Life as a Lab Rat

Who I am

David McLean•Senior Educator @ Kangan Batman TAFE•Printing & Graphic Arts (Multimedia)•Interactive Digital Media•Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL)

Qualifications•Currently enrolled in PhD Work and Learning Studies @ Monash•Masters in Work and Learning Studies•BA Media Studies – Edith Cowan

Life as a Lab Rat

My Study

Research Method

•Institutional Ethnography as Developed by Dorothy E. Smith

•Focuses on the every day work that people do and how that is organised and restructured via texts

•Also considers how a single text can influence multiple work places in different locations (the Translocal)

Life as a Lab Rat

Institutional Ethnography

IE Method & Data Collection

•Identify and describe a ‘problematic”.

•Something has happened, how has it occurred? What changes has it made to the way people work?

•Interviews and conversations with practitioners about their work while looking for texts that organise.

•Follow and map the trail of texts

Life as a Lab Rat

IE eyes & ears

Spotting an opportunity to apply IE

•IE makes you more aware of the ‘texts’ that shape and control the work we do. All of a sudden IE is everywhere!

•When something new is proposed you wait for the cascade of texts to arrive…watch the trickle become a flood and see the change it makes to the everyday work that people do…

•But what about those that aren't watching? When & how do they become aware of change? What new texts appear that (re)shape the everyday work that people do and at what pace do the texts arrive?

Life as a Lab Rat

Key text

Victorian Vet PolicyJobs for Your Future: Skills for Victoria

People and Place of workVictorian TAFE Teachers & Senior Educators

Life as a Lab Rat

Questions

1. What foreknowledge of the Skills Reform policy did TAFE teachers have?

2. What operational texts were produced to implement the Skills Reform Policy?

3. What are TAFE teachers experiences of implementing Skills Reform?

Life as a Lab Rat

State of play post June 30 2009

Funding•Decreased fees for Cert III & Below (staged implementation)•Increase in fees for Diploma & above (staged implementation)•Students can only get govt subsidy for a qualification higher than they have already obtained.•If you have a Diploma and want another one in a different field you will have to pay full fees ($6K to $10K)•Student loans via Fee Help •Removal of training priorities

Contestability•All state government funding will be open to both public and private providers (staged from July1st 2009 onwards)•TAFES will eventually receive no fixed funding and will have to openly compete with the Private Sector.•Are there unlimited funds?

Life as a Lab Rat

What is driving research?

IE has significant potential for this project as the every day work of TAFE teachers & administrators is about to undergo significant change.

IE looks at how change has occurred when those most affected by change were not aware of the change.

IE also recognises how change is structured and communicated through texts, and how texts are interconnected through a mapped hierarchy.

Life as a Lab Rat

Why “life as a Lab Rat?”

•Great deal of this change has been encouraged in Victoria by the Federal Government

•Change is backed by extra PPP funds for Victoria to experiment with their VET sector

•Policy has several reviews built in and space for modification

•While these directions are tested and modified TAFE teachers and administrators will be at the forefront of the experiment

•It is those at the ‘forefront’ of the experiment that this study is interested in talking to.

Life as a Lab Rat

Theoretical Concepts

Mikhail Bakhtin TAFE Work D.E. Smith

Surprise teachers foreknowledge

ruling relations

Determinism policy & procedure translocality

Genre new ways of doing things

texts

Life as a Lab Rat

2008 A tale of 2 textsIn 2008 Victorian TAFE sector was influenced by two key texts.

1. Jobs for Your Future: Skills for Victoria

2. Multi Business Agreement (MBA) - TAFE Teachers Award

Life as a Lab Rat

Maps of texts

A second part of interest to this study is the density of texts that will need to be created to shape work practices to the aims of the policy documents.

I will use contemporary genre analysis to examine controlling texts at different locations spawned from the policy document, looking for similarities and differences in how control is established via translocal tetxs to enact the policy.

