Current research

Perceptions and practices in the delivery of the revised Certificate IV in Training and Assessment

Unfunded research

RAVE researchers: Erica Smith and Annette Foley. Other researcher: Daryl South, Charles Sturt University

This project was undertaken because of the lack of research or evaluation on the delivery of the new version of the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, the basic qualification for VET teachers and trainers, which was approved at the end of 2022. There is no longer a Skills Council responsible for this qualification or other qualifications from the Training and Education (TAE) Training Package, yet the Certificate IV had over 40,000 enrolments in 2024, and its quality is fundamental to the VET system.

The project has three research questions:

  • How are VET teacher-educators delivering the revised Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAE40122) and in particular the new and revised components?
  • What are participants’ views of the qualification’s effectiveness of the revised Certificate IV and especially of the changes?
  • What challenges have been encountered and how could they be addressed?

There are three data collection methods:

  • Contributions were gathered from a workshop on the topic at the 2025 ACDEVEG (Australian Council of Deans of Education) conference in Brisbane in December 2025, see https://www.acde.edu.au/networks-and-partnerships/acde-vocational-group/ There were 25 workshop participants.
  • Interviews were undertaken in February 2026 with three senior figures in the VET system, two who lead groups of VET teachers delivering the Certificate IV, and one with a leading role in the redevelopment of the TAE Training Package.
  • A survey is being administered to approximately 100 members of the VET Practitioners Network, based in Victoria, who deliver the Certificate IV qualification.

In addition, the research team will analyse respondents’ suggestions for improvements to the Certificate  IV qualification, from their previous 2023 research project  ‘VET teachers’ motivations to enter and remain in VET teaching’ survey; and will analyse these against the actual changes to the redeveloped qualification.

The summary of the workshop will be provided to the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations and to Jobs and Skills Australia.

Any enquiries should be directed to Emeritus Professor Erica Smith at e.smith@federation.edu.au

Top publishers’ practices and points of view

Unfunded research

RAVE researchers: Erica Smith and Andy Smith. Other researcher: Kate Smithers, Charles Sturt University

This project is a follow-up to an earlier project undertaken in 2005. The 2025 research, paralleling that in 2005, surveyed academics at a regional university who had been identified as the top publishers in the institution in the previous year. In 2005, there had been a national output measurement system, known as ‘DEST points’, promulgated by the Commonwealth government. In 2025, measurement methods were primarily based on citation based ‘metrics’ developed by publishing houses, on which universities based their systems. A further new development by 2025 was the use, by publishing houses, of online submission and reviewing platforms, and so we took the opportunity to find out academics’ experiences with these.

The current project has four research questions:

  • What are the publication practices of high-productivity academics?
  • What are the views of high-productivity academics about the ways in which publication outputs are measured?
  • How do these practices and views compare with those of a similar cohort two decades earlier?
  • What are some experiences of high-productivity academics with the peer-review of their papers and with the publishers’ production processes?

An on-line survey was sent, by the research office of the university researched in 2005, to its top 20 publishers and then, to gather more responses, to the next 20.  The responses are being analysed and compared with the 2005 cohort, and results will be disseminated via conferences and journal articles.

Any enquiries should be directed to Emeritus Professor Erica Smith at e.smith@federation.edu.au

Role of industry in teaching and learning

Project Funded by the Victorian Skills Authority and AVETRA ($23,760).

RAVE Researchers: Erica Smith and Paschal Somers

The way in which ‘industry’ is conceptualised in its relations with VET is problematic and contested. Input into VET policy is normally managed via representative associations and industry peak bodies; individual employing organisations (‘companies’) are rarely heard. Moreover, the very word ‘industry’ is a relatively impoverished way to describe the areas of practice for which VET prepares and upskills people. Some occupations do not have a particular ‘industry’ home; and some VET is not industry-based. The perceived narrowness of the term ‘industry’ affects VET’s status (see the current Parliamentary Inquiry), and also affects some VET practitioners’ self-esteem.

Yet the role of ‘industry’ is embedded in all aspects of VET policy, from national initiatives (macro) through to policy affecting local operations (micro). A more nuanced and sophisticated understanding of the voice of industry and the ways in which it can best work with VET may result in industry and VET working as equal partners, rather than VET being merely a ‘servant’ of industry’ (Smith, 2023b).

This desk-based research project aimed to:

  • Outline the different ways in which industry can be defined and conceptualised across vocational education and training systems.
  • Outline the different roles that industry can play in VET systems.
  • Outline different models for industry involvement in the development and delivery of teaching and learning.
  • Identify potential models that could be contextualised or implemented in the Australian and / or Victorian system.

The project used five activities to explore the topic. These were:

  1. Review of the academic literature.
  2. Review of the grey literature: case studies and models.
  3. Australian case studies and models.
  4. Skills Councils and other high-level industry involvement: international and Australian data.
  5. Information about local-level VET curriculum and teaching collaboration.

The project has now concluded.

Outputs

The project report is linked from the Victorian Skills Authority web site at https://www.vic.gov.au/applied-research-and-vet-0 and can be seen at https://avetra.org.au/VSA-Project-2

Two conference presentations were given on part of the findings from the project in July 2024, both on the different ways in which industry can be conceptualised. One was presented at the NCVER’s ‘No Frills’ Conference on ‘VET partnerships: Powering a dynamic workforce’ in Perth, and the other, presented virtually, at the ‘Thinking globally and acting locally’ conference of UALL/SCUTREA in London. The ‘No Frills’ NCVER conference presentation is attached (No Frills, pptx, 2.02mb).

Any enquiries should be directed to Erica Smith at e.smith@federation.edu.au

Skills for work, study, and life: Adult learning in Adult Community Education in Australia

Project Funded by the Deakin University Support and Development Fund ($29,000).

RAVE Researchers: Annette Foley. Other researchers Tracy Ollis Deakin University.

Adult community education (ACE) has recently been recognised by the Federal government minister for skills and training, Brendan O’Connor, as Australia's fourth sector of education. ACE has significantly contributed to providing formal and informal learning opportunities, often for hard-to-reach learners, older learners, those with English as a second language, early school leavers and other diverse groups, sometimes leading to pathways to further education or work (Nechvoglod & Beddie 2010). Some of the learners in ACE may have previous difficult experiences of the neoliberal education system, formal education, and schooling.

On the back of a national skill shortage (National Skills Commission, 2022) and the recent federal government summit on Skills (2022) in Australia and the need for hard-to-reach learners to gain skills for employment, the contribution of the ACE sector to the government work and skills policy agenda is more critical than ever. This mixed methods research aims to better understand the completion rates of pre-accredited and accredited programs to determine the effectiveness of these ACE programs for work and further education outcomes. The findings of the study will also highlight the significance of ACE for those learners who cannot gain employment or further education for complex reasons, including older learners. These learners can and do benefit from ACE in living healthier and more connected lives.

This research aims to provide an overview of adult learning in adult community education (ACE) settings in two states in Australia, Tasmania and Victoria.