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This kit consists of a users manual, a kit book of diagrams and 3 diskettes: one utilities diskette and two data diskettes. The cookery item bank is a collection of test questions classified in such a way that it is possible to withdraw questions on particular topics from the storage system. Over 1000 items have been deposited in the bank and are available for withdrawal and use by teachers and trainers. The item bank is computerised and items are accessible through a simple menu program. This program enables teachers and trainers to view and print the questions and answers they select from the bank. The package is a joint product of the Assessment Research and Development Unit of NSW Department of TAFE and the TAFE National Centre for Research and Development. Show less

Lifelong Learning in Europe (LLinE) is a European journal which aims to offer adult education providers and researchers a forum for exchanging ideas and experiences. This issue of LLinE focuses on looking towards the future of lifelong learning. The articles are: Assessment fever / Kauko Hamalainen; Assessment before development / Harm Tillema; From romanticism to practice in learning / P. Robert-Jan Simons; Learning community - wishful or practical thinking / Norman Longworth; Approaching a future of learning society / Ylva Johansson; From skills to competence in industry / Per-Olof Thang; Transferring culture - threat or opportunity / Eeva Siirala; Lifelong learning: a reality for adults in the north of Europe / Christos Papanicolaou; 'I have taken liberties, above all the liberty to think my own thoughts' / Isabelle Lacalmette; A German in Sweden / Johann Theesen; A community of practice - VET professionals networking / Graham Attwell. Show less

Recent years have seen increased attention to the high school-college transition. Students are enrolling in college in record numbers, yet they are also taking increasing numbers of remedial courses. How to measure and report on academic readiness for college is an important policy issue receiving attention from the National Assessment Governing Board, Achieve, and several states. The focus of this article is how to create a measure of academic readiness for college, either by building and validating a new assessment or validating and repurposing an existing assessment. After first describing the disjuncture between high school and college and discussing definitions and indicators of academic readiness, the authors identify four strategies that might be used to create a readiness assessment. The pros and cons of each strategy are discussed.

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The dictates of the quality movement form the rubric for the conduct of many processes within vocational education and training (VET): teaching, assessment, reporting, recording, research, customer service, auditing, financial management, business and industry partnerships, and so on. Traditional concepts of industrial quality were founded in post-war manufacturing contexts, and premised on products and processes being observable and measurable. The assessment, control and assurance of quality were regarded as (and are still widely believed to be) empirically verifiable. Total Quality Management (TQM) is an outgrowth of such positivist philosophies, as is the entire ISO 9000 system of certification. Although the verification of standards and procedures that these systems promise served certain needs of the old economy, how have they managed to retain their place in the new economy? This paper will argue that the concept of `quality' as a central plank in the Protestant project of unending self-improvement has been transformed and re-vitalised in the new economy which is service-oriented, globally-focused and infinitely flexible, in which students/workers must continually re-invent themselves in response to shifting workplace demands and/or personal imperatives. It is, therefore, timely to problematise the ideology of quality and to examine its rhetoric. This paper will focus on that rhetoric as it is employed in several VET-related contexts.

Excerpts from printed abstract used with the permission of the copyright holder.

Volume one of these proceedings is indexed at TD/TNC 68.31, volume two is indexed at TD/TNC 68.32 and individual papers may be found from TD/TNC 68.17 to TD/TNC 68.29 and from TD/TNC 68.33 to TD/TNC 68.100 Show less

This paper discusses enterprise development and the importance of the involvement of local markets and local communities and provides a framework for vocational training for self-employment. Current knowledge about enterprise development design and practice constitutes one of the most important contributions to the self-employment reorientation learning process that many Vocational Training Institutions are struggling with. It discusses the gap between the training on offer and labour market demand and also the fact that there is a discrepancy between the aspirations and abilities of the trainees and the opportunities that self-employment training and follow-up services offer them. It outlines the three broad stages in the training for self-employment process, the selection process, the training process and the enterprise process. The selection stage involves the criteria used to choose who will be trained for self-employment, the training stage involves the delivery of all forms of vocational and technical training and the enterprise stage involves all actions taken, services provided and support offered to help initiate self-employment and to provide crucial follow-up support. This section also briefly discusses the trend in vocational training and self-employment towards increased market and community involvement at all levels.

