Submission to the Review of Higher Education Financing and Policy
Australian Association of Adult and Community Education Inc
The Australian Association of Adult and Community Education is concerned very broadly with the provision and quality of adult learning opportunities wherever those opportunities can be realised: in formal education, in the workplace, or in the community. Traditionally higher education has been seen as offering adult learning through continuing professional education, community or general adult education, and through public lectures and exhibitions. While these activities are important and should continue to grow, they represent a narrow view of the relationship between adult and higher education. Recent economic, demographic, political and technological changes have had a profound impact on the higher education sector : on student profiles, course profiles, and how higher education institutions relate to industry, the community and commerce. There is growing recognition that the old ‘front end’ model of education, whereby students ‘completed’ their education and then ‘applied’ their studies throughout their working life, is no longer sufficient, and that universities are reconfiguring their role within a lifelong education framework. This submission offers a vision of an ‘adult higher education’, one which is firmly grounded in a lifelong education framework and which serves the interests of all students and others with a stake in the future of higher education.
In recent years higher education in Australia has been subject to unprecedented change. Many of these changes reflect changes in the broader social, economic, and political landscape. Among these changes, the following have had a particular bearing on higher education.
Demographic changes
Increasing longevity and declining birth rates have produced an ageing population. Thus there is a greater proportion of adults in the population as a whole, and this is likely to be reflected in an increasing demand for higher education provision from adults. At present, 41% of commencing students in Australian universities are now aged 25 or over, with 63% being over 20 years of age (Time Series Tables, 1996).
The composition of the Australian population is becoming more diverse. There is a growing demand for access to higher education from a diversity of groups. Recognising this diversity and responding appropriately will be a major challenge of higher education.
Workplace changes
The nature and organisation of work, and the composition of the workforce, has changed substantially in recent years. There is general agreement that Australia needs a more highly skilled and adaptable workforce if it is to compete effectively in global markets. There is a corresponding need for more rapid and frequent updating of knowledge and skills. There is a greater expectation placed on self sufficiency, flexibility and innovation as old command structures in the workplace are being replaced by flattened management hierarchies and a teamwork approach; and as the specialisation and division of labour is being replaced by multiskilling. Competition is increasingly being built around diversity, flexibility, and quality; monolithic and centralised bureaucracies and structures are fragmenting; old supervisory relationships are being replaced by workplace mentoring; and there is an increasing reliance on market logic to distribute resources. There is less certainty in the continuity of employment, and less confidence in the continuing relevance of current skills and knowledge. If higher education is to remain relevant to the workplace, it will need to be responsive to a range of continuing education needs, but more importantly it will need to develop in graduates the skills of lifelong learning.
Knowledge
Rapid technological change, the globalisation of communication, the central role of knowledge in the economy, and the demands of culturally diverse groups, have collectively led to a reassessment of what constitutes legitimate knowledge, and what knowledge is valued. The primary purpose of higher education can no longer be seen as the transmission of the existing stock of codified knowledge within well set disciplinary boundaries. Disciplinary boundaries are breaking down with increasing importance being placed on the application of knowledge to problems in the workplace and in community life, problems which invite mutidisciplinary or transdisciplinary solutions. Informal knowledge gained through experience is becoming valued as a legitimate form of knowledge, and knowledge is being contested in ways not previously evident.
Role of the state
The role of the state has ostensibly been decreasing in recent years, at least as a provider of services. There is global pressure to replace systems of central planning and control with devolved and fragmented market led structures. There is a move towards the state as a regulator rather than as a provider. This is true in higher education in Australia, where there has been increasing regulation, together with a call for individuals and employers to contribute to the cost of provision. Somewhat paradoxically, education is being utilised as an instrument of government economic and social policy. It is seen as a key element in improving the skills base of all Australians, which is a prerequisite for the success of the restructuring of Australian industry to make it more competitive on world markets. With increasing retention rates to the final years of school and the shift from elite to mass participation in higher education, education now has the potential to act as a vehicle for change in the economic and social fabric of Australian life, and the Commonwealth Government has seized on this opportunity.
