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Several studies into the response of Australian teachers in the vocational education and training (VET) sector to the implementation of competency-based education (CBE), have identified the role of judgement in competency-based assessment as a source of confusion and distress for assessors. This article explores the role of judgement from a philosophical perspective drawing on the work of Ryle, Geach and Polanyi. It is seen that judgement plays a pivotal role in all learning and assessment. The large component of tacit knowledge and judgement associated with vocational education requires high levels of vocational and educational expertise on the part of assessors. The implications of this for professional development of VET teachers are discussed briefly. The model of CBE that emerges from this article emphasises the exchange of tacit knowledge and the exercise of tacit judgement in learning. This model throws new light on many of the old debates in CBE and training and these are discussed. [A similar paper by the author on this topic is indexed at TD/TNC 51.67].

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This paper describes research into the theoretical and practical tensions experienced by technical and further education (TAFE) teachers making assessment judgments within a post-curriculum context. The research investigated the experiences of two teams of TAFE teachers in making assessment judgments within the original competency-based training (CBT) framework and according to the assessment criteria incorporated into training packages. The research sought to discover whether teachers experience assessment judgments as autonomous and professionally empowering activities, what is required to prepare teachers to make good judgments, and what sort of professional practices sustain wise judgments.

The volumes of collected papers are indexed from TD/TNC 69.351 to TD/TNC 69.353. Individual papers are indexed from TD/TNC 69.354 to TD/TNC 69.445. Show less

This project investigated the factors influencing how TAFE teachers and industry assessors make assessment judgements as a key to understanding how to support TAFE teaching practice. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with teachers and industry assessors. They were subjected to reflective and critical analysis within a philosophical framework to develop hypotheses on the nature of assessment judgements. The informants were drawn from Victorian TAFE institutes and private providers, regional and metropolitan locations and seven different industry sectors.

The framework for the data analysis is established in the literature review which critically explores three sets of literature. The first of these is the literature that examines the policy context for the Australian vocational education and training sector through the 1990s to the present day. The second set of literature focuses on the work of TAFE teachers. In particular it considers the impact of competency based training and assessment on their work. The final body of literature looks at competency based education and the discourse of judgement. The data analysis is presented as a series of themes interspersed with the participants' anecdotes and perceptions. The strength of the analysis is revealed in words of the participants. The findings from the data analysis are compared with the work of several researchers into judgement including: Aristotle, Ryle, Geach, Polanyi, Richard Smith, Paul Hager and David Beckett. It is clear that assessment judgements are a special case of professional judgement. This leads to the development of a model that represents the characteristics of good assessment judgements. It emphasises the significance of assessment judgements as central acts of practice in the professional lives of teachers and assessors. The characteristics of good assessment judgements are in summary: preparedness, collegiality, attentiveness to rules, seriousness of purpose, resolution of predicaments and obligations and exercise of pragmatism.

In the last two chapters of the thesis this model is used to investigate two important current issues in the Australian vocational education and training sector: (1) the introduction of the Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF), and (2) the professional development of TAFE teachers. The research project data suggest that audit-based approaches to quality such as the AQTF are problematic. Instead, they indicate that a focus on building teacher professionalism through networks and 'communities of judgement' is a more effective means of assuring quality. The concept of community of judgement is derived from the work of Wenger et al. on communities of practice. In addition there is reference to Eraut's and Schon's work on professionalism. The final chapter refers back to the policy context described in the literature review. It examines the barriers to forming effective communities of judgement in the Victorian TAFE system. This final chapter concludes with a discussion of recommendations for improving the quality of vocational education through strategies such as building communities of judgement. These recommendations meld the model for communities of judgement developed from this project with principles for cultivating communities of practice developed by Wenger et al.

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