Archived material
Some aspects of the documents in this section no longer apply, however they have been archived for reference.
Perspectives on English
Judy Byrne
Director, Educational Development
Department of Education and Training
March 1998
- Introduction
- English and Credit Transfer
- Communication Skills
- Key Competencies
- Securing the Future
- Conclusion
Introduction
I have been invited here this morning to present a vocational education and training (or VET) perspective on the teaching of the subject English. In one way this is a very straight forward task - after all English is used in a range of human activity in Australia, including the world of work. As teachers of the only compulsory subject in the Higher School Certificate, you do not need to be reminded of the central role that English plays in people's personal and working lives.It is a little less straight forward to explain the ways that VET can actively contribute to the revision of Senior English syllabi. Today I would like to concentrate on three ways in which a dialogue with vocational education and training can benefit English. These are by assisting the subject English :
* to better meet the needs of the diverse range of HSC students,
* to respond to recent national and state government policy, and
* by providing a model of an outcomes-based syllabus.
Before explaining these three benefits in detail however, I would like to draw your attention to some important features of vocational education and training and to perhaps address some misconceptions.
OHT 1 Australian Qualifications Framework
|
SECONDARY SECTOR Senior Secondary Certificate of Education |
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND Advanced Diploma Diploma Certificate IV Certificate III Certificate II Certificate I |
HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR Doctoral Degree Master's Degree Graduate Diploma Graduate Certificate Bachelor Degree Advanced Diploma Diploma |
The VET sector is organised into levels within the Australian Qualifications Framework. These levels range from Certificate I through to IV and on to Diploma and Advanced Diploma level. At the lower end of these levels are the introductory courses. In some cases the content of modules or subjects in these courses is also covered in the upper end of secondary schooling. This is the situation which produces Credit Transfer, whereby HSC graduates who enrol in TAFE NSW courses may be exempt from particular modules. Currently there are over 40 HSC courses which provide credit transfer into over 185 TAFE NSW courses.
Despite the fact that English enjoys a central position in the secondary school, it has not managed to attract any significant credit transfer into TAFE NSW courses. For instance, the HSC/TAFE Credit Transfer Guide published by the Board of Studies in November 1997 shows that only one study area in TAFE NSW, that is Manufacturing and Engineering, formally recognises the outcomes of any of the current HSC English courses.
This is certainly not a true reflection of the credit transfer possibilities from HSC English to TAFE courses - but the Board of Studies and TAFE NSW have found it difficult up to this point in time to match outcome-based VET courses using the English syllabi in their current form. It is hoped that this anomalous situation is one that can be rectified through the revision of the English syllabi which is currently being undertaken, and of which this forum is a crucial part.
English and Credit Transfer
What are the credit transfer possibilities between HSC English and VET courses? The outcomes of HSC English courses do relate quite strongly to outcomes from the VET course, Communication Skills. Communication Skills in VET (and this is distinct from Communications with an `s') involve the English macro skills of Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking as well cultural awareness and the ability to work with others. When delivered in the context of a VET course, Communication Skills focus on the interactive process which enables people to function effectively in the workforce. Whilst there is clearly more to the subject English than these Communication Skills, each senior English syllabi would help students to develop these skills to some degree and should therefore attract credit transfer.
OHT 2 Sample Communication Skills Learning Outcomes
| Workplace Communication NCS001 | Participate in small, informal groups |
| Negotiation Skills NCS009 |
Negotiate to achieve an agreed outcome |
| Presenting Reports NSC015 |
Research material relevant to an issue |
| Writing in Plain English NCS016 |
Edit others' documents according to the principles of plain English |
Communication Skills
The learning outcomes for the Communication Skills modules used by TAFE NSW are summarised in the document National Communication Skills Modules "Possible Pathways" which has been provided in the conference papers. Many of these outcomes are specific to a workplace context such as "write complex workplace documents" and "gather and evaluate information on employment opportunities".