Some of the changes specifically introduced or encouraged through Commonwealth Government intervention include breaking the universities’ monopoly on accreditation and encouraging private providers of education and training, amalgamating the universities and the old colleges of advanced education to achieve economies of scale, introducing performance indicators for research and teaching, quality reviews, management reviews, national evaluations of students’ course experiences, annual negotiations on course profiles, funding on a competitive basis to encourage teaching innovations, establishing a range of specifically targeted research funds that meet national priorities, pressuring universities to contribute more to their budgets through entrepreneurial activity and full fee paying courses, encouraging credit transfer arrangements with the vocational education sector, and promoting the recognition of prior learning in industry or commercial settings.
It is true to say that education is no longer considered to be a good thing in its own right, and more than ever the public funding of education is contingent on its demonstrable benefits to society in equity and/or in economic terms. There is an increasing emphasis on vocational outcomes, with students seeking places in more specialised courses which lead directly to employment. The emphasis on equity includes concern with access and curriculum issues relating to non-traditional students, such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, women in certain disciplinary areas, students from rural and isolated areas, disabled students, migrants, and students from a low socio-economic backgrounds (although Ashenden and Milligan report that ‘despite the successes, most of the 600 or so special programs are low status activities in low status institutions for low status purposes’ - Higher Education, The Australian, April 9, 1997).
In addition to the above, there is increasing competition from institutions outside the university system. No longer do universities have a monopoly on accreditation, or privileged access to the production and distribution of information and knowledge. Increasingly, commerce, industry and government agencies are becoming more sophisticated in providing learning opportunities in the workplace as they move towards the notion of the ‘learning organisation’. The competition will continue to increase amongst universities themselves, especially with the introduction of open learning and distance learning technologies and practices, the expansion of mature age entry and the burgeoning international student market.
Collectively the above changes are leading to debate about the future nature of universities and academic work. Some specific issues facing universities are set out below.
The issue here has to do with how the work of universities is to be publicly evaluated. What is the output of a university? Is it even appropriate to treat a university as an institution with identifiable inputs and outputs? Surely universities are different kinds of organisations from commercial and industrial organisations which have clear goals against which performance can be measured? Don’t universities have broad cultural goals that cannot and should not be measured? Such questions have been stimulated by some of the key initiatives taken by the Commonwealth Government such as:
Take the quality audit process as an example. The Committee for Quality Assurance in Higher Education first met in 1993. It has since conducted three quality reviews of all universities in Australia. It is clear that this process has stimulated a range of new quality assurance practices in universities, including strategic planning, staff development, guidelines for course development, programs for new staff, the collection of statistics in a range of areas, internal and external self evaluations and so on. Overall there have been benefits form this exercise, especially given that there are some complementary programs which provide even further funds for specific improvements to quality (eg. grants for teaching innovations). In the area of research also there are supplementary funds tied to each university’s research performance as measured by a set of indicators which make up the ‘research quantum’ for the university. However an inevitable result of programs such as these is that universities become less collegial and more managerial in the way they operate, and this is evident in all universities.
Three overriding concerns in the system are how to increase current funding levels, how to distribute costs in proportion to the public and private benefits to be gained, and how to ensure access to disadvantaged groups. With respect to the first of these, universities have significantly increased their income through consulting and other entrepreneurial activities, the enrolment of fee paying international students, and the enrolment of fee paying postgraduate students. The surplus from these activities is not great because of local and international competition. Much of the surplus in channelled into subsidising HECS funded courses. With regard to the second concern, current HECS levels already adequately reflect the individual benefits to be gained, and given the current climate, public funding is unlikely to increase. The third concern, access, has engaged the adult education sector for many years and it is an area in which the sector can make a substantial contribution. As far as adult education is concerned there has been substantial growth in the participation of adults in educational provision, whether it be higher education, continuing education for professionals, workplace training, basic literacy and numeracy, learning of English as a second language, preparatory and access courses for those seeking re-entry to education or the labour market, tertiary courses leading to formal awards, or community-based courses focusing on such areas as health, liberal studies, the arts, communication, community development, and the environment. But despite increased levels of participation, it is clear that access to education favours some groups, such as those from higher socio-economic backgrounds. One approach may be to offer learing entitlements to targeted groups (perhaps some kind of voucher scheme). In this scenario, public funds need to be employed to:
In addition to the above there is a need to increase private investment in higher education. In particular there is a need to develop incentives for individuals and employers to invest in higher education (and education more broadly). The taxation system can be utilised for this purpose. For example it would be desirable (in learning society) for individual deductions for education expenditure to be allowable irrespective of whether the course is directly related to earning current income (and perhaps irrespective of whether the course is for credit). There should also be developed a wider range of taxation incentives for employers to invest in education and training, wherever the training or education may occur - with particular incentives for developing partnerships with universities.
