Allie Clemans

Avoiding the Hoops: A study of recognition of prior learning processes in Australian faculties of education

Recognition of prior learning (RPL) refers to recognition of non-credentialled or informal learning. In the university context, there are difficulties in determining the appropriateness and extent of experiential learning since there is no research-based modelling to guide the process. This article draws on an Australian Research Council grant project which aims to draw up research-based, nationally applicable protocols and procedures for RPL in education faculties in Australia. It concludes that there is room for greater development of procedures for recognising prior learning than exists in many faculties of education.

Technical and further education: Social justice solution and social justice problem

The technical and further education (TAFE) sector was created in 1974 to provide initial vocational training and to redress the disadvantaging impact of class and poverty. By the early 1990s, national training reform inspired by a deregulatory and economic rationalist agenda created a training market which transformed TAFE into VET (vocational education and training). This article highlights the move in national policy sentiments which redirected TAFE away from social justice to industry provision. It focuses on Victoria, where national and state trends forced TAFE into a competitive environment and sidelined social justice.

University Coursework and School Experience: The Challenge to Amalgamate Learning

The theory-practice gap has long been recognized as a point of contention in teacher education. Bridging that gap has often been seen as difficult almost regardless of contextual perspective—i.e., from both the world of academia and that of schools. Recognizing and responding to the oft’ bemoaned theory-practice gap demands a rethink of the ways in which the dynamics between the university coursework and professional experience components of teacher education are conceptualized and made tangible.

The building of the transcultural capacities of preservice teachers to support their employability in a globalised world: a pilot study

ABSTRACT This paper explores the findings of a pilot project that investigated the impact of the International Professional Experience (IPE) programme within a Faculty of Education at a research intensive Australian University in developing the capacity of preservice teachers (PSTs) to work and teach amidst culturally diverse environments. The pilot was a precursor to a project investigating the impact of IPE on PSTs’ cultural capacity across a range of IPE locations. The importance of teachers acquiring transcultural capacity has become more acute in recent years. Educational globalisation has influenced Australian educators and schools to see working and learning in countries outside Australia as opportunities that support readiness for a professional career. Australian graduate teachers are now required to possess and demonstrate the skills and capacities to relate to, engage with and teach students from diverse cultures. Migration has altered Australian demographics to the point that cultural understandings are now mandated in the national curriculum. The pilot study findings suggest that the IPE experience has a significant impact on the development of transcultural capacity amongst PSTs especially those who have not had opportunities for, engagement with cultural modes outside their place of origin.