Bergami, Roberto and Schuller, Annamarie (2009) VET teachers' perceptions on the value of industry placement: scoping study in Australia. The International Journal of Knowledge, Culture and Change Management, 8 (11). pp. 9-21. ISSN 1447-9524

Abstract

Current trends in teaching in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) area favour an approach that aims to produce industry ready graduates who possess the requisite latest information, so they can ‘hit the ground running’ upon entering the workforce. This goal presumes that educators themselves, in this environment, equally possess the latest knowledge and are up-to-date with industry practices and approaches to contemporary challenges, but this may not always be possible, due to a variety of factors, including the fast pace of change in certain industries. Therefore to keep up to date, teachers, like other workers, need a program of professional development that enables them to engage with industry - one of the key stakeholders whose requirements they are trying to satisfy through classroom instruction. An industry placement opportunity provides such engagement with industry, as the teacher is seconded to a host industry organisation for a predetermined period of time to undertake agreed upon tasks. The benefits provided by an industry placement include: The up-skilling of the teacher, leading to a greater understanding of contemporary industry processes and practices that may be incorporated into classroom teaching; Showcasing the educational institution capabilities to the host organisation; and The teacher becoming a broker in the development of a community of practice with students, industry and the educational institution. This paper reports on the results of a scoping study undertaken at two public VET institutions in the State of Victoria Australia. The study, limited to the business education area, aims to capture teachers’ perceptions on the value of industry placements, and the results will be considered in the context of the development of communities of practice and tested against a theoretical model.

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