Existing funding formulas need to be revisited within a lifelong learning framework. For example, funding on the basis of EFTSU load clearly disadvantages those universities which accommodate part - time students, the bulk of which are adult. A loading for headcount would offset this, where say, a standard part time load of 0.5 would attract the equivalent of a 0.6 load for a full time student. Also, funding needs to be aligned more closely to outcomes rather than inputs, and this applies equally to research and teaching. Moreover the outcomes need to be more imaginative, and relate more closely to the future of universities: if we place importance on value adding, employability of graduates, equity, internationalisation, teaching innovation, the dissemination of research, the link between research, teaching and community service: then this should be acknowledged in the funding formula.
At a broader level, a lifelong education framework is seriously hampered by the existing Commonwealth - State financial and legislative arrangements, which impede the effective coordination of higher education with the VET system.
The role of university study in lifelong learning is becoming more of an issue as there is a growing recognition of the need to update skills and knowledge throughout one’s working life. Because of rapid technological, economic and social change, and the rate at which knowledge is expanding; the old ‘front end’ model of education is no longer seen as appropriate. The concept of lifelong education was explored and elaborated by UNESCO in the 1970s. The influential Faure report (1972) launched a set of principles and recommendations for implementing lifelong education. These principles constitute a plea for: the availability of education throughout the lifespan, participation in learning through a multiplicity of means, mobility and choice within an open education system, the elimination of rigid distinctions between different types of teaching, education for adaptability within the workforce, the involvement of commerce and industry with educational institutions, the diversification of higher and further education provision, the broadening of selection criteria for admission and progression in education and employment, the development of supports for self learning, the adoption of new technology for educational purposes, and greater freedom and responsibility for the learner.
As noted above, it is now widely recognised that the front end model of education is inappropriate in a climate of sustained technical, economic and social change. The values and structures referred to in the UNESCO and OECD publications in the 1970s are increasingly becoming a reality in Australian education, but the move towards lifelong education is not in any sense complete. It is certainly true that the recent educational reforms have supported a lifelong learning society, especially with the emphasis on the recognition and accreditation of learning in the workplace, the substantial removal of institutional barriers to higher education, the support for broadly based training and multiskilling, and the recognition of the need for retraining throughout working lives. But these ideas have been promoted mainly in the vocational arena, and need to be extended more fully into other arenas. In particular learning should be recognised wherever it occurs, and educational opportunities should exist throughout the lifespan to enhance vocational, community, personal, or civic aims.
The Commonwealth Government has attempted to improve opportunities for lifelong learning by increasing the links between the different educational sectors (school, vocational education, university) and between the education sector as a whole and the community, industry and commerce. Credit transfer arrangements exist between vocational education sector and the universities, and to a lesser extent between schools and universities. But throughout the system there should be more scope for having learning (or rather, the outcomes of learning) recognised wherever it occurs: in schools, in vocational colleges, through workplace training, and through private and community-based education providers. There is thus a need for a national credit framework which underpins all qualifications (one which, nevertheless, avoids a centralised bureaucracy). This will enable learners to acquire, accumulate, and transfer credit: encouraging recurrent learning and mobility between sectors and between educational providers.
Given that a university education is only one component of lifelong education, what kinds of skills and knowledge should it be imparting? This has led to debate about the appropriate balance between technical or professional knowledge and skills (including disciplinary knowledge), general knowledge (including an understanding of the social, economic and cultural context in which the profession practices), and generic or transferable skills such as oral and written communication skills, leadership, self organisation, analytical skills, critical thinking, teamwork, problem solving skills, and so on. In a recent national report, Developing Lifelong Learners Through Undergraduate Education, Candy (1994) argues that the generic or tranferable skills should lie at the heart of the undergraduate program. Specifically he believes that the most important generic skill is the skill of lifelong learning ie the capacity to ‘learn how to learn’ This of course cannot and should not be taught separately from the content, rather it should be a key aim of every subject to enhance students’ competence for learning after formal studies have been completed.
The idea of lifelong learning also has implications for the kinds of teaching and learning approaches fostered in higher education. It is not surprising that some universities have ‘discovered’ the time honoured practices of adult education and are now incorporating them in their teaching : such as utilising the experiences of the learners, involving learners in determining the content and pace of their learning, self managed or self directed learning, problem-based learning, the use of peer learning strategies, reflection on practice or experience, and developmental assessment strategies.
