Leonard George Cairns

Competency-Based Training in Australia: What Happened and Where Might We ‘Capably‘ Go?

The early 1990s introduction of competency-based training (CBT) in Australia was a turning away from rich learning prevalent in previous approaches to VET to a narrow behaviourist approach; however, the outcome in the vocational education and training (VET) field has not been as retrograde as was then feared. There has been flexibility and innovation in the approach to apprenticeships and other pathways to qualifying for a career over the past 20 years. Much more entwining of CBT with rich learning or process learning approaches could have occurred as a lifelong learning foundation upon which apprentices (and other CBT graduates) may capably – and with commitment – build their careers in the changing workplace. This chapter looks to a near future in which ‘capability’ outcomes are strengthened by embracing an expanded view of ‘competency’ beyond what has been typically understood in Australia to this time.

Professional Capital: Transforming Teaching in Every School.

Andy Hargreaves and Michael Fullan both have had long and illustrious careers in educational writing that has influenced a number of generations of teachers and leaders across the world. Their latest joint effort, Professional Capital, started, they say in their Preface, as a ‘revised edition of What’s Worth Fighting For in Your School’ written more than 20 years earlier. What has emerged is far from a revision of the previous volume, this new work is just that, new and exciting as they offer a rallying call to rethink teaching and to emphasise a professional view of teaching through a set of ‘capitals’ leading to their conception of Professional Capital. It is somewhat unfortunate that the cover of the work offers the formula for Professional Capital as PC=f(HC,SC,DC) which is outlined in Chapter 5 of the book as well (p. 88). The symbols stand for PC=Professional Capital, HC= Human Capital, SC=Social Capital and DC= Decisional Capital. This may suggest to some prospective buyers and readers that there is a formulaic approach within the covers, whereas this reviewer found a breadth and depth of discussion and presentation which was far from a simple formula. Hargreaves and Fullan make no apology for the fact that they have taken the three Capitals and blended them into a new view of professionalism for teachers. As they define PC in their Key chapter (5) conclusion: