This is an outdated version published on 2022-11-24. Read the most recent version.

Vocational education and training reform in Aotearoa New Zealand

The value of educators and education in a new VET environment

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26686/nzaroe.v27.8034

Keywords:

vocational education and training, VET, TVET, VET educators, VET reform

Abstract

The Education and Training Act 2020 provides an opportunity to transform the Vocational Education and Training (VET) system in Aotearoa New Zealand to ensure participants are successfully prepared for participation in the current and future workforce. The authors of this paper discuss current reforms in the VET system beyond the changing of components and the assignation of requisite tasks. While change to processes and systems can have an impact on VET outcomes, the kind of change that transforms individual lives and life chances depends on the decision-making and approaches made possible only by individuals ‘at the coalface.’ Indeed, changes to training programmes and processes alone cannot give effect to improved outcomes. The authors suggest that it is educators, the often unnamed and invisible workforce that will provide the basis for transformational VET based change. The VET workforce who daily mediate training programmes and curriculum as educators, facilitators, trainers, instructors and teachers are central to the transformation of VET. Indeed, the most challenging and complex of changes within the Review of Vocational Education (RoVE) is one that is not yet accounted for or named – the VET education workforce. The authors call for a recognition of educators in VET and an acknowledgement of the centrality of their work in change. A case for planning and strategy that provides direction for the education and training workforce to build their knowledge and capability for a new VET is presented, without which the opportunity for transformational reform is at risk of being lost to componentry change.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Lisa Maurice-Takerei, Auckland University of Technology

Lisa Maurice-Takerei is a senior lecturer in teacher education and higher education at Auckland University of Technology, Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau. Lisa has worked with and alongside teachers in polytechnics and PTEs. Her research is focused on teaching and teachers in the VET sector. Together with Helen Anderson, Lisa has published, Designs for Learning: Teaching in Adult, Tertiary and Vocational Education.

 

Please insert a short biography for this author.

Helen Anderson, Unitec Institute of Technology

Helen Anderson is a research supervisor at UNITEC in the School of Community Studies. She has worked in New Zealand polytechnics in directorate roles while concurrently participating in a range of research projects on aspects of education including assessment, foundation learning, learning space design, teacher education and vocational education. Helen supervises research students with a focus on methodologies and methods.

References

Ako Aotearoa. (2010). Taking Stock: Tertiary practitioner education training and support https://ako.ac.nz/knowledge-centre/taking-stock-tertiary-practitioner-education-training-and-support/

Alansari, M., Hunia, M., & Eyre, J. (2020). A rapid review of racism in schools: Working paper. NZCER. https://www.nzcer.org.nz/system/files/Racism%20in%20schools-Rapid%20review%20working%20paper-FINAL.pdf

Alvunger, D., & Grahn Johansson, V. (2018). Exploring recontextualization of didactic ability and vocational teacher students’ professional learning through video analysis.

Nordic Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 8(3): 36-56.

Anderson, H. (2015). Changing our secondary schools. Education Central. https://educationcentral.co.nz/book-review-changing-our-secondary-schools/

Baglow, L. (2016). An investigation into the current environment for technical vocational education and training leadership development in New Zealand polytechnics (Unpublished master’s thesis). Unitec Institute of Technology, Auckland. https://hdl.handle.net/10652/4224

Bird, T. (1991). Making conversations about teaching and learning in an introductory teacher education course. Craft paper, 91-92. National Centre for Research on Teacher Learning, Michigan (Ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Educational Research and Improvement.

Cabinet Business Committee. (2013). Increasing the number of apprenticeships in New Zealand and improving the quality of industry training. Cabinet Business Committee. New Zealand.

Cedefop. (2015). Vocational pedagogies and benefits for learners: Practices and

challenges in Europe. Publications Office of the European Union. https://doi.org/10.2801/294434

Claxton, G. (2013). School as an epistemic apprenticeship: The case of building learning power. In G. Claxon (Ed.), School as an Epistemic Apprenticeship: The Case of Building Learning Power. (pp. 1-27). British Psychological Society. http://www.bps.org.uk

Cox, D. & Prestridge, S. (2020). Understanding fully online teaching in vocational education. Research and Practice in Technology Enhanced Learning, 15(16). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41039-020-00138-4

Duignan, G., Hitchcock, J., Casley, S., Fraser, C., Haggerty, C., Hardy, M., Lovegrove, C., Sewell, S., Singh, L., Stewart, D., & Walke, J. (2016). Designing Professional Development for Experienced Teachers. Ako Aotearoa.

www.akoaotearoa.ac.nz/projects/designing-professional-development-experienced-teachers-tertiary-vocational-education

Dymock, D., & Tyler, M. (2018). Towards a more systematic approach to continuing professional development in vocational education and training. Studies in Continuing Education, 40(2), 198-211. https://doi.org/10.1080/0158037X.2018.1449102

