VET & TAFE
Wriggle room
Learners today need flexibility for complex moves and shifts throughout their careers; and whilst the system is far from perfect, students are indeed moving around. By Roger Harris
Where have all the flowers gone in the vision of the Bradley Review? This vision was for a“ more coherent system” with“ better connections across tertiary education” – that is, across the vocational education and training and higher education sectors and, I would argue, the adult and community education( ACE) sector as well. Some may take issue with the notion, on the grounds that it is not desirable because of the likely dominance of the universities, or that the sectors might lose their distinctiveness. Others may wonder what all the fuss is about, claiming that the sectors have always been interconnected. Still others may assert that the Bradley vision is indeed still alive and kicking, ever evolving as the sectors manoeuvre towards more intimate relationships of one kind or another, albeit sometimes for dubious motives perhaps.
Discussions on this issue invariably centre on structural factors. Policies and initiatives often seek to promote seamless pathways. Over recent years, there have been common themes in policy documents and other literature concerned with young people’ s transitions, the need for ease of movement and a range of pathways and cross-sectoral collaboration – along with career guidance to inform these processes. Initiatives have included articulation agreements between institutions, credit transfer and recognition of prior learning arrangements, appointment of pathways officers and provision of enabling programs. Such promotion may be perceived as both positive and problematic. It can provide considerable choice for learners; however, it can also lead to uncertainty and indecision as people grapple with selecting between various opportunities.
The literature, too, is resplendent with studies and opinions focusing on structure. Commonly, such interest is related to responses to government policies on widening participation and promoting lifelong learning. Studies frequently focus on articulation and curriculum issues between post-compulsory educational institutions, attempts at blurring boundaries between sectors, differences in accreditation arrangements and barriers to student mobility.
Yet a rather different and arguably more productive perspective can be gained by focusing on learners. How are they voting with their feet? This is a fraught area. Any examination of student movement presents challenges because people engage in multiple learning and earning transitions through their lives, plus there is a paucity of statistics to examine. But any means of making boundaries more permeable implies optimum fluidity for learners between sectors, for equity and efficiency reasons. In a society committed to lifelong learning, and an economy requiring a knowledgeable, skilled and adaptable workforce, it is essential that there be wriggle room.
Research with an emphasis more on individual agency suggests that it is not merely a matter of streamlining credit transfer and administrative procedures. Such work reminds us of the importance of learners’ preferences and interests; for example, by demonstrating that wanting to get a job, dissatisfaction with courses and loss of interest are common factors for transfer or withdrawal. This research also reinforces that learners are increasingly concerned with work / life / study balances.
Certainly the pathways of many learners are not linear. In fact, one important view is that as a consequence of increased rates of skills obsolescence, job turnover, unemployment and
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