Standing Conference on University Teaching and Research into the Education of Adults (SCUTREA), 2019
Introduction This paper reports on the first phase of a research project which investigated how y... more Introduction This paper reports on the first phase of a research project which investigated how young people in non-metropolitan areas in Australia imagine and navigate their pathways as they leave school and make choices about their future trajectories. The overall research question was: How do, and how could, young people imagine and navigate pathways related to post-school education, training and employment? There were three sub-questions: 1. Who are the influencers and how do they affect the decisions? 2. What could change to provide better post-school outcomes for a larger proportion of young people? 3. What could change for communities and employers to better utilise young people's talents? The paper involved interviews with relevant organisations in the communities who had frequent contact with young people. This was the first phase of the project. Later phases involved interviews in schools and with young people, both those still at school and those who had left. Background and literature
Apprenticeship is increasingly seen as a promising option for policy makers. An apprenticeship of... more Apprenticeship is increasingly seen as a promising option for policy makers. An apprenticeship offers a chance to find further education and a place in society and the workplace. In an increasing number of countries, apprenticeship is available to mature-aged workers, providing a chance for a career change or re-entry into the workforce. The sixth International Network on Innovative Apprenticeship (INAP) conference was held at the Federation University Australia in Ballarat, Victoria on 1-2 September 2015. The publication contains all the papers presented at the conference. The conference demonstrated the diversity of approaches to apprenticeship in practice. It also highlighted the need to share experiences from country-specific developments and that the learning process and knowledge base of apprenticeship is continuously growing and developing. The most popular themes for papers at the conference were: (1) governance, including stakeholders' roles and responsibilities; (2) vo...
This ar.ticle reviews research into the genesis and spread of both neighbourhood houses and learn... more This ar.ticle reviews research into the genesis and spread of both neighbourhood houses and learning centres in Victoria and community-based men's sheds in Australia to identify some similarities and differences. Our article asks questions about the gendered communities ofpractice that underpin houses for women on the one hand, and shedsfor men on the other. Our particular interest is with the gender issues associated with the development ofthe relatively mature neighbourhood house 'sector', and those associated with the very recent and developing community-based men's sheds 'sector'. Our underpinning research question has to do with the desirability (or otherwise) in each ofthese sectors ofpolitical and strategic decisions being either gender specific or gender neutral. We identifiJ a number oftantalising parallels between the rationale behind the establishment ofboth sectors,jor women and men, albeit in very different circumstances, along with some obvious ...
Using a post-structural approach, this article investigates the working lives of frontline manage... more Using a post-structural approach, this article investigates the working lives of frontline managers in VET and how they negotiate change in their day to day practices and decision making. The article is organized around accounts made by managers from ...
Our research is about some gender implications of men's shed... more Our research is about some gender implications of men's shed-based practice and informal learning in community contexts and organisations. While our research is not about backyard sheds, it is important for an international audience to first identify the traditional attraction and ...
The main focus of the paper is to examine and unravel the discourses emerging from the Vocational... more The main focus of the paper is to examine and unravel the discourses emerging from the Vocational Education and Training (VET) and Adult Community Education (ACE) sectors in the light of policy discourses that serve to construct ‘community ’ in economic terms. The paper seeks to highlight current changes taking place in ACE as Victorian government policy discourses move to place vocational outcomes as a priority for Adult Community and Further Education (ACFE) funding. The paper draws from empirical data taken from five participating ACE coordinators from four ACE organisations, two in the Melbourne metropolitan area and three in regional Victoria. The data highlights a cautionary tale of the potential exclusion of some ACE participants who do not fit within current government policy priorities.
This paper looks at vocational education and training (VET) policy initiatives currently being ci... more This paper looks at vocational education and training (VET) policy initiatives currently being circulated within the Victorian adult and community education (ACE) sector. It particularly explores how coordinators working and managing ACE organizations are being encouraged to meet policy requirements that are in some cases at odds with their traditional roles. The paper explores how ACE and VET frontline managers/coordinators are experiencing policy reform differently in some cases and how the central role of identity and identity change in the formation of VET and ACE is being understood from a different philosophical and cultural position. The reflections and perceptions from seven ACE coordinators, four ACE/RTO managers and fourteen VET frontline managers were examined with the aim of better understanding the working experiences and perceptions of people responsible for delivering and coordinating change within their organizations. The paper and its conclusions shed light on diffe...