However, English teachers will recognise many generic skills that are fundamental to their discipline. These would range from entry level outcomes such as "participate in small, informal groups" through to higher level outcomes such as "negotiate to achieve an agreed outcome" , "research material relevant to an issue" and "edit others' documents according to the principles of plain English". Whilst it may be argued that these are generic skills which should be developed in most other HSC courses, it is only through the compulsory subject English that it can be guaranteed that these skills will be learnt in a way that is both comprehensive and developmental.
We have heard this morning about the evolution of the subject English as it has been influenced by the various perspectives. The discipline of Communication has also undergone changes, and like English has been informed over time by a range of theories and perspectives. The teaching of Communication Skills can draw on theories ranging from socio-cultural analysis to organisational psychology. The methodologies employed are similar to those used in the discipline of English; employing holistic rather than atomistic approaches and using individual and group projects, role play and student self evaluation.
Finally, before finishing this overview of VET and English we need to address the direct question:
Do all English students need Communication Skills for the workplace?
The answer to this question is: Yes. The workplace is a communication context that all students should understand and in which they should feel confident. Take the example of your local general practitioner's surgery. Whether HSC students go on to become doctors, surgery receptionists or patients at that surgery - they will all need to be in possession of effective communication skills and to be aware of the processes that operate in these workplace interactions.
I would now like to turn our attention to the three ways in which English can benefit from an interaction with vocational education and training, specifically with Communication Skills.
1. To better meet the needs of the diverse range of HSC students
English syllabi need to provide the essential skills for all post-school pathways; that is for the 37% of HSC students who go on to higher education and for the 63% who proceed to further education and training or employment.
Who are these HSC students? Are their pathways as straight forward as the statistics would have them appear?
We know from the our experiences in schools across New South Wales that HSC students are a diverse group. They are living in metropolitan, regional and rural areas. They are Aboriginal, non-Aboriginal and from non-English speaking backgrounds. They are differently abled. They may be accessing their HSC through a distance education mode, from inside a corrective services centre, a youth refuge or from a hospital bed. If they are attending a TAFE college, they may be mature-aged students.
The statistics on post-school destinations that I have just quoted may suggest that this rather diverse group has a relatively predictable set of pathways; that is, either a linear transition from school directly to work, or to work via further study.
Recent research however, from Melbourne's Youth Research Centre paints a picture of senior school leavers who do not view study and work in a strictly sequential way and who are engaging in a broad range of life patterns. There is little reason to believe that similar research in New South Wales would yield the vastly different results.
This study of 2,000 Victorian students carried out in 1996 indicated that once they have completed schooling, many young people "vary or modify their options and do not stick to a linear track." (p22) As well, the study showed that there is an increasing number of school leavers who combine work and study. In Rethinking Transitions: Options and Outcomes of the Post-1970 Generation, Peter Dwyer, Associate Professor from the University of Melbourne, points to:
"Öa significant overlap between study, work and other life-commitments that for many of the post-1970 generation is in the forefront of their experience. They are establishing different patterns of response which involve complicated mixes of study, work and family life as part of the youth agenda: mixtures of leaving and returning to the parental home, of part-time work and part-time study, of full-time study and part-time work and even of full-time work and full-time study.
Even school students are nowadays in various ways acting as `part-time adults' - as shop assistants, surrogate or even unmarried mothers, workers in a family small business, as farm hands, in sporting teams, and even within the underground or informal economy. Over 70 per cent of the jobs in the youth labour market are now held by young people who are also students (Ashenden, 1990) - they are already combining the two worlds of study and work." (p22)
If Senior English syllabi are to meet the needs of school leavers they must to take into account this range of life patterns that young people are choosing. In many ways, recent government policy has recognised these trends both in the labour market and in life options of young people today. It is to recent educational policy initiatives, and their impact on the revision of Senior English that I would now like to turn.
OHT 3 Seven Key Competencies
Collecting, analysing and organising information
Communicating ideas and information
Planning and organising activities
Working with others and in teams
Using mathematical ideas and techniques
Solving problems
Using technology
2. To respond to national and state government policy
Two government educational initiatives that are impacting on the subject English are the national program to introduce employment-related competencies, and the New South Wales government's reforms to the Higher School Certificate. Communication Skills has a role to play in the incorporation of both of these initiatives.