Lifelong learning is only possible with effective access to educational provision, which also implies pedagogical and curriculum reform. Too often access has meant access to the ‘mainstream’, but in a multicultural society such as Australia it is becoming increasingly outmoded and unproductive to equate the ‘mainstream’ with dominant culture, especially with regard to what constitutes learning. A pedagogy which celebrates and utilises difference is what is needed.
In Australia, as elsewhere, there are ongoing debates about what constitutes professional knowledge and how this relates to the role of the university. Indeed there is a growing recognition in the higher education sector, especially in education for the professions, of the notion of workplace knowledge, or, as some refer to it, ‘tacit’ knowledge. The recognition of tacit knowledge immediately challenges the traditional theory-practice relationship which has arguably been dominant in guiding the development of higher education curricula (ie. that theoretical concepts or principles are learned and then applied to practice). Because tacit knowledge arises from practice, the argument is that students need to be exposed to practice and be equipped with the skills to analyse practice in order to build their knowledge base. Thus a greater proportion of university education should be directed at practice and its analysis.
Currently the typical preparation of a professional has four components : the development of general knowledge, the development of generic skills, the development of professional knowledge, and experience on the job, either during or following undergraduate work. There is a great deal of variability as to how well these aspects are integrated in educational programs. While there has been recently a good deal of interest in the role of the practicum or industrial experience ( the experience component) and how it can be related to the other components, there is still a good deal to be learnt about how to bring these components together into a coherent whole. Most universities have put their emphasis on the first three of these components and assumed that the mere provision of experience, either during or following a degree, will enable the student to make the connections between theory and the world of practice.
The interest now is in how the curriculum can integrate the four components of professional preparation into a coherent whole. There are many ways in which this might be done. One way is through a problem based curriculum, which is now well established in a range of fields of professional practice and a large number of universities internationally. Another approach is through co-operative education, which may also be linked with a problem based curriculum
Co-operative education and problem based approaches are supported by recent research in the area of cognitive psychology (see for example Bruner, 1990; Lave and Wenger, 1990; Chaiklin and Lave, 1993) ). Prior to this literature it has been almost universally accepted that in order to be able to understand, students need to be taught abstract concepts before and distinct from the context in which these concepts might be applied. However evidence has been building up which suggests that learning and cognition are fundamentally contextual or ‘situated’ and that generic skills are best developed in specific contexts. That is, understanding develops through students engaging in the social and physical context of work. There are substantial organisational and curriculum issues to be addressed with programs that are problem based and/or contain workplace learning. For example, with respect to workplace learning: How can we be sure that work placements will result in learning? How can we prepare and assess students? What is the role of workplace mentors and how should they be trained? How does the workplace component link with the rest of the curriculum? With respect to problem based learning the curriculum issues relate to how disciplinary knowledge is integrated into the problem based component. If the entire course is problem based should it be designed to cover the disciplinary content? How will this affect the normal sequencing of disciplinary content? Or perhaps disciplinary content should not drive the problems being investigated? Once again a national report has been commissioned titled The Conditions for Fostering Co-operative Education Between Higher Education and Industry (Davies and Hase, 1994) which looks at a number of Australian case studies and identifies the common features of successful co-operative ventures.
Other commentators have argued that traditional distinctions between ‘vocational’ and ‘general’ education are no longer relevant and that the aims of general education are compatible with good vocational education:
‘There are many in the school, adult, and higher education sectors who are opposed to the introduction of vocational education. The argument of the opponents, in essence, is that vocational education is incompatible with aims of general education. The former, it is argued, is technocratic, specific, practical, managerial while the later is democratic, egalitarian, critical, collaborative. The first supports a view of the social function of education as being concerned with the transmission of exploitable knowledge and participation in the market through the development of skills which possess an exchange value. The latter sees the purpose of education as being primarily political and cultural. In this paradigm, the aim of education is seen as being the creation of a democratic society where free and equal people can meet to discuss the nature of the good society.
While this analysis of vocational education might have been true even five years ago,(despite Kangan) it is simply no longer possible to sustain, especially in the light of recent developments. The aim of a good vocational education is, amongst other things, the development of the same conceptual skills as are developed in general education courses. It is not concerned with practical skills at the expense of the conceptual but practical skills that are built on the conceptual.