Concerns about men's attitudes to and involvement in lifelong and life-wide learning have rec... more Concerns about men's attitudes to and involvement in lifelong and life-wide learning have recently emerged in many countries. There is a growing interest in finding ways to increase men's participation and promote practices that will contribute to men's learning and wellbeing, particularly in contexts and life stages for men beyond paid work. Men Learning Through Life, the definitive text on this subject, showcases expert international contributions presenting and examining evidence from theory, research, policy and practice, illustrated with case studies. It does so through comparison of the learning and wellbeing experiences of women. As an implicitly connected issue, the book also presents evidence and builds a case for the initial education of boys to receive particular attention, in order to break intergenerational cycles of aversion to learning for some men and some communities. The book will inform national and international policies and practices related to the l...
A range of Australian demographic, education, training, health and wellbeing data confirm that me... more A range of Australian demographic, education, training, health and wellbeing data confirm that men are experiencing a range of dilemmas as they age, particularly after retirement. Community-run men's sheds have recently developed and proliferated, mainly across ...
Abstract The main focus of the paper is to examine and unravel some of the community discourses c... more Abstract The main focus of the paper is to examine and unravel some of the community discourses currently emerging from the Vocational Education and Training (VET) and Adult Community Education (ACE) sectors in Victoria. In particular, the paper explores the policy ...
Our paper explores how and what adults living and working in the Alpine region of Victoria unders... more Our paper explores how and what adults living and working in the Alpine region of Victoria understand and are learning about the changes to water availability, in a time when the response to water availability is subject to extensive debate and policy attention. Interviews for this study were conducted in the towns of Bright and Mount Beauty, with participants drawn from across the Alpine region. The interviews focused on what local stakeholders from the Alpine region understood about water availability in the region and how and what they had learned about living and working with climatic changes in their local area. The findings of our study see that there was evidence of a strong understanding of the direct and indirect impact of climate change on participants' local community area. The study also sees evidence of learning through a community 'frames of reference' as outlined by Berkhout, Hertin and Dann et al.
Learning through life experiences as distinct from learning through the academy and courses have ... more Learning through life experiences as distinct from learning through the academy and courses have become increasingly important themes in later life adult education research and practice. Whilst the dominant discourse for most younger people is still about education and training for students in standardised and accredited courses, there is increasing concern to find ways of giving voice to empower people otherwise excluded, disempowered or missing from mainstream education, learning, research and the community. This paper specifically explores and actively mirrors ways of using techniques developed through academic autoethnography to empower older people to share and make sense of the lives they have lived by exploring some of the unexamined assumptions that govern everyday life, behaviour and decision making including in the many, often very informal contexts well beyond educational institutions, the academy and paid work. In essence, like autoethnography, our paper seeks to identif...
A range of Australian demographic, education, training, health and wellbeing data confirm that me... more A range of Australian demographic, education, training, health and wellbeing data confirm that men are experiencing a range of dilemmas as they age, particularly after retirement. Community-run men’s sheds have recently developed and proliferated, mainly across parts of southern Australia and with higher proportions of older men not in work. This research study examines their role as a place in the lives of older men. It examines the informal skill development that takes place for older men in men’s sheds: dedicated men’s programs and spaces in community organisations in Australia. It examines the circumstances and attitudes that have been shown to bring otherwise disengaged older men (defined as age 45+) to learning. In doing so, it closely examines the rationales, pedagogies, experiences and outcomes of participants in men’s sheds. These spaces and programs form a growing part of local government, community services and welfare provision for older men at a neighbourhood and suburb...
The health and wellbeing benefits of Men's Sheds to the men who participate have had signific... more The health and wellbeing benefits of Men's Sheds to the men who participate have had significant research attention for over a decade. However, there has been little research into the broader impacts of Men's Sheds, particularly in relation to the impacts on significant others in the lives of the men who participate. Our paper aims to redress this lack of research by focusing on the interrelated perceptions and experiences of men and those closest to them in four Men's Sheds in regional Victoria, Australia. The research shows that the partners and carers of ‘shedders’ reported that the men's participation not only benefited the men but also had benefits for their significant others. The study also showed that the partners of shedders in the study found that their individual and joint adjustment to retirement was in some cases assisted by the men enjoying the social and structured environment of the Men's Shed, while in other cases it was seen by partners as an ov...
