In/Equality and Choice in Senior Secondary School Students’ Outcomes: Queensland’S Reforms of Vocational Education and Training in Schools
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IN/EQUALITY AND CHOICE IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ OUTCOMES: QUEENSLAND’S REFORMS OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN SCHOOLS Bingyi Li Bachelor of Arts (English Education) Northeast Normal University, 1993 Master of Arts (Applied English Linguistics) Jilin University, 2006 A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 20 March 2011 Centre for Educational Research School of Education College of Arts University of Western Sydney Principal Supervisor: Professor Michael Singh Associate Supervisor: A/Professor Bobby Harreveld Acknowledgements My thesis is the product of the efforts of many parties. First, I would like to thank the University of Western Sydney for providing me with an International Postgraduate Research Scholarship, which provided me with the great financial support I needed to concentrate on my study over the past three years. Most importantly, I would like to thank my principal supervisor Professor Michael Singh for his contributions to the development of my research capabilities, especially his innovative approaches to research education and supervisory pedagogies. I acknowledge that his inspiration and encouragement nurtured the germ of my ideas that has resulted in my fulfilment of PhD thesis as well as conference papers. During these past three years, Professor Singh has guided me to undertake academic research with patience and scholarly insight. He offered many chances for me to attend useful and necessary research seminars, workshops and training courses which broadened my view of educational research. His profound knowledge ensured that I was not misled in exploring my research topic or reviewing the literature, developing the theoretical framework or planning the research process. By the end of my doctoral journey, I had presented five conference papers and one journal paper in addition to this thesis. These were all due to Professor Singh’s direction. Without his careful corrective feedback and theoretical guidance, I would not have made as much progress in my academic studies and research. His day-by-day feedback, comments and assessment encouraged me to learn more about educational research. I was especially impressed by his open-mindedness to non-western theoretical knowledge. In my thesis, I often found it would be easier to explain some points or develop my argument if I used cheng yu (Chinese metaphors). However, I avoided doing so because over the past three years I gained the impression that most Anglo-Australian academics support the idea of “when in Rome, do as Romans do”. However, Professor Singh always encouraged me to apply to my Chinese theoretical knowledge in any aspects of my research. He regards this as an important way of merging my bilingual capabilities and knowledge of Chinese conceptual tools into my research project so as to create a deep intellectual dialogue between Australia and China. He really goes beyond the concept of “tolerance to multi-culture” in his supervision rather than keep it as a slogan. His scholarly spirit has won my deep respect. I also acknowledge the tremendous support from my co-supervisor, Associate Professor Bobby Harreveld, who provided me with much help and many suggestions during these three years. She helped arrange for me to attend the 2008 VETiS Network Australia Conference, and there she introduced me to a range of scholars in the Senior Learning/VETiS field. I have had numerous face-to-face meetings with her to discuss my research; on these occasions she has provided me with valuable feedback on my research. In addition to that, she also gave me many valuable suggestions for my different stages of thesis writing, especially through a series of interactive videoconferences organised by Michael and Bobby. The most impressive feature of Bobby is her sunny smile which makes me feel at ease and encourages me to share many of my research problems with her. She is a very elegant scholar. The sincere gratitude for my previous supervisor, Professor Shufan Liu cannot be expressed with words. She is such an important person in my life. Without her help, I would not have opportunity to apply for studying in Australia. I would like to express my love and gratitude to my beloved parents and my brother and sister-in-law for their understanding and endless love. They sustained and greatly supported me through the duration of my study. I also thank for my ex-husband who encouraged my pursuing of dream. Especially, I express my gratitude for David’s company and help during the lonely exploring journey. Finally I would like to thank Dr. Jinhe Han who supported me with spiritual encouragement. Thanks to Dr. Dacheng Zhao who helped me with scholarship application; Tracy Mill who helped me with issues of study registration and enrolment; thanks to Elien Weeks who provided me with a valuable internship opportunity; thanks to Glenn Holdstock who supervised my work on the finish Home-based Business (HBB) On-line Survey report for the Sutherland Shire Council. Statement of Authentication I declare that except where due acknowledgement has been made this research thesis is my own work and has not been submitted in any form for another degree at any university or other institute of tertiary education. Information derived from the published or unpublished work of others has been acknowledged in the text and a list of references is given. ……………….. Bingyi Li 20 March, 2011 Table of Contents List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ................................................................................................................. viii Abbreviations and Acronyms ........................................................................................... x Abstract ............................................................................................................................. xii Authors’ Bio-note ............................................................................................................. xv Author’s Publications .................................................................................................... xvii CHAPTER ONE: THE GAINS YOUNG ADULTS ARE MAKING FROM THE REFORMS TO SENIOR LEARNING: CREATING LIFE CAPABILITIES AND CAREER FUNCTIONINGS ............................................................................................ 3 1.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 3 1.1 Research problem....................................................................................................... 4 1.2 Background: overview of research literature ............................................................. 5 1.3 Conceptual framework ............................................................................................... 8 1.4 Research method ...................................................................................................... 10 1.5 Statement of thesis ................................................................................................... 12 1.6 Overview of chapters ............................................................................................... 12 CHAPTER TWO: YOUNG ADULTS AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR LEARNING AND TRAINING IN SENIOR LEARNING: A REVIEW OF THE RECENT RESEARCH LITERATURE ........................................................................ 19 2.0 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 19 2.1 Equal opportunity for learning and training in senior education ............................. 20 2.2 Growth of VET in schools ....................................................................................... 22 2.2.1 Positioning VETiS in senior education ............................................................. 25 2.2.2 Focus VET in Schools ...................................................................................... 27 2.2.3 Issues associated with VETiS development ..................................................... 29 2.3 Factors influencing VETiS outcomes ...................................................................... 31 2.3.1 VETiS outcome in urban and rural areas .......................................................... 32 2.3.2 School size and student outcomes ..................................................................... 33 2.3.3 Socio-economic status and VETiS outcomes ................................................... 37 2.3.4 Other factors influencing students’ school-to-work transition ......................... 39 2.4 VETiS practice and students’ acquisition of competence........................................ 42 2.5 Influence of VETiS on Year 12 students’ post-school destinations ........................ 44 2.6 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 46 CHAPTER THREE: THEORISING EDUCATION, EQUALITY AND THE CAPABILITY APPROACH ........................................................................................... 51 3.0 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 51 3.1 Equality of what ....................................................................................................... 53 3.1.1 In /equality diversity