Recognition of prior learning is a process whereby people have the skills and knowledge they have developed outside the formal education system assessed and valued against qualifications frameworks. Jo Hargreaves gives an overview of recent research into recognition of prior learning within the Australian vocational education and training system.

Damon Anderson evaluates, from a national perspective, the impact and outcomes of market reform in vocational education and training (VET), particularly the introduction of competitive tendering and ‘user choice’. He does so by examining the structure, composition and dynamics of contestable or ‘quasi-markets’, assessing the impact of market reform on providers and clients, and evaluating...

Vocational education and training (VET) programs for young people in schools have significantly expanded over the past decade. Janet Porter investigates stakeholders’ views on school-based vocational programs in New South Wales and Queensland schools from 2000 to 2002, and examines the objectives and expected outcomes for students, school VET coordinators, trainers and employers. The research...

Kate Barnett and Robin Ryan provide a stocktake of issues and activities in vocational education and training in schools through the perspectives of the published literature and policy documentation between 1997 and 2003. They identify progress made and conclude that vocational programs in schools are meeting expectations and have achieved a legitimate place in the...

Stephen Billett, Allie Clemans and Terri Seddon consder the principles and practices that build and sustain social partnerships in communities in a range of contexts. They identify three types of social partnerships, and discuss the implications of changing circumstances for the principles and practices. This project is phase 1 of a two-phase project. Phase 2...