Consistent with the 'looking back, moving forward' conference theme, in this paper we und... more Consistent with the 'looking back, moving forward' conference theme, in this paper we undertake a critical, research-based appraisal of the current, arguably neglected state of adult education in Australia in 2010, and proceed to paint a picture of how a different and potentially more positive future might be realised. Firstly, we emphasise situations (including states and territories) in Australia in which adult education is seen to be lacking or missing for particular groups of adults. Secondly we emphasise research evidence confirming the demonstrable value of learning for purposes other than those that are immediately vocational. We identify links between lifelong and lifewide learning on one hand, and health and wellbeing on the other. Part of the paper involves international comparisons with other forms of adult learning that Australia might learn from, adapt or borrow. We make particular reference to research underpinning the recent Inquiry into the Future of Lifelong...
Standing Conference on University Teaching and Research into the Education of Adults (SCUTREA), 2019
Introduction This paper reports on the first phase of a research project which investigated how y... more Introduction This paper reports on the first phase of a research project which investigated how young people in non-metropolitan areas in Australia imagine and navigate their pathways as they leave school and make choices about their future trajectories. The overall research question was: How do, and how could, young people imagine and navigate pathways related to post-school education, training and employment? There were three sub-questions: 1. Who are the influencers and how do they affect the decisions? 2. What could change to provide better post-school outcomes for a larger proportion of young people? 3. What could change for communities and employers to better utilise young people's talents? The paper involved interviews with relevant organisations in the communities who had frequent contact with young people. This was the first phase of the project. Later phases involved interviews in schools and with young people, both those still at school and those who had left. Background and literature
Apprenticeship is increasingly seen as a promising option for policy makers. An apprenticeship of... more Apprenticeship is increasingly seen as a promising option for policy makers. An apprenticeship offers a chance to find further education and a place in society and the workplace. In an increasing number of countries, apprenticeship is available to mature-aged workers, providing a chance for a career change or re-entry into the workforce. The sixth International Network on Innovative Apprenticeship (INAP) conference was held at the Federation University Australia in Ballarat, Victoria on 1-2 September 2015. The publication contains all the papers presented at the conference. The conference demonstrated the diversity of approaches to apprenticeship in practice. It also highlighted the need to share experiences from country-specific developments and that the learning process and knowledge base of apprenticeship is continuously growing and developing. The most popular themes for papers at the conference were: (1) governance, including stakeholders' roles and responsibilities; (2) vo...
This ar.ticle reviews research into the genesis and spread of both neighbourhood houses and learn... more This ar.ticle reviews research into the genesis and spread of both neighbourhood houses and learning centres in Victoria and community-based men's sheds in Australia to identify some similarities and differences. Our article asks questions about the gendered communities ofpractice that underpin houses for women on the one hand, and shedsfor men on the other. Our particular interest is with the gender issues associated with the development ofthe relatively mature neighbourhood house 'sector', and those associated with the very recent and developing community-based men's sheds 'sector'. Our underpinning research question has to do with the desirability (or otherwise) in each ofthese sectors ofpolitical and strategic decisions being either gender specific or gender neutral. We identifiJ a number oftantalising parallels between the rationale behind the establishment ofboth sectors,jor women and men, albeit in very different circumstances, along with some obvious ...
Using a post-structural approach, this article investigates the working lives of frontline manage... more Using a post-structural approach, this article investigates the working lives of frontline managers in VET and how they negotiate change in their day to day practices and decision making. The article is organized around accounts made by managers from ...
Our research is about some gender implications of men's shed... more Our research is about some gender implications of men's shed-based practice and informal learning in community contexts and organisations. While our research is not about backyard sheds, it is important for an international audience to first identify the traditional attraction and ...
