Paving pathways : shaping the public health workforce through tertiary education

Public health educational pathways in Australia have traditionally been the province of Universities, with the Master of Public Health (MPH) recognised as the flagship professional entry program. Public health education also occurs within the fellowship training of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine, but within Australia this remains confined to medical graduates. In recent years, however, we have seen a proliferation of undergraduate degrees as well as an increasing public health presence in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector. Following the 2007 Australian Federal election, the new Labour government brought with it a refreshing commitment to a more inclusive and strategic style of government. An important example of this was the 2020 visioning process that identified key issues of public health concern, including an acknowledgment that it was unacceptable to allocate less than 2% of the health budget towards disease prevention. This led to the recommendation for the establishment of a national preventive health agency (Australia: the healthiest country by 2020 National Preventative Health Strategy, Prepared by the Preventative Health Taskforce 2009). The focus on disease prevention places a spotlight on the workforce that will be required to deliver the new investment in health prevention, and also on the role of public health education in developing and upskilling the workforce. It is therefore timely to reflect on trends, challenges and opportunities from a tertiary sector perspective. Is it more desirable to focus education efforts on selected lead issues such as the “obesity epidemic”, climate change, Indigenous health and so on, or on the underlying theory and skills that build a flexible workforce capable of responding to a range of health challenges? Or should we aspire to both? This paper presents some of the key discussion points from 2008 - 2009 of the Public Health Educational Pathways workshops and working group of the Australian Network of Public Health Institutions. We highlight some of the competing tensions in public health tertiary education, their impact on public health training programs, and the educational pathways that are needed to grow, shape and prepare the public health workforce for future

The whats, whys and wherefores of home education and its regulation in Australia

This paper presents a unique summary of Australian research on home education, and an evaluation of current regulation in an Australian context. It begins with the recognition that home education is a legal alternative to school education in Australia. However it argues that legal definitions of home education do not properly reflect the practice of home education. This is illustrated by an examination of different educational approaches taken by home educators and research on the socialisation of home educated children in Australia. Research on who chooses home education, why people choose home education and the educational outcomes for home educated children is also discussed. Home educating families represent all family types, are found in rural, suburban and city locations, and choose home education for a variety ofreasons. Research indicates that Australian home educated children have positive educational and social experiences and outcomes. The question of whether and ifso the extent to which, home education should be regulated by the state is examined. The authors argue that whilst regulation is acceptable to protect a childr right to education, a more consistent regulatory framework is needed across Australia. It is argued that such aframework should facilitate and encourage children who are being home educated and should be flexible enough to accommodate the variety ofeducational approaches taken to home education.

The psychological contract in apprenticeships and traineeships : differing perceptions

As with any contract of employment, the mutual expectations of the employer and the apprentice/trainee are very important. Apprenticeships and traineeships have greater expectations than other employment contracts of employment because of the training component of the contract. This paper reports on some of the findings of a major NCVER-funded national project examining mutual expectations in apprenticeships and traineeships through the concept of the psychological contract. The paper focuses on the differences between employers and apprentices/trainees, in the expectations each party has of the other and in the extent to which the expectations are perceived to have been met.

Student equity's starring role in Australian higher education : not yet centre field

The field of Australian higher education has changed, is changing and is about to change, repositioned in relation to other ‘‘fields of power’’. It is a sector now well defined by its institutional groupings and by their relative claims to selectivity and exclusivity, with every suggestion of their differentiation growing. The potential of a ‘‘joined-up’’ tertiary education system, of vocational education and training (VET) and universities, has the potential to further rework these relations within Australian higher education, as will lifting the volume caps on university student enrolments. Moreover, Australian universities now compete within an international higher education marketplace, ranked by THES and Shanghai Jiao Tiong league tables. ‘‘Catchment areas’’ and knowledge production have become global. In sum, Australian universities (and agents within them) are positioned differently in the field. And being so variously and variably placed, institutions and agents have different stances available to them, including the positions they can take on student equity. In this paper I begin from the premise that our current stance on equity has been out-positioned, as much by a changing higher education field as by entrenched representations of social groups across regions, institutions, disciplines and degrees. In taking a new stance on equity, the paper is also concerned with the positioning in the field of a new national research centre with a focus on student equity in higher education. In particular, the paper asks what stance this new centre can take on student equity that will resonate on a national and even international scale. And, given a global field of higher education, what definitions of equity and propositions for policy and practice can it offer? What will work in the pursuit of equity?

Student equity in higher education : what to do when the queue is not long or diverse enough

In this paper I outline three broad propositions about or challenges to access and participation in Australian higher education, resulting from the Australian Government’s 20/40 targets for the sector and their attendant requirements for universities, such as the performance indicators for teaching and learning. While some of my analysis could be seen as speculative, in the sense that it represents our best guesses about the future, in aking these arguments I draw on publically available statistics on Australian schooling, vocational education and training (VET) and the higher education sector, as well as on recent research on outreach programs by universities in schools.

Family-centred practice : empowerment, self-efficacy, and challenges for practitioners in early childhood education and care

Family-centred practice has been included in the Victoria, Australia Early Years Learning and Development Framework as a key practice principle for professionals working across all early years programs in that state. While this model of partnership for engaging and collaborating with families has long been used in the early intervention sector, the efficacy of adopting this model more widely across the wider early childhood education and care sector has not been explored. This article presents a discussion on family-centred practice as a model for engaging with families in the care and education of their children. Through an analysis of the underlying philosophy and an examination of the core principles and characteristics, the article explores family-centred practice as it sits within a broader theory of partnership. This analysis identifies that while there are essential principles and characteristics that position the model within a partnership framework, it is the notion of empowerment, an underpinning philosophy guiding the model, that adds another dimension to the way practitioners in early childhood education and care settings collaborate with families. In examining the broader early childhood context, the capacity of many early childhood practitioners to effectively implement empowering behaviours is challenged.

Partnerships in early childhood education and care : empowering parents or empowering practitioners

Research acknowledges that outcomes for young children are enhanced when effective partnerships are developed between educators and families. The Australian Early Years Learning Framework provides direction for the professional practice of early childhood educators by acknowledging the importance of educators working in partnership with families. In the Victorian state-based early years framework, family-centred practice has been included as the practice model. Family-centred practice has as its core a philosophy of professionals supporting the empowerment of parents as active decision makers for their child. The early childhood education and care sector in Australia, however, is made up of a workforce which is largely perceived as being undervalued as a profession. This raises questions as to the capacity of these educators to support the empowerment of parents when they themselves are coming from a position of disempowerment due to their professional status. This article reports on findings from a small-scale study of childhood educators working in a long day-care setting which aimed to identify perceptions of the partnerships that exist between themselves and parents. In the course of the investigation, it became evident that some of educators felt disempowered in the relationships that exist with some families.