Schooling and vocational preparation: Is a revolution really taking place?

ONGOING technological and economic revolutions have resulted in concerted efforts to increase the vocational content of the curriculum. Viewed from historical and sociological perspectives, what is occurring is an overdue realignment of curriculum content and the needs of the society. Polarisations and false dichotomies promoted by the idealised liberal education philosophy are disappearing. Changes to the nature of knowledge, skill, and work require new forms of vocational education which reconcile the theoretical and practical, while research seeking more effective academic learning is itself increasingly emphasising the need for closer links between the theoretical and practical. The major problem remains of a class-based, discriminatory educational system which separates the more challenging intellectual and academic from the practical and more occupationally focused. It is argued that a real revolution in schooling and vocational preparation will only have occurred when the changed nature of work, knowledge, and skills is reflected in school curricula.

Resurgence of interest in vocational education

In the last decade of the twentieth century, the links between education, work, and national economic performance have been subjected to the closest scrutiny and analysis. This has occurred in part because the economic and technological revolutions of the past decade have resulted in a lessening of economic status and prestige in the English-speaking world with the rise of the modern, industrialised Asian countries (World Economic Forum, 1992). More competition in the. international marketplace has resulted in the need for greater productivity and more efficient business practices to compensate for this (Industry Task Force, 1995). Education is viewed by governments as the key to increasing efficiency and productivity, and maintaining social systems at existing levels (Industry Task Force, 1995; Papadopoulos, 1995).

The rapid changes have affected many individuals and resulted in high levels of unemployment. Simultaneously automation and the application of computer technology have resulted in demand for higher levels of knowledge and skill in many occupations (House of Representatives, 1995). The increased sophistication required to function effectively as a citizen within a modern technological society, fierce competition for available jobs, and the need for increasingly effective production in business and industry to maintain economic competitiveness in a globalized trading arena (Drucker, 1994; Symes, 1995) are all factors which have forced governments to recognise the nexus between education and employment.

Contrasting perspectives

Two distinct sets of perspectives appear to dominate debate over the courses that should be pursued to meet the new challenges. The first involves debate over liberal versus vocational education (e.g. see Jarvis, 1996; Pring, 1993), and the second the political issues of changing the social order (e.g. Ainley, 1993; Sharp, 1996; Symes, 1955). These two perspectives can and often do overlap. These issues are important but detailed examination of them is beyond the scope of this article. However, some aspects need to be explained briefly, as they are central to the arguments being advanced and identify the stance of the writer in the ongoing debates.

The idealised liberal education philosophy, which has dominated so much of educational argument and practice in Australia and the United Kingdom (UK), values inquiry per se, disregards the importance of applied knowledge (Jarvis, 1996; Pring, 1993), and reflects substantial class biases in establishing the superiority of mental activity over the manipulation of objects (Ainley, 1993; Sharp, 1996). Debate about curriculum change in Australia and the UK, whence our Australian schooling traditions are derived, inevitably centres upon dichotomies reflecting upper- and working-class distinctions, namely `education' and `training', `theoretical' and `practical', and `general' and `vocational'. Such distinctions do not exist in many countries (Australian Education Council, 1991, p.5).

In general, we appear to have retained many of the elitist concerns of the English public school tradition in Australia. Symes (1995, p.252) and others have argued that in effect this has `systematically excluded the working class from mental labour'. It is probably more accurate to see the working class as systematically excluded from problem solving involving the manipulation of symbols in formal school education as opposed to problem solving involving the manipulation of objects, which has long been recognised as a normal part of trade work and training. As is argued below, there is substantial evidence that the liberal philosophy is not producing results in accordance with its ideals and so needs to be replaced by a philosophy which recognises the changed socioeconomic circumstances and also the value of more vocationally oriented curricula in secondary schools.