Key Competencies
1992 saw the publication of the national report, Putting General Education to work: The Key Competencies Report into the expectations held by employer and community groups regarding 15 to 19 year olds entering the workforce. This report presented seven generic competencies which it were deemed essential for effective participation in education and training, work and adult life. Three of these seven competencies relate specifically to communication. These are:
* collecting, analysing and organising information
* communicating ideas and information
* working with others and in teams.
The NSW Government White Paper on Reforms to the Higher School Certificate Securing the Future which was released in 1997, recommends that "revised syllabus documents identify those key competencies present in the content of the syllabus and that are integral to the learning outcomes." (p18 )
OHT 4 Securing the Future - English p18
"The primary, perhaps pre-eminent, means of acquiring and enhancing proficiency in the English language is through reading, writing, reflecting over, critically analysing, and communicating about, the wide range of literary texts, media and other forms of personal and everyday communication. Future opportunities in further education and training, employment and other aspects of economic and social life in Australia are enhanced by mastery of English" (p18)
Securing the Future
How will a reformed HSC cater for the needs of this diverse range of school leavers and their post-school options? What implications does this have for the subject English?
The NSW Government's White Paper recommends that English continue to be the only compulsory subject in the Higher School Certificate. In doing so it recognises the critical role that the subject English plays in developing and enhancing proficiency in the English language, as well as its role in enabling students to have access to "future opportunities in further education and training, employment and other aspects of economic and social life in Australia." (p18)
The key questions arising from this view of the role of English are:
Do the current English syllabi provide access for all students to these future opportunities? How can the revised syllabi fulfil this role?
Most teachers of HSC English would be able to describe the English skills required of students entering higher education, and be able to explain the extent to which current English courses prepare students for this pathway. Some teachers may argue that there has been a disproportionate focus in some English courses on preparing students for university at the exclusion of other options.
The integration of both the generic communication skills and relevant Key Competencies into the core element of the revised English courses would go some way towards addressing the needs of the diverse range of students; preparing them for future contexts including further education and training, employment as well as other life patterns.
Given the strong emphasis on communication skills in the employment-related competencies, the VET sector could assist in helping the revised of Senior English syllabi meet the needs of both the national and state educational reform agenda.
3. By providing a model of an outcomes-based syllabus.
As part of the reformed HSC, all subjects are to adopt a standards-referenced approach to assessment and reporting. The VET sector can assist with the transition of subject English to this new approach by providing a model for standards-based syllabus development in this related domain. Communication Skills syllabus developers, for instance, have had many years of experience in designing outcomes-based courses and competency-based assessment practices for the macro skills which are common to English syllabi.
The Communication Skills modules are generic and competency-based, reflecting a hierarchy of skills. The purpose, learning outcomes and assessment criteria of the modules have been agreed to nationally and have been mapped against endorsed industry competency standards to check that they meet the specific industry training requirements. A similar process will need to be undertaken by the Board of Studies, except that the standards will be based on "educational outcomes expected of students as defined by the content of each Higher School Certificate syllabus" rather than industry standards.
Finally, I would like to talk about the integration of appropriate Communication Skills outcomes into the revised English syllabi.
Decisions about which learning outcomes would be suitable for integration into HSC English courses, and how this could be achieved, will depend on a number factors. These factors include the nature of the courses which are developed and, in particular the concept of the common core. Other variables would include the level of difficulty of the Communication Skills learning outcomes and the degree to which senior school students can be expected to achieve learning outcomes designed to meet the needs of people already in workplace environments.
These decisions will need careful consideration and close collaboration between representatives from the secondary and VET sectors.
Conclusion
There is much work ahead of us not only over the next two days of this English Forum, but also in the months ahead. It is hoped that a dialogue with colleagues from the VET sector will be able to assist in this exciting process of change, not only in the ways that I have outlined, but hopefully in other ways that the delegates at this English Forum are able to create as they work together.