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.
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
Building futures for young Australians at risk: a coordinated measurement framework and data archive. This project will build a national data base of evidence about and for programs that address the needs of the 16 per cent of young Australians currently at risk of school non-completion. It will generate important knowledge for program improvement and sustainability and coordination of evidence across diverse and fragmented programs.
A cross-national study of the relative impact of an oral component on PhD examination quality, language and practice. High quality doctoral degrees call for the most effective forms of assessment. This project investigates the role of oral examination in PhD assessment, common internationally but not in Australia, and is the first to compare the relative impact of oral and 'no oral' models on examination quality, language and practice.
Implementing Indigenous knowledge approaches in doctoral education . This project aims to apply Indigenous knowledge approaches (agency of Country; power of stories and iterative, intergenerational and intercultural knowledge production) to Australian doctoral education. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of Indigenous and transcultural (migrant, refugee and international) doctoral education. Expected outcomes of the project include multimedia portal/app and policy recomm ....Implementing Indigenous knowledge approaches in doctoral education . This project aims to apply Indigenous knowledge approaches (agency of Country; power of stories and iterative, intergenerational and intercultural knowledge production) to Australian doctoral education. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of Indigenous and transcultural (migrant, refugee and international) doctoral education. Expected outcomes of the project include multimedia portal/app and policy recommendations for doctoral supervision, language and examination protocols that place Indigenous and transcultural knowledges at the forefront of Australian research. This should provide significant benefits to Australian higher education, enabling Australia to become a world leader in global knowledge production. Read moreRead less
Investigating professional learning lives in the digital evolution of work. This project aims to investigate learning practices of professionals working in professions effected by digitalisation. The project expects to generate new knowledge about how professionals’ learning practices shape and are being shaped by evolving work practices. Expected outcomes of the project include new conceptual thinking about professional learning, and a contemporary and nuanced evidence base to inform innovative ....Investigating professional learning lives in the digital evolution of work. This project aims to investigate learning practices of professionals working in professions effected by digitalisation. The project expects to generate new knowledge about how professionals’ learning practices shape and are being shaped by evolving work practices. Expected outcomes of the project include new conceptual thinking about professional learning, and a contemporary and nuanced evidence base to inform innovative teaching and learning solutions for individuals, workplaces and education providers; particularly higher education. This project should provide significant benefits for a national policy on lifelong learning to address Australia’s agile skills development needs.
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Innovations in Clinical Education for Physiotherapy Students. Australia has workforce shortages and an ageing population. Physiotherapists are key players in promoting and maintaining good health through their leadership in physical activity and rehabilitation to retain Australians in the workforce and to ensure quality of life for our ageing population. There is a national shortage of physiotherapists. Increasing numbers of physiotherapists are being trained, requiring new models of clinical tr ....Innovations in Clinical Education for Physiotherapy Students. Australia has workforce shortages and an ageing population. Physiotherapists are key players in promoting and maintaining good health through their leadership in physical activity and rehabilitation to retain Australians in the workforce and to ensure quality of life for our ageing population. There is a national shortage of physiotherapists. Increasing numbers of physiotherapists are being trained, requiring new models of clinical training as there is no capacity in conventional training to cope with student numbers. This research will develop and evaluate new models of training incorporating standardised patients (actors) and simulators (mannequins) which increase education capacity. Models are transferable to other health professions.Read moreRead less
Exemplary early childhood educators at work: A multi-level investigation. Exemplary early childhood educators at work: A multi-level investigation. This project aims to inform strategies to better attract, prepare, recognise, support and retain a high quality workforce, by investigating the complexity of early childhood educators’ work. Seemingly entrenched workforce shortages threaten the objectives that governments and families seek through investment in early childhood education. Popular imag ....Exemplary early childhood educators at work: A multi-level investigation. Exemplary early childhood educators at work: A multi-level investigation. This project aims to inform strategies to better attract, prepare, recognise, support and retain a high quality workforce, by investigating the complexity of early childhood educators’ work. Seemingly entrenched workforce shortages threaten the objectives that governments and families seek through investment in early childhood education. Popular images of work with young children as easy and instinctual, or of teaching as only school based, mislead potential workforce entrants and erode the status of educators, leading to attrition. This project’s audit and description of exemplary educators’ work, across each level of mandated qualification, will inform strategies to sustain a high quality early childhood workforce into the future.Read moreRead less
What is life like for babies and toddlers in childcare? Understanding the 'lived experience' of infants through innovative mosaic methodology. High quality childcare provision is a continuing policy challenge for the Australian Government. Lack of public confidence in childcare contributes to Australia's relatively low female workforce participation and constrains economic growth. This study will increase public, professional and parental knowledge of what life in childcare is like for infants; ....What is life like for babies and toddlers in childcare? Understanding the 'lived experience' of infants through innovative mosaic methodology. High quality childcare provision is a continuing policy challenge for the Australian Government. Lack of public confidence in childcare contributes to Australia's relatively low female workforce participation and constrains economic growth. This study will increase public, professional and parental knowledge of what life in childcare is like for infants; assist parents to make informed choices about childcare; enhance carers' professional practice; and provide guidance to the National Childcare Accreditation Council and relevant government departments about how to improve the quality of infant childcare. It will also lead to better outcomes for infants and help to ensure their healthy start to life. Read moreRead less
Would more highly-qualified teachers and trainers help to address quality problems in the Australian vocational education and training system? This project examines whether and how higher-level qualifications for vocational education and training (VET) teachers would improve quality in the VET system. Government documents and public commentary indicate that the VET sector suffers from some fairly serious quality problems. This is significant because VET provides training that underpins all Austr ....Would more highly-qualified teachers and trainers help to address quality problems in the Australian vocational education and training system? This project examines whether and how higher-level qualifications for vocational education and training (VET) teachers would improve quality in the VET system. Government documents and public commentary indicate that the VET sector suffers from some fairly serious quality problems. This is significant because VET provides training that underpins all Australian industries. Most VET teachers are qualified only to a Certificate IV level. A more highly qualified VET teaching workforce is likely to lead to improvements in quality; however there is currently no firm evidence to establish this link, as the 2011 Productivity Commission report on the VET workforce pointed out. This project aims to provide much-needed evidence to guide policy.Read moreRead less