The main focus of the paper is to examine and unravel the discourses emerging from the Vocational... more The main focus of the paper is to examine and unravel the discourses emerging from the Vocational Education and Training (VET) and Adult Community Education (ACE) sectors in the light of policy discourses that serve to construct ‘community ’ in economic terms. The paper seeks to highlight current changes taking place in ACE as Victorian government policy discourses move to place vocational outcomes as a priority for Adult Community and Further Education (ACFE) funding. The paper draws from empirical data taken from five participating ACE coordinators from four ACE organisations, two in the Melbourne metropolitan area and three in regional Victoria. The data highlights a cautionary tale of the potential exclusion of some ACE participants who do not fit within current government policy priorities.
This paper looks at vocational education and training (VET) policy initiatives currently being ci... more This paper looks at vocational education and training (VET) policy initiatives currently being circulated within the Victorian adult and community education (ACE) sector. It particularly explores how coordinators working and managing ACE organizations are being encouraged to meet policy requirements that are in some cases at odds with their traditional roles. The paper explores how ACE and VET frontline managers/coordinators are experiencing policy reform differently in some cases and how the central role of identity and identity change in the formation of VET and ACE is being understood from a different philosophical and cultural position. The reflections and perceptions from seven ACE coordinators, four ACE/RTO managers and fourteen VET frontline managers were examined with the aim of better understanding the working experiences and perceptions of people responsible for delivering and coordinating change within their organizations. The paper and its conclusions shed light on diffe...
Concerns about men's attitudes to and involvement in lifelong and life-wide learning have rec... more Concerns about men's attitudes to and involvement in lifelong and life-wide learning have recently emerged in many countries. There is a growing interest in finding ways to increase men's participation and promote practices that will contribute to men's learning and wellbeing, particularly in contexts and life stages for men beyond paid work. Men Learning Through Life, the definitive text on this subject, showcases expert international contributions presenting and examining evidence from theory, research, policy and practice, illustrated with case studies. It does so through comparison of the learning and wellbeing experiences of women. As an implicitly connected issue, the book also presents evidence and builds a case for the initial education of boys to receive particular attention, in order to break intergenerational cycles of aversion to learning for some men and some communities. The book will inform national and international policies and practices related to the l...
A range of Australian demographic, education, training, health and wellbeing data confirm that me... more A range of Australian demographic, education, training, health and wellbeing data confirm that men are experiencing a range of dilemmas as they age, particularly after retirement. Community-run men's sheds have recently developed and proliferated, mainly across ...
Abstract The main focus of the paper is to examine and unravel some of the community discourses c... more Abstract The main focus of the paper is to examine and unravel some of the community discourses currently emerging from the Vocational Education and Training (VET) and Adult Community Education (ACE) sectors in Victoria. In particular, the paper explores the policy ...
Our paper explores how and what adults living and working in the Alpine region of Victoria unders... more Our paper explores how and what adults living and working in the Alpine region of Victoria understand and are learning about the changes to water availability, in a time when the response to water availability is subject to extensive debate and policy attention. Interviews for this study were conducted in the towns of Bright and Mount Beauty, with participants drawn from across the Alpine region. The interviews focused on what local stakeholders from the Alpine region understood about water availability in the region and how and what they had learned about living and working with climatic changes in their local area. The findings of our study see that there was evidence of a strong understanding of the direct and indirect impact of climate change on participants' local community area. The study also sees evidence of learning through a community 'frames of reference' as outlined by Berkhout, Hertin and Dann et al.
Learning through life experiences as distinct from learning through the academy and courses have ... more Learning through life experiences as distinct from learning through the academy and courses have become increasingly important themes in later life adult education research and practice. Whilst the dominant discourse for most younger people is still about education and training for students in standardised and accredited courses, there is increasing concern to find ways of giving voice to empower people otherwise excluded, disempowered or missing from mainstream education, learning, research and the community. This paper specifically explores and actively mirrors ways of using techniques developed through academic autoethnography to empower older people to share and make sense of the lives they have lived by exploring some of the unexamined assumptions that govern everyday life, behaviour and decision making including in the many, often very informal contexts well beyond educational institutions, the academy and paid work. In essence, like autoethnography, our paper seeks to identif...
