Restructuring vocational education and training provision in Australia: Exploring the impact on teachers' work, 11(21)

Abstract

The vocational education and training (VET) sector in Australia has undergone a prolonged period of substantial and significant restructuring. Reforms have been driven by a pressure to increase market forces within the system, and to gear 'outputs' ever more closely to economic considerations and the needs of industry. This paper outlines the key elements of VET reform and links these developments to the ideological dominance of market based policy in the public sector, and the influence of human capital theory on education policy. The paper explores the impact of these reforms on teachers' labor process, and some implications for the Australian Education Union.