Much academic writing about potential solutions has been sharply divided between those seeking to change political and social structures and those who seek generally to adapt to the change within the existing systems. For example, it has been argued by critical theorists that the problems stem from the inability of the capitalist system to create enough jobs (e.g. Porter, Rizvi, Knight, & Lingard, 1992). Others who adopt a post-Fordist perspective argue that society needs to adapt to the technological and economic revolutions but sec opportunities for individuals and positive social change stemming from devolution of power and decision making as management systems are forced to change (Sharp, 1966; Symes, 1995). For example, Drucker (1994) has forecast greater power at the expense of corporate capitalism for those who develop the skills and knowledge required in the knowledge society of the future. In the Australian context, the Karpin report (Industry Task Force, 1995), in the first pages of its summary, clearly establishes the parameters of new forms of management along post-Fordist lines in which levels of authority are blurred and workers are more involved with decision making and self-regulation.

The position adopted in this article is broadly post-Fordist and based upon the view that, regardless of the inadequacies of the capitalist system and governments working within such an ideological framework, technological innovation unleashes changes beyond the control of any class or government irrespective of ideology. Consequently, although it is not possible for governments to control the flow of change unleashed by new technology, there is still a need for governments to grapple with serious issues of preparation of young people for future careers as best can be judged. A better match between skills learned in school and those demanded in the labour market is seen as highly desirable and providing some solution to unemployment and the need for greater productivity (Eliasson, 1994; Hasan, 1994). Like Eliasson (1994), the writer considers that social filtering need not necessarily be regarded as inevitable or a substitute for effective education and training in this age of economic dislocation and rapid technological change.

Importance of vocational preparation

George Bernard Shaw, the Fabian socialist, noted nearly a century ago that humans are tied to the tyranny of work to provide for their bodily needs in order to survive (Shaw, 1944). However, the competing philosophies of education, most of which are variants of the liberal philosophy and which aspire to spell out the proper aims for adult education, nearly all make the assumption that individuals have the capacity to earn a livelihood rather than making this an explicit, major concern (see Darkenwald & Merriam, 1982; Pring, 1993). This is somewhat curious as normative analyses of lifelong development have long clearly recognised the role that meaningful employment plays in personal development and effective social functioning within a society (e.g. Havighurst, 1953). The idealised liberal philosophical tradition which has dominated educational decision making in Australia has displayed little interest in vocational education other than the university-based professions. Close examination of this tradition reveals a veneration of mental activity and non-manual work, strong social class biases and failure to appreciate the importance of applied knowledge (Ainley, 1993; Sharp, 1996; Symes, 1995). It is argued in this article that the current socioeconomic context requires quite different attitudes to vocational preparation and teaching of academic subjects.

Education systems concentrated narrowly upon vocational education have been attacked from a variety of perspectives as being instrumentalist and inappropriate, given the challenges emerging for the twenty-first century (Lingard, Knight, & Porter, 1993; Papadopoulos, 1995). Although overly narrow training has been rightly attacked, there still remains a need to provide relevant education for skill development (Drucker, 1994; Eliasson, 1994). However, changes to the nature of knowledge, skill, and work (Drucker, 1994; Zuboff, 1988), and recent conceptualisations of skill and skilled performance emphasise cognitive and problem-solving aspects and the need for these higher order skills to be catered for in effective vocational education (Stevenson, 1994). What is more, the failure of traditional modes of academic education to produce the kind of skills and leadership required in business, industry, and government circles in times of considerable technological and social change is revealed clearly in the Karpin report (Industry Task Force, 1995).

Ensuring both the relevance and quality of education has been identified as one of the greatest challenges for the future (Papadopoulos, 1995). This article adopts a historical-sociological approach and draws upon psychological research to analyse some of the forces operating to produce change, challenges some of the current rhetoric surrounding movement to more vocationally oriented secondary curricula and identifies directions which need to be pursued to meet some of the challenges.

Historical and sociological perspectives

It is widely accepted that educational systems prepare younger members of society for their future roles, and that the curriculum is the means of structuring such experiences. If this is so, then curriculum change can be expected to be inevitable as the needs of the society also change. However, educational systems function most comfortably in a steady state, find it difficult to adapt to constant change and become reluctant to adjust to demands for newer knowledge, different skills and changed attitudes. Benjamin (1939) in his savage satire, The saber-tooth curriculum, highlighted the natural tendency for curricula to become classicised, indeed fossilised, over time and fail to keep pace with the changes which occur in society.

