Supporting the Learning of Novice Sessional VET Teachers: What works?

Casualisation of the VET teaching workforce has been an ongoing and increasing issue since the 1990s. Currently it is likely that more than half of the VET teaching workforce in Australia are casual employees (Nechvoglod, Mlotkowski, & Guthrie, 2010). For too long the professional learning of this group of employees, which now forms the majority of the VET teaching workforce, has been neglected. This paper is based on the outcomes from a two year qualitative and longitudinal study undertaken for a PhD. The research used a case study approach to investigate the workbased learning and Continuing Professional Learning (CPL) of a group of novice TAFE teachers. All novice TAFE teachers who were employed in 2011 at each of the four campuses where the study was undertaken were invited to participate in the research and all chose to do so. This paper addresses the learning of the six novice teachers participating in the study who were initially employed as sessional teachers. The findings identify the physical, social and cultural arrangements that enabled the initial and ongoing learning of these sessional VET teachers. Nechvoglod L, Mlotkowski P and Guthrie H (2010) National TAFE workforce study 2008. In: Guthrie H (ed) Vocational education and training workforce data 2008: A compendium. NCVER,Adelaide.