Opportunities for Change

Textual mediated work: Victorian TAFE teachers

T

Lesson Plan

Resources

Assessment

Delivery Plan

Scope of Registration

CMM

Purchasing Guide

Training Package

Industry Training Board Advice

AQTF

Controlled Copy

NTIS

Induction

Logon for IT access

KBOL Logon

Payroll info

Institute procedures

Working with youth check

Current Competence

Teacher Qualification

Industry Qualification

Course Structure

Timetable

Tick Sheet

Enrolment procedures

VET Fee Help Information

Session advice form

Start/End Dates

Census Dates

AnnualCourse Loads

Work Plan

MBA

Record of Moderation

Record of Validation

Benchmarking

Skills Reform

VET Fee Help Policies

QLS

Moderation

VASS Dates

VCE Exam Rules

Mentoring Plans

Teacher Qualifications

Assessment Details

Record of Visit

VCAA Course Advice

COY MOU with School

VETiS

Course completion

Course transcripts

QLS Reports

QLS Data Entry

QLS Access

Roll Register

Rolls

Session Codes

Course Codes

MLCR Data

Mentoring Plans

Project Duties

Dept Strategic Plan

DIMA

CRICOS

IS Course Offerings

International Students List

IS Progress report

VETASSESS

Confirms

Dept Budget

Delivery Plan

Marketing Plan

Business Plan

Group Strategic Plan

Institute Strategic PlanReview

Contract

Department meetings

Minutes

ActionsReading eMails

Responding to eMails

Following up responses to eMails Workplace Visits

Workplace Journals

Delta

Communications

Results posting

Activity reports

KBOL Enrolment

KBOL Students Logon

KBOL Teachers logon

Online resources

KBOL Template

Proposal for online resource development

A map of texts that shape and influence the work that TAFE

teachers do. (V1.2)

Certificate IV TAA

Diploma of VET

Supervised teaching plan

Post Grad Qualifications

RPL Info Form

RPL Plan

RPL Interview

Cataloguing RPL Evidence

RPL Confirmation

RPL Procedure

Skills Store

Customer Response

Codes of Conduct

Incident Reports

Assessment Policies

Award Categories

Student Handbook

eMail policy

Usage survailance

Opportunities for Change

Textual mediated work: SR Enrolment Process

TeacherEnrolment Form

Identification

Proof of Citizenship

Previous qualifications

Unit Selections

Unit of Study Form Profile

Start & Finish DatesPublished 6 months

prior

Staff Training

Training Documentation

Training Strategy

Course Structure

VET Fee Help Form

Enrolment eligibility

Fees & Charges

Fee Cap

Purchasing Guide

Course Advice

Training Package

AQTF

Fee for Service Reference Groups

Key Stakeholders

Brainstorming

Institute Procedures

Student Records

VET Fee Help Registration

VET Fee Help Act

SMS Database modification

Census Dates

Unit of Study Form FFS

Fees Published online

Activity Reporting

Enrolment Fee Confirmation

TAFE 4 All campaign

Union Journal

MBA

VET Fee Help Information

Course Information

Course Brochures

Marketing

Course Categories

Course withdrawal forms

Productivity

VTA

Treasury

Higher Ed Pathway Agreements

Course Refunds

HEPCAT

Work plan

Teaching Load

Timetable

Allowances

Staff Meeting

Enrolment Roster

Institute Communications

Management meetings

Executive Meetings

Discussions with with Skills Victoria

Directions from DIIRD

Skills Reform Policy

State GovernmentFederal

Government

Research

Industry Groups

Financial Reports

Ministerial Advice

Departmental Advice

Discussion Papers

SR Support Documents

Teachers Guide

Student Guide

Fee MaintenanceSR Fees 2009

Performance Agreement

Skills Victoria

Student Details

Student Number

Attendance Record

Results Record

CAN Notice

Tax Department VFH Debt

Tax File Number

HEIMShelp

Guide to Student Records Procedure

& PracticesFile Naming Conventions

The ruling relations of enrolment procedures in

Victorian TAFE post July 1 2009 implementation of Skills

Reform.

Interview list

AEU State Conference

AEU

Skills Reform Website

ODI

Life as a Lab Rat

Coming in 2010:

Life in amaze of documents: Victorian Skills Reform and the trail of texts.