Movements to make education more responsive to perceived social and political objectives by changing the nature and types of learning, and generally making them more vocationally oriented, are not new. These movements occurred in Australia during the nineteenth to early twentieth centuries as the needs of the colonial society changed (Murray-Smith, 1966) and during the 1930s depression (White, 1985). Such changes are currently referred to as the vocationalisation of the curriculum. Lauglo and Lillis (1988) have defined vocationalisation as curriculum change in the practical or vocational direction.

Throughout the eighties, the vocationalisation of the curriculum has been underway in Australia (Kennedy, 1988), especially at secondary level with the introduction of more subjects directly related to later employment and work experience (Sweet, 1995). Despite these changes commencing in the 1980s in Australia, they have not progressed very far. For example, in New South Wales (NSW), the most populous state, there are limits to the trades and professional subjects available, doubts about the expertise of some secondary teachers teaching vocationally oriented subjects, and some conflicts between the Departments of School and Technical and Further Education where there is sharing of staff and/or resources as in JSST programs. In the early 90s, the Finn, Mayer, and Carmichael reports all have highlighted the discrepancies between current educational organisation and practices and what is needed to meet present and future community needs (Symes, 1995).

Rhetoric accompanying vocalisation 

As vocationalisation has gathered pace over the past few years, rhetoric accompanying the changes has centred upon the revolutionary nature of the changes taking place. One of the videos launched by John Aquilina, Minister for Education in NSW, on 29 May 1995 to promote aspects of the Australian Vocational Training system (AVTS), as reported in the NSW Branch of the Australian Institute of Training and Development's NSW Letter for July 1995, is entitled A revolution in learning.

This rhetoric of revolution had an overtly political purpose in this context. In this case, it is being used to convince an electorate that significant changes have been instigated by the Australian Labor Party, at both state and federal levels, to meet the challenges of the last decade of the twentieth century. These challenges remain for politicians regardless of party. Reporting of policy decisions to focus again upon apprenticeships by the new federal Coalition Government, in what is now the Modern Australian Apprenticeship Training Scheme (MAATS), has resulted in similar rhetoric of revolution on the front page of Australia's leading financial newspaper, the Australian Financial Review (Ellis, 1996). Unfortunately such rhetoric has the potential to convince many--politicians of all political persuasions, educational policy makers, and the general public--that the hard work has been accomplished, thus creating a false sense of achievement.

The rhetoric of revolution is not restricted to politicians and reports in the general press but can be found in some academic writings too. To date this has been largely restricted to the American literature. However many educational fashions ultimately influential in Australia originate in the United States of America (USA). The new vocationalism in schools, as it has been called in the USA, has been advanced as a source of urban renewal in decaying cities (Seidman & Ramsey, 1995), a source of urban school reform (Ramsey, 1995), and professional development for teachers (Warren Little, 1995); that is, in addition to the new vocationalism being seen by these writers as easing school-to-work transition, assisting minority and disadvantaged groups find stable employment, and aiding in the general process of matching individuals to occupations.

These expectations are idealistic but unrealistic, although they should be seen in the context of American society, where vocational education has been long ignored and seen as the domain only for those students unable to aspire to success in any academic endeavour. Stone (1995), with greater practical experience in the specialist vocational area, has taken a historical perspective and pointed to the cyclical nature of vocational education reforms and highlighted the low survival rate of what were effective programs in urban areas of the USA. The historical approach adopted by Stone, and his recognition of the cyclical nature of vocational education reform, places the present Australian efforts to vocationalise curriculum into a useful perspective.

