Has equity's time come for VET? Observations and principles for equity policy and practice in Australian education

Equity has a long history in education. When compulsory schooling was first introduced in industrialising nations in the mid 1800s, many advocates saw it as a way of improving the circumstances of the poorest and most disadvantaged in their communities. But access to schooling did not prove to be the great equaliser that some had hoped. Instead, it became central in the reproduction of social and economic inequalities (Bourdieu & Passeron 1977). High academic achievement became highly correlated with high socioeconomic status, and vice versa (Teese & Polesel 2003). In Australia, the Karmel Report (1973) proved to be a watershed moment in naming the equity problem in schooling and, among other things, gave rise to the Disadvantaged Schools Program (DSP): an attempt to level the playing field albeit by ‘running twice as hard’ (Connell at al. 1991). Almost two decades later, A Fair Chance for All (1990) signalled official concern for equity in Australian higher education. While access to university was not to be universal, it was to be equitable; all social groups in the Australian population were to be proportionally represented among its university students. Today, Australia is still grappling with the inequities in its schooling and higher education systems, highlighted by renewed interest by governments to address the issues. Although not of the same order of magnitude, there now appears to be an emerging policy agenda around equity in VET. Has equity’s time come for VET? This paper canvasses the history of equity in Australian schooling and higher education, with a view to drawing out principles to inform a rejuvenated equity agenda in vocational education and training.

The cost-effectiveness of the Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating (DAFNE) structured education programme: an update using the Sheffield Type 1 Diabetes policy model

AIMS: 
To estimate the cost-effectiveness of training in flexible intensive insulin therapy [as provided in the Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating (DAFNE) structured education programme] compared with no training for adults with Type 1 diabetes mellitus in the UK using the Sheffield Type 1 Diabetes Policy Model.

METHODS: 
The Sheffield Type 1 Diabetes Policy Model was used to simulate the development of long-term microvascular and macrovascular diabetes-related complications and the occurrence of diabetes-related adverse events in 5000 adults with Type 1 diabetes. Total costs and quality-adjusted life years were estimated from a National Health Service perspective over a lifetime horizon, discounted at a rate of 3.5%. The treatment effectiveness of DAFNE was modelled as a reduction in HbA1c that affected the risk of developing long-term diabetes-related complications. Probabilistic and structural sensitivity analyses were conducted.

RESULTS:
DAFNE resulted in greater life expectancy and reduced incidence of some diabetes-related complications compared with no DAFNE. DAFNE was found to generate an average of 0.0294 additional quality-adjusted life years for an additional cost of £426 per patient, leading to an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of £14 400 compared with no DAFNE. There was a 54% probability that DAFNE would be cost-effective at a willingness-to-pay threshold of £20 000 per quality-adjusted life year.

CONCLUSIONS: 
The results of this study suggest that DAFNE is a cost-effective structured education programme for people with Type 1 diabetes and support its provision by the National Health Service in the UK.

Marine educators: Linking personal commitment, education and public policy

This thesis reports on a study of the experiences and beliefs of a sample of marine educators from both Canada and Australia. It investigates the educators’ narratives in order to explore their role in regards to their interactions and relationships between and with policy, community and education within the marine education context.

Neoliberal policy agendas and the problem of inequality in higher education: the Ethiopian case

Under the influence of the external policy pressure of donors such as the World Bank, higher education in Ethiopia has witnessed a series of institutional and system-wide reforms. This article reviews selected policy documents to show key neo-liberal policy agendas endorsed in the reforms and explicate how they have affected social equity in the subsystem. The analysis shows that higher education reforms in Ethiopia, primarily framed by concerns of economic efficiency, have constrained social equity in two important ways. First, at a discursive level, the problem of inequality is represented as a lack of access and a disadvantage in the human capital formation of the nation. Second, the drive for greater efficiency and reduced costs in the educational provision embedded in the reforms is inconsistent with the need for the financial and political commitments required to benefit marginalised members of the society through relevant equity instruments. If the equity policy provisions should be instrumental in ensuring participation, retention and successful completion, and thereby supporting the social mobility of disadvantaged groups, they need to draw on a broad social justice perspective.