(Morris et al 1995)
It is no longer tenable to invoke old distinctions between ‘vocational’, ‘general’, ‘professional’ or ‘liberal’ education to delineate what is the proper purpose of higher education: all these types of education are compatible with the qualities we may expect from university graduates.
The advent of the information superhighway has led to much speculation about the future nature of universities. Of course the educational potential in this area has only just begun to be explored. It has the potential to break down barriers between universities worldwide so that students, say, studying in Sydney can enrol in a subject in a university located in another part of the world and receive credit for their study. Perhaps students in a ‘virtual’ university will be able to select subjects from a variety of universities worldwide, the sum total of their subjects leading to a degree recognized by their national accreditation agency. There may even exist universities which simply act as agents for the delivery of educational products developed elsewhere. Such speculation has led to renewed debate about what constitutes university study, such as the need for a coherent program of study, the need to have physical contact with academics and other students, the need to have some kind of extra curricula activities, and the need to have a physical presence. Australia is addressing the educational potential of the information superhighway in a range of ways, notably by establishing agencies such as Education Network Australia (EdNA) which aims to link electronically every school, vocational education college, university and education provider by the year 1999. Other initiatives include the establishment of Co-operative Multi-Media Centres to develop Australian electronic products and services.
In summary, universities in Australia are changing rapidly as they respond to a variety of international and local forces acting upon them. Some of the key changes have been:
There is a need for higher education to reconfigure and position itself within a lifelong learning framework. Its broad goal is to provide support for the learning society: a true adult higher education.
1. Lifelong:
2. Diverse, flexible, and responsive:
3. Learner centred:
4. The presence of institutions which have strong links with industry and the community as a central feature of their mission:
5. Institutions which are themselves examples of ‘learning organisations’:
6. A system of public funding which guarantees a basic entitlement to those who are able to benefit from higher education, and which encourages private investment in learning.
In a manner similar to that of higher education, there has been a renewed interest in adult education as a vehicle for addressing national priorities: such as increased levels of literacy, the formation of adaptable and multi-skilled workers, the creation of an equitable multicultural society, and the promotion of public debate and awareness of key social issues related to areas such as civics education, health, indigenous rights, and the environment. Adult education has thus been reconfigured away from its historical origins in the British liberal ‘great tradition’ in which the principal providers were university departments of adult education and voluntary associations like the Workers’ Educational Association. It now encompasses basic education, community development, workplace learning, literacy, ESL, liberal and general education, public education, and Aboriginal education; and its principal providers are private firms -in house (28%), formal education (27%), private teachers (11%), adult education centres (11%), government departments (10%), voluntary associations (5%), professional associations and unions (5%), and business colleges (3%) (Evans, 1993). Adult education now occupies a position alongside the other educational providers of post compulsory education: TAFE and the universities. Although it is not unified as a formal system it has moved from its previously marginal position in at least two respects: firstly, the learning it provides is increasingly being recognised and accredited; and secondly, for the first time there is now a national policy on Adult and Community Education (ACE).
Adult education is now experiencing an unprecedented level of recognition and access to resources. But recognition and resourcing implies the introduction of formal assessment, the adoption of common standards based on identifiable competencies, the development of links with industry and local business, the monitoring of outcomes, the evaluation of course effectiveness, the accreditation of courses, the development of links with other educational providers, the adoption of a business management approach, competitive tendering for the delivery of educational programs, the professionalisation of adult educators, and the vocationalisation of educational provision. Adult education as a field is attempting to position itself within the vocational education agenda while at the same time preserving its identity as a form of education which goes beyond the seemingly narrow aims of producing skilled and flexible workers, sustainable economic growth, and improved international competitiveness.
The adult education sector as a whole is engaged with univerities in the provision of professional training and development of adult educators, and as a user and partner of academic research in the field of adult education. About 20 universities enrol approximately 4500 students in courses leading to formal academic awards in the field of adult education. These universities are engaged in research activities for which they have built a significant international reputation. Beyond their roles in teaching adult students in formal award courses and providing professional development for adult educators, universities themselves are significant adult education providers in their own right. As implied above, this role needs to be strengthened, and the incentive needs to be based on more than the possibility of earning additional funds. The following activities (which are listed again) should be seen as central to any university’s mission and performance measures should take them into account:
Finally, the adult education sector is now in a position to work more closely with universities. In particular there is potential in the area of credit transfer, and the provision of enabling courses for those seeking access to higher education.
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