This writer considers rhetoric and inflated expectations, whether coming from politicians or academics, as equally dangerous for two reasons. First, this rhetoric of reform suggests major innovation when the major hurdles to effective change remain unresolved (see below). Second, potentially valuable vocational programs which are being introduced in secondary schools may be seen as failures, and prove to be no more than another fad or fashion, if they do not achieve the unrealistic expectations. The history of vocational education in Australia in the past too often has been a story of intense activity punctuating long periods of neglect, and of disappointments and unrealised potential (Goozee, 1995; Murray-Smith, 1966).

Failure of the present system

The present approaches to education in the high school years seem seriously flawed. Despite the fact that adolescents at school consistently see their education in terms of future employment (Anderson, 1986), until relatively recently an academic curriculum has been typical, especially for the last years of the senior high school. Some states now have schooling systems more sensitive to vocational preparation, but the academic curriculum remains dominant (see Schools Council, 1993). Much of the pressure has been and continues to be on preparing students for university. This academic approach to secondary schooling is a failure from a number of perspectives. Only approximately 25 per cent of students who remain at school until Year 12 pursue university studies immediately after leaving school (Marginson, 1993, p.15). Many school leavers do not undertake tertiary education and those that do enter the non-university institutions are seen as poorly prepared in terms of a good general education (Sweet, 1993). In Australia, of those students not entering university, only approximately 30 per cent of adolescents are engaged in apprenticeships or further study compared with 70 per cent in other successful European countries (Diplock, 1996).

These statistics reveal that the liberal tradition which is supposed to provide a good general education and promote enthusiasm for further study and learning does not succeed in these objectives. Although it would be incorrect to see such a tradition as the direct cause of the approximately 30 per cent of youth unemployment revealed by Australian Bureau of Statistics figures over several years, inappropriate preparation for life and work is part of the problem since those provided with appropriate vocational education are less likely to be unemployed (see Sweet, 1995).

The solution to large-scale unemployment applied in the past, and which is being implemented widely at present, has been to refocus upon vocational education in relatively traditional ways by simply linking education to present employment needs. This represents a partial solution to yesterday's problems and is no more than a political agenda to vocationalise the curriculum as a means of lowering occupational aspirations to more `realistic' levels and meeting lower-level manpower needs (Lauglo & Lillis, 1988, p.9). There are several major issues which must be grappled with in order to change our systems for truly effective education for real-world life and work. These include recognising demands in the society for enhanced efficiency in all facets of public life, tackling firmly established social-class biases in the operation of schooling systems, curricula and occupational selection, and the need for teaching and curricula to reflect changes to the nature of work, knowledge, and skill.

Social class, education and occupational selection

One of the greatest impediments facing educational reforms towards vocationalisation lies in social-class attitudes to education and outdated prejudices against types of work and occupations. Despite liberal myths of schools promoting social equality, schooling systems instigate procedures for selection and sorting along functional and class lines (Marginson, 1993; Symes, 1995). Social status is strongly linked to occupation, with manual work a major discriminating factor in occupational classification (see Australian Standard Classification, 1987). Consequently curricula for those destined for management positions or upper-class status concentrate upon more general academic education whereas working classes have received more specific and clearly focused vocational preparation (Symes, 1995).

The changes to mass education over the past century constitute a history of social and government concern for workforces and citizens who can read and perform credibly in occupations and, increasingly at present, more demanding levels of education to satisfy the changed social requirements (Symes, 1995). Resnick (1987) has argued that in the USA the demands which are being made currently upon education systems to produce highly literate individuals, who are also capable of being critical thinkers, are the first signs that mass education systems have been required to reach the educational standards of the elitist academies. She also argues that the methods and means of educating the mass to the same levels as the elite has not been really attempted before. What seems clear is that social structures in schooling designed to separate managerial and working classes, and to exclude the working class from mental labour (Symes, 1995), stand as major impediments to more realistic education of all students for living and working in a complex modern society.

