Do the qualifications of vocational teachers make a difference to their teaching?

Figures & data

Table 1. Research method and participants, 2015–17.

Phase	Activity	No. of research participants
(1)	Stakeholder interviews.	11
(2)	11 focus groups of teacher/trainers (29 people) and students (40).	60
(3)	Case studies about the effects of teacher qualifications on teaching quality, at four TAFE and four non-TAFE RTOs. Interviews with managers, teachers and students.	128
(4)	National Teacher/Trainer Survey administered through eight TAFE and 48 non-TAFE RTOs.	574
(5)	Professional Development Survey of teachers, administered through three external professional development providers.	368
(6)	Professional development case studies at three TAFE and three non-TAFE RTOs. Interviews with managers and teachers.	50
(7)	Expert validation process – three stage on-line ‘Delphi’ survey.	55
Total		1255

Figure 1a. Highest qualification in VET or adult education teaching/training (Q1.14 of survey).Note: ‘Cert IV TAE’ (from the 2010 or later TAE Training Package) also includes ‘or earlier equivalent, or skill set’.

Figure 1b. Highest qualification in the main industry/discipline area taught (Q.1.10 of survey).Note: ‘Dip/Adv Dip’ also includes VET sector Grad Cert/Grad Dip.

Figure 2. Average (mean) scores by domain for 'attribution of importance' and 'personal confidence'Note: Mean scores are normalised to a maximum of 25 per domain, because some domains had different numbers of items (see Appendix 1)

Figure 3. Total 'personal confidence' by highest VET pedagogy qualificationNotes:

(i) The data are presented showing ± one standard deviation

(ii) * Denotes significant difference between this group (the ‘Degree or above ‘group) and all other groups (P < 0.05); there were also additional significant differences for individual items

(iii) Number of respondents at each qualification level: Certificate IV (n = 255), Diploma (n = 70), Degree or above (n = 79)

Table 2. ‘Attribution of importance’ and ‘personal confidence’: overall averages for the people in each of six qualification ‘pairings’.

Highest VET pedagogy qual Highest industry qualification	Cert. IV TAE		Diploma		Degree or above
	Attribution of importance	Personal confidence	Attribution of importance	Personal confidence	Attribution of importance	Personal confidence
Certs. III, IV, Dip, Adv. Dip.	103.02	94.96	101.86	95.14	104.24	100.15
Degree or above	105.73	96.90	103.73	100.42	106.61	103.37

The average total score was 104.0 for ‘Attribution of importance’ and 97.1 for ‘Personal confidence’.

Table 3. Statistically significant differences among teachers with different levels of highest qualification for each of the domains.

	Highest VET pedagogy qualification		Highest industry qualification
	Attribution of importance	Personal confidence	Attribution of importance	Personal confidence
Domain 1: Know learners, their context and how they learn.	–	✓	✓	✓
Domain 2: Know the content and how it can be taught.	–	✓	–	✓
Domain 3: Plan, design and deliver effective teaching/training experiences.	✓	✓	✓	✓
Domain 4: Assess, provide feedback and report on learning.	–	✓	✓	–
Domain 5: Engage with industry, colleagues, community, regulatory & professional bodies.	–	✓	✓	✓

(i) The significant differences always indicated increases in mean scores of ‘attribution of importance’ or ‘personal confidence’ as the highest qualification level increased.

(ii) Whether there were overall significant differences among teachers in the domain or not, there may have been significant ‘pairwise’ differences between individual groups.

Figure 4. Extent that the higher level VET teaching qualification(s) added to the skills and knowledge learned in the certificate IV TAE.

Note: 52 of these people had the Dip VET as their highest VET teaching qualification; 62 people had a degree or above

Table 4. Professional development in VET teaching/training ‘sometimes’ or ‘regularly’, by pedagogical qualification level. (n = 402).

