Focus highlight in VPET: Curriculum and pedagogy

As the nature of occupations and requirements for work are constantly transforming, student needs and aspirations undergo corresponding changes, making it important to consider and potentially reform Vocational and Professional Education and Training (VPET) curriculum, pedagogy and practices. This includes a reconsideration of the aims of VPET provision, the type, importance and range of experiences being afforded students (i.e., curriculum practices) and how these experiences can be enriched to optimise learning (i.e., pedagogic practices). One clear point of departure is that the learning experiences of VPET students cannot be restricted to activities within vocational education institutions or those delivered through direct teaching. This change means that a curriculum can no longer be considered something that is enacted solely through educational institutions, but also through students’ experiences in work settings, through project activities and through tasks enacted within their homes and communities. Similarly, pedagogic practices should now consider how student learning can be promoted through interactions with a range of informed sources, artefacts and other students. Taking up some of these challenges, this presentation first proposes emerging educational purposes for VPET. Then, drawing upon studies from within tertiary educational institutions and workplaces, it considers how to align curriculum and pedagogic practices with those purposes. The aim is to engage participants in the development of curriculum and pedagogic practices that are fresher, broader and more inclusive