Changes to the nature of knowledge, skill and work

The advent of computerisation, its application to sophisticated manufacturing procedures, and the communications revolution have changed the nature of work and the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are required by effective workers and managers or leaders. Automation has replaced many dirty, physically demanding jobs and generally fewer physical demands are now being made of workers in technologically advanced countries as compared with even a decade ago. Zuboff (1988) argues convincingly that `the new technology signals the transposition of work activities to the abstract domain of information ... "Work" becomes the manipulation of symbols, and when this occurs the nature of skill is redefined' (p.23). Drawing upon studies of changes in both manufacturing and services type work, Zuboff sees `the reconstruction of knowledge of a different sort' (p.23).

This different knowledge and skill, and indeed the very nature of work, is of a decision-making, highly cognitive kind (Stevenson, 1994). Action-centred skills do not require that the knowledge that they contain be made explicit (Zuboff, 1988, p.73). The process of physical performance of older skills resulted in each step serving as a stimulus for the next step through association. However, the new work environment skills lack the physical stimulus-association links and require abstraction, explicit inference and procedural reasoning. Where formerly inspection of the actual product allowed quick assessment of errors, monitoring through computerisation requires high levels of abstraction revolving around the ability to interpret messages, and check error messages, including consideration that computer and/or software may be faulty. These changes to the nature of work, knowledge and skill have really meant that high levels of critical thinking, which have been erroneously conceived of as only properly belonging in an elitist academic tradition, are now required for effective occupational performance and in vocational education (Stevenson, 1994).

Greater efficiency and leadership skills

Not only has the nature of knowledge, skill, and work changed but there are increased pressures for greater efficiency. Evidence of this in Australia is found in the form of economic rationalist policies by governments, widespread demands in industry and business for quality and efficiency, as through total quality management approaches, and demands for effective changes in business through the creation of learning organisations (see Rylatt, 1994).

Research into the quality of leadership and management skills in business and industry has revealed that Australia ranks relatively poorly in international comparisons. Similar less than complimentary findings have emerged from several different studies (Industry Task Force, 1995). Overall Australian business managers and leaders appear to lack flexibility, creativity, long-term strategies and are rated poorly on interpersonal communication skills. Consequently the demands for managerial knowledge, skills, and attitudes have also changed along with the drive for greater efficiency and more effective performance. Analysis of management structures in more economically successful societies, particularly Japan and Germany, have resulted in the development of a post-Fordist management paradigm. This involves radically different concepts of leadership and the exercise of authority, and centres upon the devolution of authority, flatter management structures, more lower-level worker responsibility and more consultation (Industry Task Force, 1995; Rylatt, 1994).

The existing socially class-based schooling systems, geared for the separation of managerial and working classes and the teaching of different bodies of knowledge, perpetuate outdated management-worker divisions and require change. Change in schooling structures is needed to take into account both newer management ideals and the changes stemming from the requirements of new types of knowledge, skill, and work.

Research into effective learning

Effectiveness in learning has always been an educational goal even within the idealised liberal education tradition. But now there is an added pressure. Rapid technological and social change have resulted in increasing need to maintain knowledge and skill currency. No longer will a limited amount of vocational education received after leaving school suffice for an entire working lifetime as it did for many in earlier generations (Cornford, Athanasou, & Pithers, 1996). There is the expectation of several changes in career during a person's lifetime (Hasan, 1994), and similar changes even for those in the upper-class management structures (Industry Task Force, 1995). There is the need for development of skills to enable the practice of lifelong learning and to be able to learn effectively to maintain knowledge and skill currency with minimal effort. However, strategies for effective lifelong learning in a work context must begin with effective learning in earlier schooling (Cornford & Peak, 1997).

Understanding of the processes involved in more effective learning of academic subjects like reading, writing, science, and mathematics has increased considerably over the past 15 years. Central to this has been a constructivist paradigm which emphasises the way in which learners construct meaning rather than exist as empty vessels into which knowledge is poured (Resnick, 1987). As Sweet has noted, Resnick's (1987) work involves `rediscovery of the virtues of induction over deduction' (Sweet, 1995, p.3). Recognition of the the contextual nature of learning (e.g. see Brown, Collins, & Duguid, 1989; Lave & Wenger, 1991) has also played a significant part. Out of these two different lines of research and thinking have emerged approaches which emphasise the need for reconciliation of the practical and the theoretical even in these academic subjects.