This monograph is indexed at TD/INT 60.278. Show less

This report is one of a series that explore a number of the most important issues currently impacting the skills ecosystem in Canada. Whether it's new technology or global events driving the pace of change, Canadians are being asked to adapt in the workplace. Canada needs an essential skill framework that includes and looks beyond simple literacy and numeracy. It needs to include the 'soft skills' that industry leaders say are key to success and other essential skills that will help Canadians adapt, no matter what comes their way. Each needs to be measured and tracked to ensure Canadians remain globally competitive, and this paper argues that renewing Canada's Essential Skills framework is the place to start.

Key messages are: (1) it is estimated that half of working-aged adults are without the literacy skills required to perform well in the majority of jobs in the economy or to learn the skills required for new ones; (2) there is growing demand not only for technological skills, but also 'soft skills', such as resilience, emotional stability, flexibility and adaptability; and if skills and competencies are the new workplace 'currency', we need shared approaches to understanding how to define, evaluate and develop them; and (3) in spite of evidence of the positive impact and return on investment from literacy and essentials skills upgrading, the private sector is not stepping up; Canadians lag behind a number of countries in participation of many forms of adult education and literacy training; and a lack of employer investments in essential skills training is an important barrier for many adults with low literacy rates.

Edited excerpts from publisher's website. Show less

This document aims to provide a record of the elements of training reform, in the context of the recent initiatives taken by Commonwealth and State Ministers for vocational education and training to improve Australia's training system in order to improve economic prospects and competitiveness. The National Training Reform Agenda (NTRA) is defined and components identified: competency based training; competency standards; recognition of training; curriculum, delivery and assessment; entry level training; training market; funding training; and access and equity. Attachments are: (1) acronyms and committees; (2) Commonwealth policy; (3) national policy; (4) mandated policy; (5) key events and documents in the National Training Reform process; (6) management structures; and (7) comparison between National Training Board first and second edition policies. It is suggested that the NTRA is developing into a workable system but that there are concerns that components are falling short of goals and are not fully meeting the needs of clients. Show less

The development of a competence framework (4Cyourway) which is meant to give insight in the consecutive stages of competence development is described. The development of the framework followed a design-based research approach. Generic competence statements derived from behavior-related competency frameworks (Bartram and SHL Group 2005) can be applied at different levels of vocational and professional education. The question is what is the meaning of those statements at those different levels? For example, analysis competence means quite different things at secondary vocational education versus bachelor or master education. Three studies are described using the framework.

In the first study, the frame work is used to develop a student self-diagnosis competence instrument. The instrument was sensitive to determine the competence level between higher education students at the start of their final year of their bachelor program and students at of this year. The second study used a similar kind of instrument. This instrument was sensitive to determine the difference in competence growth between secondary vocational students involved in elaborating research questions of enterprises and organizations and those who were not in this program. The third study concerns the development of rubrics, based on 4Cyourway, to measure competence growth in every day practice of pre-secondary vocational students (VMBO schools) with life science programs.

The studies show that the framework can be used as an instrument to determine the development level of competence. A description of an example of a practical application, its impact, and the usefulness of the framework complement the chapter.

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This digest, published each month except July and August, provides summaries of recent information pertaining to vocational education and training (VET) issues in the UK and Europe. The feature article in this issue is 'Reform in haste, repent at leisure' by Christine Ward (p. 8-10). It discusses the recent A level debacle in the UK which led to an initial enquiry and the subsequent reviewing of the grade boundaries in a number of subjects/syllabuses by the awarding bodies. This issue of Educa also reports on: assessment and qualifications; basic key skills; disadvantage; education and training management; employment and unemployment; further education; guidance; information and communications technology; lifelong learning; open learning; research; teachers and trainers; training; and vocational preparation. Show less

The central thesis of this substantial book is that workplace trainers should view workplace education and training as research. The nine chapters are designed to help trainers, researchers and consulting psychologists develop and implement workplace training programs. The authors stress that the book is 'anchored in the educational psychology literature' and the ideas presented are applied to the workplace and to learning in the workplace. There are four major themes overlapping the chapters: (1) a cognitive science perspective; (2) an outcome-based education approach; (3) a behaviourally anchored mastery learning model embellished with cognitive science components; and (4) a collaborative instructional consultation model of service delivery. The authors offer an original way of looking at learning in the workplace.

This book was part of a research project sponsored by the North American Institute for Training and Educational Research. It is the third in a series of books. The first two were: 'Closing the literacy gap in American business: a guide for trainers and human resource specialists' (1991); and 'Future work: the revolution reshaping American business' (1994). Show less