Education Counts. (2021a). New Zealand’s workplace-based learners. https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/statistics/new-zealands-workplace-based-learners

Education Counts. (2021b). Course completion rates for domestic students by sub-sector. https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/statistics/achievement-and-attainment

Elen, J. Clarebout, G. Léonard,. & Lowyck, J. (2007) Student-centred and teacher-centred learning environments: What students think. Teaching in Higher Education, (12)1, 105-117. http://doi.org/10.1080/13562510601102339

Guthrie, H., & Clayton, B. (2019). VET policy: Processes, stakeholders and issues. University of Melbourne. https://melbourne-cshe.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/2845777/Final_Guthrie-and-Clayton-paper_030818.pdf

Hattie, J. (2015). The applicability of visible learning to higher education. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology, 1(1), 79-91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/stl0000021

Hipkins, C. (n.d.). New Zealand institute of skills and technology: Letter of expectations.

https://xn--tepkenga-szb.ac.nz/assets/Publications/NZIST-Letter-of-Expectations.pdf

Hobley, J. (2021). Cultivating learners who ‘think like vocational professionals’: Signature pedagogies, technology and vocational learning. Research in Post-compulsory Education, 26(1), 38-58. https://doi.org/10.1080/13596748.2021.1873407

Lucas, B. (2014). Background vocational pedagogy: What it is, why it matters and what we can do about it. UNESCO. https://unevoc.unesco.org/fileadmin/up/vocational_pedagogy_bill_lucas_unesco-unevoc_30april.pdf

Maurice-Takerei, L. (2015). Constructing an identity: The work and world of polytechnic trade tutors in New Zealand (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Auckland, New Zealand. http://hdl.handle.net/2292/25652

Maurice-Takerei, L., & Anderson, H. (2022)). Teacher education for a VET teaching workforce in Aotearoa New Zealand. In N. Huntington & S. Chan (Eds.), Educator Professional Learning in VET: Visibility and Value in Reshaping Vocational Education and Training in Aotearoa New Zealand. Springer.

Ministry of Education. (2019). Early Learning Action Plan https://conversation.education.govt.nz/conversations/early-learning-strategic-plan/

OECD. (2015). OECD reviews of vocational education and training. OECD Publishing. https://www.oecd.org/education/skills-beyond-school/OECD_VET_Key_Messages_and_Country_Summaries_2015.pdf

OECD. (2021). OECD reviews of vocational education and training. OECD Publishing.

https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/teachers-and-leaders-in-vocational-education-and-training_59d4fbb1-en

RoVE. (2022). Reform of vocational education.

https://tec.govt.nz/rove/reform-of-vocational-education/

Spencer, E., & Lucas, B. (2021). Meta-skills: Best practices in work-based learning–A literature review. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.10399.84642

Strathdee, R., & Cooper, G. (2017). Ethnicity, vocational education and training and the competition for advancement through education in New Zealand. Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 69(3), 371-389. https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820.2017.1300595

Teaching Council of Aotearoa. (2021). Unteach Racism. https://teachingcouncil.nz/resource-centre/unteach-racism/

Tearney, F. (2014). Working paper 2016/03: History of education in New Zealand. McGuinness Institute.

https://www.mcguinnessinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/20161213-Working-Paper-2016%EF%80%A203-History-of-education-in-New-Zealand.pdf

Te Ara. (2022). Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. https://teara.govt.nz/en/primary-and-secondary-education

Te Pūkenga. (2021). Proposed Te Pūkenga operating model. New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology. https://xn--tepkenga-szb.ac.nz/opmodel/

Te Pukenga. (2022). Te Pūkenga: Tā tātou huarahi | Our pathway–Confirmed executive structure (Whiringa-ā-nuku/ October 2022).

Tertiary Information. (2021). 2020-20211007 TPK-Te Puna Kaupapahere. Analyst Communication.

Tertiary Information. (2021a). 020-20211007 Technical Notes TPK-Te Puna Kaupapahere. Analyst Communication.

Verhaest, D., Lavrijsen, L., Van Trier, W., Nicaise, I. & Omey, E. (2018). General education, vocational education and skill mismatches: Short-run versus long-run effects. Oxford Economic Papers, 70(4), 974-993. Oxford University Press.

Downloads

Published

2022-11-24

Versions

Issue

Vol. 27 (2021): New Zealand Annual Review of Education

Section

Articles

License

The Author(s) retain ownership of the copyright in the Article but hereby grant the Publisher an exclusive license to publish the article.

NZAROE gives authors full permission to deposit their articles in publicly accessible institutional repositories, providing that:

  • Articles are placed in repositories after publication.
  • Metadata about articles include the DOI and journal issue information.