What is common in the newer approaches being advocated, for example by the US Office of Educational Research for Improvement (OERI), is the use of realism, the experiences of the learners and the discussion of the tangibly real experiences as these are encountered in the development of higher-order thinking and the learning of science and mathematics. There is emphasis upon using and interpreting information, and recognition that knowledge is situation dependent (OERI, 1994). Thinking through experimentation is now regarded as an important activity across a range of school subjects (Maloy, 1993). These newer approaches reflect an increasing movement away from the direct teaching of the abstract and symbol manipulation to the involvement of the learners of whatever age group in more practical activities, and the manipulation of the immediate, real materials at their disposal. Even at university level, experiential learning has become an influential movement (Andresen, Boud, & Cohen, 1995).

Reconciliation of vocational and academic ideals

In addition to the reconciliation of the practical and theoretical in educational psychology research, recent philosophical analyses of the older liberal education philosophy and the new vocationalism indicate that the divide between the two positions is not as great as has been assumed (Jarvis, 1996; Pring, 1993). Lines of argument dichotomising `training' and `education', which in their cruder forms stress the liberating nature of education over very narrow training, do not withstand close scrutiny. What appears to be of paramount importance is the process of teaching which is involved, as this is a key to promoting more liberal attitudes and critical thinking even in vocational subjects (Jarvis, 1996). Although the reconciliation of the vocational and liberal, to produce a sound general education for those who pursue vocational studies, may be seen to be a problem within the Australian context, successful models for such a reconciliation already exist. The model being practised in Sweden appears the most satisfactory (see Sweet, 1995, pp.10-16). As Sweet notes, the Swedish model embodies a commitment to both choice and diversity for secondary students through sixteen national programs designed around specialist knowledge areas of three years duration. The two programs in natural and social sciences are designed to prepare students for higher education, whereas the other fourteen are vocationally oriented but still confer eligibility for entry to higher education. There is a careful balance between general and specialist studies in all programs. Swedish, English, mathematics, general science, physical education, civics, religious education, and the arts form a core of general subjects with approximately one-third of time spent studying these subjects.

Approximately half the time is spent on vocational subjects in vocational programs, with most programs having a common first year and then specialisation in second and third years. Furthermore, for those choosing a vocational program, 15 per cent of total course time over the three years is to be spent in structured learning in the workplace. In addition to the national programs, schools are able to offer individual programs designed to suit the particular needs of individual students with special interests or atypical ability, and also local community needs based on specialist industries. In some national vocational programs, special bridging courses are offered in the third year to allow students to reach university entry level in subjects like physics or mathematics for particular faculties like engineering. A good balance between vocational and general education appears to be established in this Swedish model (Sweet, 1995).

There is evidence that work experience involving direct, practical experience can actually promote academic performance although it is at present rather scattered, and the issues present problems for reliable research (see Psacharopoulos, 1988; Stone, Stern, Hopkins, & McMillion, 1990; Sweet, 1995). Furthermore there appears to be a flow-on to later training and learning. In the Australian context, Sweet (1995) reports that 53 per cent of those who have been involved in joint school-employment training through TRAC courses participate in further education and training as opposed to 36 per cent of all Australian school leavers. Using 1993 data, he also notes that the unemployment rate of those who have participated in these joint programs stands at 14 per cent, less than half of the 32 per cent of all Australian school leavers. Work experiences and involvement with practical learning also appear to be more successful in personal development than current secondary courses underpinned by the old idealised liberal philosophy. Students who have experienced joint school-work experiences repeatedly comment on how these experiences have increased their confidence and self-esteem (Sweet, 1995).

