Young adults and post-school training opportunities in the Frankston-Mornington Peninsula region ...

409 Pages·2017·3.78 MB·English

Young adults and post-school training opportunities in the Frankston-Mornington
Peninsula region of Victoria, Australia
by
Justin Patrick Brown

MEd, Monash University, 2010
BBus, University of Technology, Sydney, 2003

Dissertation Submitted in Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
(Education)

The University of Melbourne
February 2017
Abstract
Youth unemployment in Australia has been described as a source of ‘capability
deprivation’ (Henry, 2014). Since the late 1980s, a recurring set of policies and programs
have been implemented in Australia to tackle youth unemployment by lifting rates of
participation in school-based and post-school vocational education and training (VET).
More recently, the introduction of policy reforms to marketise the Victorian training
system has transformed the composition of VET providers in the training system and, by
extension, the types and quality of courses being offered. The impact of these reforms has
been documented in the media and through government reviews (e.g. Mackenzie &
Coulson, 2015; Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, 2015; Mitchell, 2012). However, very little is
understood about the impact of these reforms on VET ‘opportunities’ for small
populations of young learners at the local level. Even less is understood from the
perspective of the learners themselves. To address this gap, my research contributes a
critical examination of post-school training opportunities available to young adults in the
small local area of the Frankston-Mornington Peninsula region in Victoria, Australia.
This particular region has a youth unemployment rate that is five percentage points
higher than the greater Melbourne and Victorian state averages (ABS, 2015a). Drawing
on the conceptual framework of the capabilities approach (CA) pioneered by economist
Amartya Sen (1980/1984/1985/1987/1992/1993) and extended by philosopher Martha
Nussbaum (1992/1995/2000/2002/2003), my study conducts a sequential explanatory
mixed-method design (Creswell et al., 2003) set within critical realist (CR) ontology
(Bhaskar, 1979/1975). I bring together the philosophical approach of CR and the
conceptual framework of the CA to better understand how the problem is constructed. By
applying these alternative lenses, I propose approaches to understanding the problem in a
more meaningful way. The capabilities approach is structured around three core concepts:
capabilities (what people are able to be or to do); functionings (what people, having
capabilities, are doing); and agency (the ability to choose the functionings). My research
builds on this framework to identify the extent of alignment between available
opportunities (as espoused in policy) and accessible opportunities (as stated by young
people). Through an assessment of administrative, survey and primary qualitative data,
my research produces new insights into the misalignment between (1) loosely-defined
policy rhetoric advocating ‘choice’ and ‘opportunity’ in training ‘markets’ and (2) the
real training opportunities accessible to young adults in a disadvantaged location. It is
envisaged that the findings will have application for policy makers and practitioners in
similarly disadvantaged contexts, particularly where there are limited post-school
opportunities available to young people. For researchers, there are lessons arising for
applying the capabilities approach to the context of young people and VET in
disadvantaged locations.
For Kate, Cordelia & Adeline
Acknowledgments
This PhD was made possible by the guidance, encouragement and good humour
of my supervisors, Dr Mary Leahy and Professor John Polesel. To them I owe an
enormous debt. I would like to acknowledge Associate Professor Shelley Gillis and Dr
Nicky Dulfer from the Melbourne Graduate School of Education for their contributions to
my research advisory committee. I wish to acknowledge the generous financial support of
my employer, the Australian Council for Educational Research, to undertake these
studies. My thanks also go to Caroline Mahoney, Professor Gerald Burke and Professor
Peter Noonan. I thank the many young people, training practitioners, administrators and
community members who generously gave their time to speak to me and comment on
draft material. Finally, I wish to acknowledge the Jack Keating Scholarship Fund, and its
benefactors, for supporting the final year of my studies.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study...............................................................................1
1.1. Introduction .............................................................................................................1
1.2. Problem statement ...................................................................................................5
1.3. Conceptual framework ............................................................................................6
1.4. What is known from the literature ..........................................................................8
1.5. Research questions and hypotheses ........................................................................9
1.6. Nature of the study ................................................................................................10
1.7. Definitions.............................................................................................................11
1.8. Assumptions ..........................................................................................................13
1.9. Scope and delimitations ........................................................................................14
1.10. Limitations ..........................................................................................................17
1.11. Purpose and significance.....................................................................................17
1.12. Summary .............................................................................................................18
Chapter 2: Literature Review .........................................................................................19
2.1. Introduction ...........................................................................................................19
2.2. Conceptual framework – The capabilities approach .............................................19
2.3. Young people and VET in Australia: lenses, measures and narratives ................39
2.4. Young people and VET in the Frankston-Mornington Peninsula region .............81
2.5. Summary ...............................................................................................................95
Chapter 3: Policy and Practice Review ..........................................................................97
3.1. Introduction ...........................................................................................................97
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3.2. A brief history of the Australian VET system ......................................................97
3.3. The current Australian VET system ...................................................................102
3.4. A brief overview of the Victorian training reforms ............................................110
3.5. Post-school VET in the Frankston-Mornington Peninsula region ......................128
3.6. Summary .............................................................................................................152
Chapter 4: Research Method ........................................................................................154
4.1. Introduction .........................................................................................................154
4.2. Research design and rationale .............................................................................154
4.3. Role of the researcher .........................................................................................160
4.4. Methodology .......................................................................................................161
4.5. Threats to validity ...............................................................................................192
4.6. Ethical procedures ...............................................................................................198
4.7. Summary .............................................................................................................200
Chapter 5: How good are the data? .............................................................................202
5.1. Introduction .........................................................................................................202
5.2. The representation of the FMP region in government reporting on VET ...........202
5.3. Data on post-school opportunities ......................................................................207
5.4. Data on post-school VET opportunities ..............................................................219
5.5. Summary of findings...........................................................................................233
Chapter 6: What do students say? ...............................................................................236
6.1. Apprentice Plumbers ...........................................................................................236
6.2. Pre-Apprenticeship Electricians..........................................................................242
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6.3. Apprentice Electricians .......................................................................................248
6.4. Apprentice Welders ............................................................................................252
6.5. Early Childhood Education and Care Students ...................................................258
6.6. Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) students .............................264
6.7. Summary of findings...........................................................................................271
Chapter 7: Discussion ....................................................................................................274
7.1. Introduction .........................................................................................................274
7.2. Research Question 1 ...........................................................................................274
7.3. Research Question 2 ...........................................................................................283
7.4. Research Question 3 ...........................................................................................291
7.5. Summary of discussion .......................................................................................299
Chapter 8: Conclusions .................................................................................................304
8.1. What I set out to do .............................................................................................304
8.2. What I did ...........................................................................................................307
8.3. How I did it and why ..........................................................................................310
8.4. Contribution to knowledge and significance ......................................................314
8.5. Implications for policy, practice and research ....................................................316
8.6. Limitations ..........................................................................................................329
8.7. Final remarks ......................................................................................................330
References .......................................................................................................................338
Appendix A: Data collection tools ................................................................................386
Appendix B: Plain Language Statement ......................................................................392
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Appendix C: Consent Form ..........................................................................................393
Appendix D: Jack Keating Scholarship Fund .............................................................394