A range of Australian demographic, education, training, health and wellbeing data confirm that me... more A range of Australian demographic, education, training, health and wellbeing data confirm that men are experiencing a range of dilemmas as they age, particularly after retirement. Community-run men’s sheds have recently developed and proliferated, mainly across parts of southern Australia and with higher proportions of older men not in work. This research study examines their role as a place in the lives of older men. It examines the informal skill development that takes place for older men in men’s sheds: dedicated men’s programs and spaces in community organisations in Australia. It examines the circumstances and attitudes that have been shown to bring otherwise disengaged older men (defined as age 45+) to learning. In doing so, it closely examines the rationales, pedagogies, experiences and outcomes of participants in men’s sheds. These spaces and programs form a growing part of local government, community services and welfare provision for older men at a neighbourhood and suburb...
The health and wellbeing benefits of Men's Sheds to the men who participate have had signific... more The health and wellbeing benefits of Men's Sheds to the men who participate have had significant research attention for over a decade. However, there has been little research into the broader impacts of Men's Sheds, particularly in relation to the impacts on significant others in the lives of the men who participate. Our paper aims to redress this lack of research by focusing on the interrelated perceptions and experiences of men and those closest to them in four Men's Sheds in regional Victoria, Australia. The research shows that the partners and carers of ‘shedders’ reported that the men's participation not only benefited the men but also had benefits for their significant others. The study also showed that the partners of shedders in the study found that their individual and joint adjustment to retirement was in some cases assisted by the men enjoying the social and structured environment of the Men's Shed, while in other cases it was seen by partners as an ov...
Consistent with the 'looking back, moving forward' conference theme, in this paper we und... more Consistent with the 'looking back, moving forward' conference theme, in this paper we undertake a critical, research-based appraisal of the current, arguably neglected state of adult education in Australia in 2010, and proceed to paint a picture of how a different and potentially more positive future might be realised. Firstly, we emphasise situations (including states and territories) in Australia in which adult education is seen to be lacking or missing for particular groups of adults. Secondly we emphasise research evidence confirming the demonstrable value of learning for purposes other than those that are immediately vocational. We identify links between lifelong and lifewide learning on one hand, and health and wellbeing on the other. Part of the paper involves international comparisons with other forms of adult learning that Australia might learn from, adapt or borrow. We make particular reference to research underpinning the recent Inquiry into the Future of Lifelong...
This Issue is trying to connect researchers and thinkers in the area of adult learning to the notion of gender from different parts of the world and from different perspectives. Our goals are to address very diverse aspects of gender issues, connected with other dimensions such as citizenship, ethnicity, location, migration, movement, nationality, racialization, religion, space. We would like to offer a rethinking about a common ground for problematizing and deconstructing norms of hegemonic masculinities for the creation of a better social reality. Gender, as defined by Hearn (2017, p. 24) as a »very complex set of embodied, institutionalized structures, practices and processes« and one of the the most fundamental and powerful structuring social principles, is constructed within very diverse contexts. Women and femininities, and men and masculinities, are seen as »socially constructed, produced and reproduced [and] variable and changing across time (history) and space (culture), within societies, and through life course and biographies« (Hearn, 2017, p. 25).
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Final paper submission (no more than 7000 words including references) is expected by March 15, 2018 and should be submitted to sabina.jelenc@guest.arnes.si or a.foley@federation.edu.au
This Issue is trying to connect researchers and thinkers in the area of adult learning to the notion of gender from different parts of the world and from different perspectives. Our goals are to address very diverse aspects of gender issues, connected with other dimensions such as citizenship, ethnicity, location, migration, movement, nationality, racialization, religion, space. We would like to offer a rethinking about a common ground for problematizing and deconstructing norms of hegemonic masculinities for the creation of a better social reality. Gender, as defined by Hearn (2017, p. 24) as a »very complex set of embodied, institutionalized structures, practices and processes« and one of the the most fundamental and powerful structuring social principles, is constructed within very diverse contexts. Women and femininities, and men and masculinities, are seen as »socially constructed, produced and reproduced [and] variable and changing across time (history) and space (culture), within societies, and through life course and biographies« (Hearn, 2017, p. 25).