A major weakness in the funding base for skill development in Australia arises from a declining investment in training by key stakeholders--employers. Australia is spending less on training and creating fewer high skill jobs than comparable countries and forcing individuals to take greater financial responsibility for their own development. Forces…

A study explored the role of the workplace trainer in the building of training/learning cultures in workplaces in Australia. Following a literature review, stage 1 data collection involved observations and interviews in 18 enterprises in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia where trainers were facilitating learning with one or two…

Surveys of Australian college faculty, conducted in 1977 and 1993, provide data for tracing trends in workload. While time devoted to teaching and research have remained stable, changes at the margins of academic workload are considerable. These tasks are largely generated by demands of institutional competition, accountability, and quality…

The role of workplace literacy and numeracy education in the introduction of new workplace practices was examined in a case study of a local council in New South Wales, Australia. Two researchers worked over a 6-week period to interview the manager, 2 team leaders, and 15 team members involved in the introduction of competitive maintenance and…

Roles and functions of senior and front line managers in VET organizations and their approaches to developing management and leadership expertise were examined in order to identify best practices. Based upon mail surveys sent to managers in 1551 registered training organizations (365 responded, for a response rate of 23.5%), 147 telephone…

This document contains three papers from a symposium on organizational culture and climate that was conducted as part of a conference on human resource development (HRD). "A Comparative Profile of Workgroup Climate in Different Organizational Settings" (Allan H. Church) reports on a comparative analysis of climate data on more than 5,000…

Surveys of 100 Australian college and university faculty in 1987 and again in 1992, after implementation of new higher education policies, found decreased levels of faculty satisfaction with their work (substance and conditions), their students, and their administrations. Unsatisfactory levels of stress and tension at work were also found. (MSE)

This report examines the results of an international study of higher education systems, based on surveys of approximately 1,000 faculty in each of the following nations: United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Israel, and Australia. Findings are organized around seven…

Leading-edge firms (LEFs)--at the forefront of their industry in terms of growth or market share--may influence skill development through diffusion of technology, products, or practices and use of market power to set standards or change customer businesses. Study of LEFs can identify the type and mix of skills needed in the industry. LEFs are…

The hypothesis that making judgments is the basis for workplace learning was examined by studying work in a range of occupations with a view to identifying and analyzing the main judgments involved in individuals' work performance. To test the hypothesis, six practicing professionals (three men and three women) were interviewed. Two of…

Research identified feasible strategies to support flexible delivery in operating workplaces. Sites were 12 enterprises in Victoria. Findings indicated flexible delivery was largely implemented by enterprises through the provision of a range of learning opportunities that included on-the-job observation, practice and mentoring, access to learning…

Pre-service programs for secondary teachers have traditionally involved method subjects, where participants are inducted into the curriculum practices of two disciplinary or subject areas. In 2003, Victoria University of Technology, Melbourne, enrolled a small group of fourteen pre-service teachers into an innovative Graduate Diploma of Secondary…

Workspaces are sites of contention over what is knowledge and who can say so; work-related education has never been a neutral arbiter. In a context in which workspaces routinely bring together physical place and cyber place in communication networks, traditional struggles over knowledge and knowing are affected by communications technologies (CT)…

A study explored behavioral factors to explain why non-completions were higher among trainees than apprentices. A survey of 797 apprentices and trainees who did not complete training and 462 of their employers was followed by focus groups with new apprentices, employers, and training providers. Findings indicated most new apprentices commenced…

This collection of papers explores language socialization from very early childhood through adulthood. After "Introduction: Toward a Dynamic Model of Language Socialization" (Robert Bayley and Sandra R. Schecter), there are 16 papers in 4 parts. Part 1, "Language Socialization at Home," includes: (1) "Transforming…