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Supervisors are often reluctant to make an adverse assessment of the student's performance during work placements, which leads to a phenomenon known as 'failure to fail'. This Australian study evaluated resources designed to enhance the management of students who fail to meet the required standard of performance during work placements. Staff from a range of health disciplines evaluated the training program comprised of a half-day workshop and written guide using a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Staff reported renewed confidence in working with underperforming students, increased comfort with failing students who did not reach the required standards. The Staff Guide was seen as useful with all students undertaking work placements, not just underperforming students. The Student Guide was perceived as relevant to the student experience. The findings of this research are important to university educators engaged with work placements, work placement supervisors, and students who undertake work placements.

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This project surveyed purchasers of the 'Competency standards for assessment', which was endorsed by the Standards and Curriculum Council (9/95). Those standards document the competencies required of persons responsible for establishing, implementing, and/or managing assessment systems.

The survey determined that, overall, there is limited take-up of the standards. Those organisations which have or which intend to use the standards are those with a strategic approach to human resource management (HRM). Qualitative evidence suggests, however, a potential demand from organisations which have not yet implemented formal assessment practices. It is likely that the process of implementation may be accelerated by the development of an increased capacity to provide practical assistance and to ensure that current information is available to the training and HRM networks. Show less

The author rebuts Peter Thomson’s article ‘Training colleges fail the workplace test’ (TD/TNC 47.41), which raised concerns about differences in standards between on- and off-the-job training providers. Southey contends that training establishments have both the capability and the obligation of providing effective, competency-based assessment. An example of sound practice is The Hospitality Training Company Australia’s (THTCA) network of experiential restaurants known as Ghekkos. Favourable comparisons are made between:

the training and competency standard assessment procedures of these restaurants and industry situations;

outcomes of Ghekko-trained students and students trained in other venues.

Southey states that the continuing challenge is to develop industry-appropriate assessment methods in training establishments. Show less

This paper clarifies the meaning of competency-based training, distinguishing it from the old behavioural objectives approach, and defining competence in terms of skills (both routine and non-routine), standards of performance of those skills, and conditions.

Development issues discussed include flexibility, the division between ‘professional’ and ‘vocational’, and the role of workplace trainers. Problems associated with assessment are also explored.

The paper concludes by commenting that Australia’s policy on competency-based training and assessment is in a formative stage, and what is required is a national debate, to analyse the alternative answers to problems and deliver a strategy for the future.

The full report is indexed at TD/TNC 24.33. Show less

Within the Australian vocational education and training (VET) sector quality and consistency of competency based assessment (CBA) has become a critical issue for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs). Assessments against training package standards are conducted in a wide range of different contexts and for the process of mutual recognition between RTOs to work effectively there needs to be widespread confidence in assessment decisions. Under mutual recognition each State and Territory has agreed to recognise Training Packages and accredited courses and RTOs are required to recognise the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) qualifications and statements of attainment issued by other RTOs.

To date, the focus of assuring assessment quality has concentrated on developing, clarifying and regularly reviewing competency standards and the registration and audit of training providers. The Australian VET sector has relied more on self-regulation in comparison to the systems in some other countries such as the United Kingdom (UK) and New Zealand (NZ), which are regulated centrally. The Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF) 2001 provides RTOs with a revised set of standards they must comply with to maintain their registration as training providers. AQTF Standard 9.2 focuses specifically on the requirement for RTOs to develop appropriate strategies to validate their assessment systems and processes.

Given the shortage of material and specific case studies relating to assessment validation available for RTOs, the Assessment Validation project aimed to support groups of NSW RTOs from different sectors in piloting assessment validation strategies relevant to their specific assessment context, document the experience and develop materials that other RTOs could adopt when developing their own validation strategies.

Some key project outcomes: (1) the core group of 55 VET sector assessors gained 'hands on' experience in facilitating assessment validation meetings or activities; (2) over 300 VET sector assessors attended information sessions about assessment validation and the new AQTF requirements and many of these assessors have worked with colleagues on assessment validation activities; (3) case studies using specific validation activities suggesting what works best for different types of RTOs and how RTOs dealt with issues such as geographic isolation, lack of resources, part time teachers etc.; (4) a set of materials including templates, a poster and set of overhead transparencies (OHTs) that can be accessed by other RTOs or groups of assessors establishing an assessment validation strategy; and (5) three specific industry networks of assessors.

Excerpt from published paper reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

A central feature of Australia's National Training Reform Agenda is the development of competency standards by industry and the development of vocational education and training curricula based on those standards.

This paper draws on the educational literature to examine issues involved in the development of curriculum based on competency standards. This paper is especially concerned to examine the implications of the National Training Reform Agenda for educationally sound curriculum design, by considering the ways it influences decision-making by professional course designers. Show less

Competence-based education is delivered in various forms of vocational education and training from theoretical instruction to practical workplace learning. The awarding of qualifications is based on skills demonstrations, which means that their approved completion also serves as a criterion of the quality of a person's competence. Most of Western-European countries have implemented some form of competence-based education. Assessing the quality of vocational education in general therefore includes competence-based vocational education policies and practices. There are two mechanisms to assure quality in vocational education and training (VET): (1) outcome standards and targets measured in assessments and (2) accreditation of educational institutions and training providers. In this chapter VET quality management will be discussed, which includes the quality of the specific competence-based education issues. An integrated set of policies, procedures, rules, criteria, tools and verification instruments and mechanisms has been developed that together safeguard and improve the quality provided by VET institutions at the European level. These policies will be introduced in the chapter, together with examples from some [European Union] EU member states to illustrate approaches to quality assurance. The majority of information presented within this chapter is derived from past Cedefop work on the topic.

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Work placements (including internships) are common in urban and regional planning education but the relevant literature has largely overlooked their assessment and academic standards. To address this gap, the paper presents a study of this topic undertaken within the Australian context. The research involved systematically scoping the status of work placements in planning education in Australia, and exploring the perspectives of participating educators, practitioners and students on appropriate assessment methods and academic standards. We found significant and problematic divergence in these three key stakeholders' perspectives. The implications of these findings are discussed in a national and international context. The consequent proposition is an approach to assessment and standards that promotes a shared understanding across these key stakeholders.

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The British government’s intention to require the use of teaching competence specification in initial teacher education makes it important to examine both the pitfalls and potential of such a practice. This paper examines general aspects of recent controversy regarding competence profiling, arguing that the behaviourism underlying traditional competence-based teacher education (CBTE) should be rejected, along with its view of competence as prescribed behaviour practice. However, the author also suggests that certain confusions amongst critics of CBTE can be traced to a similar set of dualist common-sense assumptions. A preferable replacement for these is to be found in modern work on skilled expertise, which is compatible with the traditional meaning of competence as capacity to achieve purpose and with reflective teacher education.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner.

Part II of this series is indexed at TD/TNC 62.240. Show less

The project MOVE PRO EUROPE in cooperation between [European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company] EADS Deutschland GmbH and the Institut Technik und Bildung at the University of Bremen (2004-2008) analyses industrial working processes in order to tap their full learn potential for the design of a workplace based apprenticeship. Besides the analysis of enabling factors, we also try to grasp the outcomes of workplace learning and make them transparent and 'readable' for further use in learn or work contexts.

MOVE PRO EUROPE focuses on the vocational domain of aircraft mechanics and aircraft electronics. In our approach the competences of an individual learner are not assessed according to different competence level descriptions, but by means of describing the individual work performance of the learner. Trainers and skilled workers should certify their confidence in the work of the apprentices in a qualitative, performance-orientated scheme.

Edited excerpt from publication.

The volume from which this paper is taken is available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 109.519. Show less