by
Malley, Keating, Robinson, & Hawke (2001) shows that a high rate of employer
turnover is an ongoing issue for many school industry programs.
One measure of judgement of the value of school-based apprenticeships to the
employer is the longevity of the employer partnership. This is an area where there is
little research, highlighting a gap which is explored in this study.
Current research concentrates on assessing the most cost-effective delivery of
school-based apprenticeships using a cost inputs model with little research
concerned with the employment or long-term outcomes of such programs.
In 2003, DEST engaged the consortium of The Allen Consulting Group, Deloitte and NCVER
to undertake a project that analysed the costs of delivery of vocational education and
training (VET) in Schools, including an analysis of cost efficiencies (Allen Consulting Group &
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, 2003).
No comparative analyses of the most effective delivery method of School-based
Apprenticeships which compares outcomes of the different delivery options such as those
explored by the ATCs has been done.
Data from the following questions were used in this process:
How well the college provided assistance in contacting local employers
How well the college provided opportunities for work experience
How well the College provided support to obtain the apprenticeship
Scale of 1-5 to rate satisfaction of different elements of ATC education:
trade training
teachers
academic education
ability to get and keep job
education in small business functions
training to set up and grow a business
college response to queries/issues
availability of public transport
amount of travel between ATC, trainer
and employer
way the college works
Do you think your training will meet your future employment needs?
Are you learning what you need to get through your Year 12 Certificate?
Is the academic education you are receiving relevant to the trade you
are undertaking?
On a scale of 1 – 5, how would you rate:
classrooms
workshops and tools
Sport/Outdoor Recreation opportunities
Library
Amenities
Computer Equipment
Career Guidance Services
Mentoring Services
Counselling Services
Affordable fees
Do you believe the college has done its best to place you in work?
Overall, how satisfied are you? (Scale 1-5)
Would you recommend the College to other people?