Middle leaders leading the development of pedagogy in the VET workplace

Susanne Francisco, Helen South

Research output: Other contribution to conferenceAbstractpeer-review

Abstract

This presentation explores what enables and constrains middle-leaders in supporting the development of VET pedagogy. VET teachers operate in many kinds of settings, across many different industries, and with a range of learners. The quality of VET teaching is impacted by what occurs in each VET training site (e.g., classroom, online, workshop, workplace). There will never be a ‘one size fits all’ approach to quality teaching within VET. In these diverse sites the practices of teachers need to support quality VET for Australia to have a quality VET system. Middle-leaders (people who have both a leadership and a teaching role, such as Senior Teachers) can be influential in supporting the site-based (‘place’-based) development of VET pedagogy with their colleagues. This project addresses Australian and international calls to support the development of teaching and learning practices in VET, a crucial aspect of a high-quality VET system.
Four VET teacher teams, across three states, undertook action research projects to develop their pedagogy. The researchers supported the action research teams with relevant information and literature, as well as regular meetings and discussions. The meetings were recorded and transcribed, and each of the participants were interviewed at the completion of their action research projects. Data analysis uses a two-stage approach beginning with thematic analysis and followed by analysis using the theory of practice architectures.
Findings identify the leading practices undertaken by middle-leaders to support the development of pedagogy within the teaching teams. Interestingly, these leading practices were not confined to the middle-leader, with other participants also engaging in leading practices at times. The arrangements that enabled and constrained the development of quality VET pedagogy are also discussed. Findings will contribute to the development of policy/ practice in VET, including supporting/informing development of quality VET teaching; and enhancing approaches to supporting VET teacher learning in the workplace.

Conference

ConferenceAustralian Association of Research in Education (AARE) Conference 2023
Abbreviated titleTruth, Voice, Place: Critical junctures for educational research
Country/TerritoryAustralia
CityMelbourne
Period26/11/2330/11/23
Other
NOTE FROM THE CONFERENCE CHAIR

We look forward to welcoming you to the AARE 2023 Conference hosted by the University of Melbourne. The theme of the conference this year is Truth, Voice, Place: Critical junctures for educational research. We invite education researchers to explore critical junctures in the field. We are excited to bring together a diverse community of scholars to engage in meaningful discussions and exchange ideas on the pressing issues facing education research today.

As you will see in the Call for Papers, one immediate context for the conference theme is the upcoming referendum on recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian Constitution. This represents one of the many critical junctures facing educational researchers today, both locally and internationally. The conference aims to provide a welcome forum for scholars to discuss the implications of this historic moment, alongside the intersection of education research with broader local and global change.

We welcome submissions from education researchers across all areas of the field, including curriculum, policy, pedagogy, assessment, and leadership. We hope that the conference will provide opportunities for transformation, new possibilities, and new collaborations.
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