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List of Tables

Table 1.1: Number of VET students in target population, 2008-2015 ............................. 16
Table 2.1: Classifications of ‘equity groups’ in the Australian VET sector ..................... 48
Table 2.2: Selected indicators, Community Indicators Victoria, 2016 ............................. 85
Table 3.1: Selection of providers offering nationally recognised VET courses in the FMP
region ............................................................................................................ 143
Table 4.1: Victorian Government training market reports .............................................. 165
Table 4.2: Number of students residing in the FMP region: three data sources ............. 182
Table 4.3: Composition of sample in qualitative strand, by course and gender ............. 184
Table 4.4: Categorisation of ABS Census data into post-school pathways .................... 186
Table 4.5: Participation in On Track surveys of school leavers in Victoria, 2015 ......... 188
Table 4.6: Students in target population, by SEIFA IRSD quintile (%) ......................... 196
Table 5.1: Data elements reported in DET SMR Regional Profiles, 2011-2014 ............ 204
Table 5.2: Main pathways and broad geographic area (comparisons), 2011 .................. 210
Table 5.3: Main pathways and detailed geographic areas (Frankston), 2011 ................. 213
Table 5.4: Main pathways and detailed geographic areas (Mornington Peninsula), 2011
....................................................................................................................... 214
Table 5.5: Main pathways of school leavers in the FMP region, 2008-2015 ................. 218

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