Media releases

A national project on teachers and trainers in the vocational education and training (VET) sector by Federation University Australia researchers is gathering momentum as it enters its final stages.

This project, led by Professor Erica Smith and including Federation Business School researcher Jackie Tuck, has attracted a huge amount of interest with many teachers, trainers and training providers around the country involved in the research.

The team has visited 25 TAFE Institutes and private training providers to carry out in-depth case studies and interviews.

“A national survey of teachers and trainers in June, which investigated the effects that VET teachers’ qualifications have upon their teaching practices, attracted 575 responses which are currently being analysed,” Professor Smith said

“The current phase of the research looks at the way in which teachers’ qualifications affect the professional development they do, and what they gain from it.

“We have worked with the three main providers of ‘external’ professional development to the VET sector – the VET Development Centre, the Australian Council for Private Education and Training, and Velg Training - to develop an on-line survey that has been made available to the VET teachers and trainers who participated in events they mounted this year.”

The research team was astonished to receive over 300 responses to the survey, in the first three working days that it has been made available.

“This confirms to us what we were already suspecting, that people are desperately keen to know more about these issues, and want to contribute in any way they can to the success of our research,” Professor Smith said.

“We have also had a great deal of international interest, so much so that we are including an extra international consultation phase in our research plan.”

The research is funded by the Australian Research Council and five industry partners.

The project web site is at http://federation.edu.au/research-vet-quality