Conclusion

There have been significant changes to the nature of work, knowledge, and skill and the needs of the society. Curricula need to reflect these changes and teaching for vocational preparation must be more attuned to the development of thinking skills produced by academic learning. At the same time that these needs have arisen, research into effective learning of academic subjects has indicated a need for greater involvement with the real. In effect, the false dichotomies and polarisations of the idealised liberal education philosophy revolving around theory and practice are now being resolved. Objectives underlying these two streams of education, the vocational and academic, now seem much closer than at any time over the past century.

Social prejudices remain as a major impediment to bringing these formerly distinct streams of education together. The prejudices which surround skill learning and relating mental activities to the practical need to be overcome. Vocational education and involvement with practical performance issues in the real world of work have the potential for broadening, enriching experiences which stimulate intellectual development and hence overall efficiency, be it in school learning, occupational performance or as an active citizen.

The rhetoric of revolution used by politicians and some academics is considered potentially counter-productive. This rhetoric of revolution is likely to mislead and create a false impression that the necessary major changes have been achieved. The present moves to vocationalisation to date constitute a relatively minor realignment of curriculum and social needs, a realignment which has occurred a number of times in the twentieth century, and these do not tackle the historically deep-seated divisions between class and knowledge which need to be re-examined in the light of considerable changes to occupations and requisite skills. Thus these present moves constitute yet another of the halfhearted attempts at reform which are so common in the history of vocational education in Australia.

The fundamental problems of different curricula for worker and management classes, and the separation of these groups on the basis of formerly expected social status and roles, remain despite substantially changed socioeconomic circumstances. These are impediments to the development of effective vocational education systems and ensure the continuation of superseded and unproductive social divisions. Were these to be removed, the result may well be forms of education which are truly revolutionary and better suited to a modern age involving continued technological and economic change.

Keywords

educational change
educational practices
organisational change
professional education
school restructuring
theory practice relationship

References

Ainley, P. (1993). Class and skill. London: Cassell.

Anderson, D. (1986). Case studies and what we already know. In P. Fensham (Ed.), Alienation from schooling. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Andresen, L., Boud, D., & Cohen, R. (1995). Experience based learning. In G. Foley (Ed.), Understanding adult education and training. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.

Australian Education Council Review Committee (B. Finn, Chair). (1991). Young people's participation in post-compulsory education and training. Canberra: AGPS.

Australian Institute of Training and Development. (1996, July 5). Minister's video launch. AITD NSW Letter, p.7.

Australian standard classification of occupations dictionary. (1987). Canberra: AGPS.

Benjamin, H. (1939) Foreword. In J. A. Peddiwell, The saber-tooth curriculum, New York: McGraw-Hill.

Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher, 18(1), 32-42.

Cornford, I., Athanasou, J., & Pithers, R. (1996). Career counsellors and the promotion of lifelong learning. Australian Journal of Career Development, 5(2), 43-46.

Cornford, I. & Peak, G. (1997). Challenges in the implementation of lifelong learning: An Australian perspective. International Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 5(2), 18-32.

Darkenwald, G. G. & Merriam, S. B. (1982). Adult education: Foundations of practice. New York: Harper & Row.

Diplock, J. (1996). Training spirit. A keynote address to the Tourism Training Australia Conference, Sydney, 16th May.

Drucker, P. F. (1994, November). The age of social transformation. Atlantic Monthly, pp.53-80.

Eliasson, G. (1994). Educational efficiency and the markets for competence. European Vocational Training Journal, 2, 5-11.

Ellis, S. (1996, April 30). Coalition's training revolution. Australian Financial Review pp.1, 4.

Goozee, G. (1995). The development of TAFE in Australia: An historical perspective (Rev. ed.). Adelaide: NCVER.

Hasan, A. (1994). Labour market developments and education and training policy. European Vocational Training Journal, 2, 12-18.

Havighurst, R. J. (1953). Human development and education. London: Longmans, Green.

House of Representatives Standing Committee for Long-term Strategies Inquiry into the Workforce of the Future (B. Jones, Chair). (1995). Report. Canberra: AGPS.

Industry Task Force on Leadership and Management Skills (D. Karpin, Chair). (1995). Enterprising nation: Report. Canberra: AGPS

Jarvis, P. (1996). Education and training in a late modern society: A question of ethics. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Vocational Education Research, 4(2), 42-58.

