The Educational Politics of Curriculum Policy in Vocational Education and Training in Australia
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The educational politics of curriculum policy in Vocational Education and Training in Australia George Loupis BSc(Arch),BArch(Hons),MBEnv(UNSW),GradDipEd(Tech)(SCAE) A thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy UNSW AUSTRALIA School of Education Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences October 2018 THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES Thesis/Dissertation Sheet Surn.:,me: loupiS First name: George Degree: PhD school: School of Education Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Social Science Title: The educational politics of curriculum policy in Vocational Education and Training in Australia Abstract 3S0 words maximum This research investigates the effects of the 1987 federal government's Vocational Education and Training (VET) policy on curriculum development on NSW TAFE by undertaking a critical policy analysis and utilising interview data. Drawing on Foucault's (1980, 1982) power/knowledge nexus, the study examines the complexities of social and structural relations to power and knowledge and how the state regulates the acquisition of knowledge. Foucault (1972a) saw curriculum as one form of social regulation that connects the citizen to the state. The VET policies embodied power relations by prescribing new practices that regulat~s the individual in a manner that is interrelated with the multiple demands of the new neoliberal economy and the expanding control of the state. VET became a mechanism for social and macroeconomic reform by being tied to youth employment, skills formation, human capital and Australia's global economic competitiveness. This study also draws on Popkewitz's (1987, 1991 , 1997) notion that the state exploits curriculum as a converting ordinance. Technical curriculum postulates the forms of knowledge which frame and classify the world, the nature of work and in turn organises and shapes individual identity and citizenship (Fejes et al. 2015). Through a case study I demonstrate how the VET policy initiatives introduced mechanisms that privileged certain political and professional actors to dominate knowledge and thereby assume their identity in economic affairs. The dominant educational philosophies in VET aim to inculcate people to adapt to these social forms rather than critically interrogate them. The federal government privatised the writing and ratifying of VET course content by contracting Industry Skills Councils to produce training packages, which specified the learning outcomes and required competencies embedded in the competency-based VET qualifications (Goozee 2001 ). The VET curriculum was also rationalised by the removal of the cognitive and behavioural attributes of knowledge to permit the awarding of qualifications via the Recognition of Prior Leaming (Buchanan et al. 2004 ). The study concludes that there is no embedded curriculum in VET or TAFE NSW courses. This afforded NSW TAFE, and the for-profit sector, the privilege to determine the volume-of-learning, student/teacher ratios and modes of delivery, which allowed the student-centred citizenship paradigm of VET to be replaced with an economic, human-capital model. Declaration relating to disposition of project thesis/dissertation I hereby grant to the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or in pan in the Univernity libraries in all fonns of media. now or here after known. subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all property rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in ~tiqn Abstracts International (this is applicable to do::toral theses only) .. The University recognises that there may be exceptional ci,cumslances requiring restrictions on copying or conditions on use. Requests for restriction for a period of up to 2 years must be made in wrling. Requests for a longer period of restriction may be considered in exceptional circumstances and require the approval of the Daan of Graduate Research. FOR OFFICE USE ONLY Date of completion or r equirements for Award Copyright Statement I hereby grant the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all proprietary rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstract International. I have either used no substantial portions of copyright material in my thesis or I have obtained permission to use copyright material; where permission has not been granted I have applied/will apply for a partial restriction of the digital copy of my thesis or dissertation. Authenticity Statement I certify that the Library deposit digital copy is a direct equivalent of the final officially approved version of my thesis. No emendation of content has occurred and if there are any minor variations in formatting, they are the result of the conversion to digital format. In memory of my father, Vasilios Loupis (29 May 1918 – 22 July 1994) Whose political stance, lectures on Political Economics and his activism on behalf of Greek farmers led to his being blacklisted by the right-wing Greek Rally and National Radical Union governments between 1952 and 1958, compelling him to migrate to Australia in 1958. His sacrifices and the abandoning of his homeland provided me the opportunity and freedom to pursue a higher education and to contribute to the Australian education system both at university level and in TAFE. I did not realise how much I was influenced by him until I commenced this research. i Abstract This research investigates the effects of the 1987 federal government’s Vocational Education and Training (VET) policy on curriculum development on NSW TAFE by undertaking a critical policy analysis and utilising interview data. Drawing on Foucault’s (1980, 1982) power/knowledge nexus, the study examines the complexities of social and structural relations to power and knowledge and how the state regulates the acquisition of knowledge. Foucault (1972a) saw curriculum as one form of social regulation that connects the citizen to the state. The VET policies embodied power relations by prescribing new practices that regulates the individual in a manner that is interrelated with the multiple demands of the new neoliberal economy and the expanding control of the state. VET became a mechanism for social and macroeconomic reform by being tied to youth employment, skills formation, human capital and Australia’s global economic competitiveness. This study also draws on Popkewitz’s (1987, 1991, 1997) notion that the state exploits curriculum as a converting ordinance. Technical curriculum postulates the forms of knowledge which frame and classify the world, the nature of work and in turn organises and shapes individual identity and citizenship (Olson et al. 2015). Through a case study I demonstrate how the VET policy initiatives introduced mechanisms that privileged certain political and professional actors to dominate knowledge and thereby impose their identity in the construction of educational policy, and how other stakeholders have been disadvantaged by the selection, organisation and control of curriculum intellectual property in TAFE NSW. The dominant educational philosophies in VET aim to inculcate people to adapt to these social forms rather than critically interrogate them. The federal government privatised the writing and ratifying of VET course content by contracting Industry Skills Councils to produce training packages, which specified the learning outcomes and required competencies embedded in the competency-based VET qualifications (Goozee 2001). The VET curriculum was also rationalised by the removal of the cognitive and behavioural attributes of knowledge to permit the awarding of qualifications via the Recognition of Prior Learning (Buchanan et al. 2004). The study concludes that there is no embedded curriculum in VET or TAFE NSW courses. This afforded NSW TAFE, and the for-profit sector, the privilege to determine the volume-of-learning, student/teacher ratios and modes of delivery, which allowed the student-centred citizenship paradigm of VET to be replaced with an economic, human-capital model. ii Originality Statement I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project's design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged. iii Acknowledgements Particular acknowledgement is due to Professor Kalervo Gulson and Dr Matthew Clarke who started me on this journey and succoured my transition from Architecture to Education. Their invaluable guidance and support in supervising the writing of this thesis is greatly appreciated. Many thanks also to Dr Richard Niesche, who came on board after Dr Clarke moved to England and seamlessly segued as my second supervisor. I wish to thank Dr Niesche and Professor Gulson for their encouragement, especially during the final critical stages of the preparation of the thesis for which I will be eternally grateful. Love and many thanks to my wife Maruschka, for her continued encouragement and proofreading and editing of the early drafts, and to my daughter Yasmine (MEd), for proofreading and editing the final drafts.