Learning a trade in New Zealand: On and off the job learning in engineering trades James Cannan BEd, MEd Student Number: 30062828 This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Education (EdD) School of Education Federation University PO Box 663 University Drive, Mount Helen Ballarat Victoria 3353 Australia Submitted in August 2017 Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................... v Statement of Authorship and Originality ....................................................................... vi Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................... vii Professional Editorial Assistance .................................................................................. vii Advanced Study Units .................................................................................................. vii Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Rationale for the Thesis ........................................................................................ 1 1.2 Thesis Overview ................................................................................................... 3 Chapter 2: Background and Literature Review .............................................................. 6 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 6 2.2 Apprentices and Pre-apprentices in New Zealand ................................................ 8 2.3 The History of Vocational Education and Training in New Zealand and a Comparison with Australia ....................................................................................... 13 2.4 New Zealand Qualifications Framework ............................................................ 18 2.5 Apprenticeship Training Overseas and in New Zealand .................................... 20 2.6 Pre-apprenticeship Training Overseas and in New Zealand ............................... 26 2.7 Work Based Learning ......................................................................................... 29 2.8 Assessment Practices for Pre-apprentices and Apprentices ................................ 36 2.9 Summing up the Literature ................................................................................. 38 Chapter 3: Research Methodology and Design ............................................................ 41 3.1 Research Questions ............................................................................................. 42 3.2 Research Design .................................................................................................. 42 3.3 Ethics Approvals and Issues ............................................................................... 45 3.4 Research Participants and Sites........................................................................... 47 3.5 Case Studies ........................................................................................................ 49 3.6 Data Analysis ...................................................................................................... 65 3.7 Summary ............................................................................................................. 68 Chapter 4: Findings from Students, Lecturers and Employers ..................................... 69 4.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 69 4.2 Research Questions ............................................................................................. 71 4.3 Findings from the Student Questionnaires .......................................................... 71 4.4 Findings from the Pre-apprentice Focus Groups ................................................ 86 i 4.5 Findings from the Apprentice Focus Groups ...................................................... 98 4.6 Findings from the Interviews with Lecturers .................................................... 108 4.7 Findings from the Interviews with Employers .................................................. 122 4.8 Chapter Summary ............................................................................................. 138 Chapter 5: Discussion and Analysis ........................................................................... 152 5.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 152 5.2 Research Questions ........................................................................................... 152 5.3 Discussion of Research Questions .................................................................... 153 5.4 Significant Issues .............................................................................................. 172 Chapter 6: Conclusion ................................................................................................. 184 6.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 184 6.2 Summary of Key Points in Relation to the Research Sub–questions ............... 184 6.3 Considerations for Policy .................................................................................. 190 6.4 Considerations for Future Research .................................................................. 191 6.5 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 193 References ................................................................................................................... 195 Appendix A: Ethics Approval ..................................................................................... 203 Appendix B: Plain Language Information Statement ................................................. 211 Appendix C: Consent Form ........................................................................................ 212 Appendix D: Consent Form for Lecturers .................................................................. 213 Appendix E: Questionnaire ......................................................................................... 214 Appendix F: Interview Questions—Apprenticeship/Pre-apprenticeship Training ..... 215 Appendix G: Interview Questions—Employer/Workplace Supervisor ...................... 217 Appendix H: Interview Questions—Staff (Apprenticeships Level 3) ........................ 218 Appendix I: Interview Questions—Staff (Pre-apprenticeships) ................................. 219 Appendix J: Advanced Study Units ............................................................................ 220 ii List of Tables Table 3.1: List of case studies ...................................................................................... 50 Table 3.2: Questionnaire questions for students administered prior to the focus groups ...................................................................................................................................... 53 Table 3.3: Focus group interview questions ................................................................ 55 Table 3.4: Advantages of interviews over questionnaires, observations and experiments .................................................................................................................. 58 Table 3.5: Lecturer information ................................................................................... 59 Table 3.6: Summary of interview questions for lecturers ............................................ 60 Table 3.7: Employer information ................................................................................. 61 Table 3.8: Summary of interview questions for employers ......................................... 62 Table 3.9: Mapping of the student focus groups, lecturer and employer interview questions to the research sub-questions ....................................................................... 63 Table 3.10: Example of a theme table ......................................................................... 67 Table 4.1: Case study list ............................................................................................. 70 Table 4.2: Background demographic data for pre-apprentice students: Refrigeration/air-conditioning/electrical ...................................................................... 73 Table 4.3: Participants’ questionnaire summary for pre-apprentice students: Refrigeration/air-conditioning/electrical ...................................................................... 74 Table 4.4: Background demographic data for pre-apprentice students: Automotive .. 77 Table 4.5: Participants’ questionnaire summary for pre-apprentice students: Automotive .................................................................................................................. 78 Table 4.6: Background demographic data for apprentice students: Refrigeration/air- conditioning/electrical .................................................................................................. 80 Table 4.7: Participants’ questionnaire summary for apprentice students: Refrigeration/air-conditioning/electrical ...................................................................... 81 Table 4.8: Background demographic data for apprentice