Kennedy, K.J. (1988). The policy context of curriculum reform in Australia in the 1980s. Australian Journal of Education, 32, 357-374.

Lauglo, J. & Lillis, K. (1988). `Vocationalization' in international perspective. In J. Lauglo & K. Lillis (Eds.), Vocationalizing education. Oxford: Pcrgamon Press.

Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Lingard, B., Knight, J., & Porter, P. (Eds.). (1993). Schooling reform in hard times. London: Falmer Press.

Maloy, K. (1993). Toward a new science of instruction. Report from the National Research Center on Student Learning. Washington: US Government Printing Office.

Marginson, S. (1993). Education and public policy in Australia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Murray-Smith, S. (1966). A history of technical education in Australia with special reference to the period before 1914. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Melbourne.

Office of Educational Research for Improvement. (1994). Issues of curriculum reform in science, mathematics and higher order thinking across the disciplines. Washington: US Government Printing Office.

Papadopoulos, G. (1995). Looking ahead: An educational policy agenda for the 21st century. European Journal of Education, 30, 493-506.

Porter, P., Rizvi, F., Knight, J., & Lingard, R. (1992). Competence for a clever country: Building a house of cards. Unicorn, 18(3), 50-58.

Pring, R. (1993). Liberal education and vocational preparation. In R. Barrow & P. White (Eds.), Beyond liberal education. London: Routledge.

Psacharopoulos, G. (1988). Curriculum diversification, cognitive achievement and economic performance: Evidence from Tanzania and Columbia. In J. Lauglo & K. Lillis (Eds.), Vocationalizing education. Oxford: Pergamon Press.

Ramsey, K. A. (1995). The new vocationalism in urban high school reform. Education and Urban Society, 27, 260-273.

Resnick, L B. (1987). Education and learning to think. Washington: National Academy Press.

Rylatt, A. (1994). Learning unlimited. Sydney: Business & Professional Publishing.

Schools Council. (1993). Post-compulsory education and training arrangements in the Australian states and territories. Report for National Board of Employment. Education and Training. Canberra: AGPS.

Seidman, P. F. & Ramsey, K. A. (1995). Introduction. Education and Urban Society, 27, 235-243.

Sharp, G. (1996). Post-Fordism, the vocational curriculum and the challenge to teacher preparation. Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 48, 25-39.

Shaw, G. B. (1944). Everybody's political what's what? London: Constable.

Stevenson, J. (1994). Cognition at work: The development of vocational expertise. Adelaide: NCVER.

Stone, J. R. (1995). Cooperative vocational education in the urban school. Education and Urban Society, 27, 328-352.

Stone, J. R., Stern, D., Hopkins, C., & McMillion, M. (1990). Adolescents' perception of their work: School supervised and non-school supervised. Journal of Vocational Education Research, 15(2), 31-53.

Sweet, P,. (1993). Has anything happened to general education? Australian TAFE Teacher, Second Quarter, 79-87.

Sweet, R. (1995). Linking schools and workplaces: Lessons from Australia and overseas. Paper presented at the Second World Convention of the International Confederation of Principals (Occasional Paper 1). Sydney: Australian Student Traineeship Foundation.

Symes, C. (1995). A post-Fordist reworking of Australian education: The Finn, Mayer and Carmichael reports in the context of labour reprocessing. Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 47, 247-271.

Warren Little, J. (1995). What teachers learn in high school. Education and Urban Society, 27, 274-293.

White, M. (1985). Education and youth employment in Australia during the great depression (Occasional Paper 9). Adelaide: TAFE NCVER.

World Economic Forum. (1992). World competitiveness report. Geneva: Author.

Zuboff, S. (1988). In the age of the smart machine: The future of work and power. New York: Basic Books.

Ian Cornford is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education, Markets Campus, University of Technology, Sydney, PO Box 123, Broadway, New South Wales 2007.

Ian R. Cornford

University of Technology, Sydney