- Email: [email protected]
Towards a constructive adult life
TOWARDS A CONSTRUCTIVE ADULT LIFE J. P. Keeves (The following article is adapted from The Transition From School To Work, To Further Training And To A Constructive Adult Life, presented at a conference on Youth Employment, Education and Training, 23-25 February 1981, convened jointly by The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and the Centre for Economic Policy Research, Australian National University. J. P. Keeves compiled the original paper with the aid of the Australian Council for Educational Research and its staff.) Among the many studies on the problems of the transition from school to work in Australia are those which have focused on programmes called pre-vocational and preapprenticeship. Such programmes do not aim at producing fully skilled personnel, but hope rather to lay a basis of skills essential to one or even several occupations, along with the continuing broad development of the individual. They provide a preparation for full-time work or for further study and work. They are run not by schools but by institutions of technical and further education and they admit students who have finished their 10 years of compulsory schooling. Their courses are full-time. Some
examples
of these
programmes
were
an office training course which tried to simulate a modern office environment in which its students could learn typing, operating business machines, reception duties and other associated skills;
polytechnical trades training of 35 weeks comprising five modules of seven weeks each and covering basic technical knowledge and skills across many trades. The course emphasised broad personality development through the acquisition of technical competence; pre-apprenticeship carpentry and ]oinery for one year, of which half was spent in actually building a house, which was subsequently sold; 62
a certificate course in chemistry, which not only provided the basis for entry to a range of technical occupations through extensive practical work, but also provided liberal studies units for fostering broader aspects of personal development. A feature of this training is the deliberate creation of opportunities for responsible, collective activity, where one member of the group is dependent on the others. In the building of a house, for instance, a group of eight students work as a team under the leadership of a skilled tradesman. A second notable feature is the attempt, where appropriate and possible, to simulate the adult working environment. The Australian Council for Educational Research has conducted two studies to evaluate these pre-vocational and pre-apprenticeship programmes. Several points of general use seem to be emerging. However, it is necessary to stress that the generalizations are still highly tentative, sometimes being only implied in the findings and comments. Even so, they are worth noting, since educators and trainers will be able to assess their weight against their own experience. Some tentative generalisations on successful pre-vocational and pre-apprenticeship programmes: (1) The programmes must serve many purposes. They should not be solely concerned with providing training in a specific skill. (2) Short term programmes do not appear to be as successful as longer term ones, although they have the advantage of permitting larger numbers to benefit from the programmes. (3) The provision of financial support slightly in excess of the minimum amount available from the dole, together with travelling allowances where appropriate, can contribute to the success of a programme.
(4) The programmes would appear to function most successfully, if they are removed from ]ormal educational institutions and are conducted in situations that
simulate the work-place. (5) The sucess of a course is dependent on the quality of the staff who conduct it. The staff would need to have considerable
experience in industry and in the workplace outside of the educational setting. (6) A programme would appear to need a substantial core of full-time staff to run it, who can maintain close personal contact with the youth engaged in the course.
(7) In the learning of skills there needs to be a sharing of activity between the learner and the teacher, so that the learner is, in
part, responsible for his own learning, and gains experience of responsible interdependent activity.
(8)
The theoretical components of a course need to be meaningfully and purposefully integrated with practice, so that the relevance of theory is clearly seen by the student in relation to the practical skill that he is gaining.
(9) The courses should not be seen as a substitute for specific skill training programmes. They serve a different purpose in so far as they not only seek to maintain a liberal view of education, but also seek to relate the learning more directly to a world of work rather than to further academic study. (10) Each programme by itself is not a universal remedy to the problems of youth unemployment or to the problems of transition from school to work. Each programme forms another option that in appropriate circumstances can be taken in order to meet the needs and interests of all youth.
63
examples
of these
programmes
were
an office training course which tried to simulate a modern office environment in which its students could learn typing, operating business machines, reception duties and other associated skills;
polytechnical trades training of 35 weeks comprising five modules of seven weeks each and covering basic technical knowledge and skills across many trades. The course emphasised broad personality development through the acquisition of technical competence; pre-apprenticeship carpentry and ]oinery for one year, of which half was spent in actually building a house, which was subsequently sold; 62
a certificate course in chemistry, which not only provided the basis for entry to a range of technical occupations through extensive practical work, but also provided liberal studies units for fostering broader aspects of personal development. A feature of this training is the deliberate creation of opportunities for responsible, collective activity, where one member of the group is dependent on the others. In the building of a house, for instance, a group of eight students work as a team under the leadership of a skilled tradesman. A second notable feature is the attempt, where appropriate and possible, to simulate the adult working environment. The Australian Council for Educational Research has conducted two studies to evaluate these pre-vocational and pre-apprenticeship programmes. Several points of general use seem to be emerging. However, it is necessary to stress that the generalizations are still highly tentative, sometimes being only implied in the findings and comments. Even so, they are worth noting, since educators and trainers will be able to assess their weight against their own experience. Some tentative generalisations on successful pre-vocational and pre-apprenticeship programmes: (1) The programmes must serve many purposes. They should not be solely concerned with providing training in a specific skill. (2) Short term programmes do not appear to be as successful as longer term ones, although they have the advantage of permitting larger numbers to benefit from the programmes. (3) The provision of financial support slightly in excess of the minimum amount available from the dole, together with travelling allowances where appropriate, can contribute to the success of a programme.
(4) The programmes would appear to function most successfully, if they are removed from ]ormal educational institutions and are conducted in situations that
simulate the work-place. (5) The sucess of a course is dependent on the quality of the staff who conduct it. The staff would need to have considerable
experience in industry and in the workplace outside of the educational setting. (6) A programme would appear to need a substantial core of full-time staff to run it, who can maintain close personal contact with the youth engaged in the course.
(7) In the learning of skills there needs to be a sharing of activity between the learner and the teacher, so that the learner is, in
part, responsible for his own learning, and gains experience of responsible interdependent activity.
(8)
The theoretical components of a course need to be meaningfully and purposefully integrated with practice, so that the relevance of theory is clearly seen by the student in relation to the practical skill that he is gaining.
(9) The courses should not be seen as a substitute for specific skill training programmes. They serve a different purpose in so far as they not only seek to maintain a liberal view of education, but also seek to relate the learning more directly to a world of work rather than to further academic study. (10) Each programme by itself is not a universal remedy to the problems of youth unemployment or to the problems of transition from school to work. Each programme forms another option that in appropriate circumstances can be taken in order to meet the needs and interests of all youth.
63