Highest pedagogical qualification Type of PD activity	Cert IV TAE n = 253	Dip VET n = 70	Degree or above n = 79	All
Formal Activities Conferences	47.0%	60.0%	64.6%	52.7%
Short courses, seminars or workshops within the RTO	68.8%	72.9%	79.7%	71.6%
Short courses, seminars or workshops outside the RTO	57.7%	68.6%	68.4%	61.7%
Formally constituted community of practice	33.2%	41.4%	48.1%	37.1%
Informal Activities RTO electronic or non-electronic newsletters or noticeboards	79.1%	84.3%	86.1%	81.3%
Email lists, blogs or similar	72.7%	84.3%	84.8%	77.1%
Own reading	83.0%	88.6%	92.4%	85.8%

Table 5. Professional development in industry/discipline area ‘sometimes’ or ‘regularly’, by pedagogical qualification level.

Highest pedagogical qualification Type of PD activity	Cert IV TAE n = 253	Dip VET n = 70	Degree or above n = 79	All
Formal Activities Industry/discipline conferences	73.1%	80.0%	78.5%	75.4%
Short courses, seminars or workshops within the RTO	70.4%	75.7%	78.5%	72.9%
Short courses, seminars or workshops outside the RTO	75.1%	82.9%	83.5%	78.1%
Network of teachers/trainers	70.0%	75.7%	84.8%	73.9%
Membership of employer/industry professional association	64.4%	74.3%	72.2%	67.7%
Informal Activities Email lists, blogs or similar	88.1%	94.3%	87.3%	89.1%
Own reading	94.9%	95.7%	98.7%	95.8%
Informal liaison with employers	87.0%	91.4%	86.1%	87.6%

Table

Standard	Item
Standard 1 – ‘Know learners, their context and how they learn’	Item 1.1 – Understand adult learning principles, frameworks and theories that underpin effective practice in teaching/ training, learning and assessment.
	Item 1.2 – Understand the demands of different learning contexts including classrooms, workplace, virtual and community education locations.
	Item 1.3 – Recognise and value the diversity of social, cultural and linguistic backgrounds of learners.
	Item 1.4 – Understand effective teaching/ training strategies that are responsive to the community, cultural setting, linguistic back-ground and histories of learners.
	Item 1.5 – Understand a range of inclusive learning strategies that support the participation of all learners.
Standard 2 – ‘Know the content and how it can be taught’	Item 2.1 – Demonstrate current industry knowledge and skills in your vocational area.
	Item 2.2 – Understand the content of the learning program.
	Item 2.3 – Know how to communicate effectively with learners.
	Item 2.4 – Understand the application of strategies for flexible, applied and supported learning appropriate to the vocational area.
	Item 2.5 – Understand a variety of effective strategies to support the learners’ language, literacy and numeracy requirements.
	Item 2.6 – Understand the use of a range of quality resources including technology to support teaching/training, learning and assessment in different environments.
Standard 3 – ‘Plan, design and deliver effective teaching/training experiences’	Item 3.1 – Plan, design and deliver engaging and inclusive learning experiences.
	Item 3.2 – Select, develop and use a range of teaching/training strategies and resources including new and emerging technologies.
	Item 3.3 – Utilise local, national and global content through real and/or virtual environments for learning experiences.
	Item 3.4 – Reflect on your practice to improve the learning experience.
Standard 4 – ‘Assess, provide feedback and report on learning’	Item 4.1 – Select, develop and/or customise a range of assessment tools that meet the principles of assessment and the rules of evidence.
	Item 4.2 – Use a range of assessment methods and tools.
	Item 4.3 – Use a variety of formative and summative assessment processes.
	Item 4.4 – Understand and participate in assessment validation.
	Item 4.5 – Provide timely feedback and results of assessment to learners and approved stakeholders.
Standard 5 – ‘Engage with industry, colleagues, community, regulatory and professional bodies’	Item 5.1 – Liaise with stakeholders to ensure that learning programs and the learning environment are industry relevant.
	Item 5.2 – Engage with educational, professional, industry and vocational networks/associations in order to keep abreast of contemporary vocational education and training issues, research and practice.
	Item 5.3 – Understand the implications of and comply with relevant legislative, administrative, organisational and professional requirements, policies and processes.