Winter 2007

Careers and transition

Hands up for VCAL

David Gallagher looks at the increasing popularity of Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning and why it has been such a success in Victoria.

Since its introduction in 1990, the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) has evolved into a flexible senior certificate to meet the needs of an increasing cohort of students who are now staying on to complete year 12. Key developments have included the introduction of VET and greater flexibility in the delivery and assessment of the units. However, the VCE is still seen by many students, parents and some schools as an academic qualification for students who want a pathway to university.

In the eyes of the general public success in the VCE is still largely measured by the student’s Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank (ENTER). It is not uncommon for some schools to publish the number of students who received an ENTER score above 90 or the number of students with As or A+s. In my many years in education I have yet to see a school that has published the number of students who received an ENTER of less than 30 and the number of students with a grade average of C. Although the VCE has the flexibility to meet the needs of a wide range of senior secondary students it was not meeting the needs of all students. The individual learning, personal development and transition needs of many young people were not being fully met by traditional approaches. As a result, many do not achieve their best results and others leave school early, inadequately prepared for work and future learning.

All governments are keen to retain students until the end of year 12 and for good reasons. There are sound economic, social and global reasons for completing 12 years of education. For example, the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research concludes: ‘If long term unemployed males aged between 15–24 continued to the end of senior high school the reduction in break, enter and stealing over the course of a year would amount to almost 15 per cent’.

Approximately 80 per cent of young Australians each year undertake some form of education and training to year 12 equivalent. This is lower than many overseas countries, such as 88 per cent in the USA and Canada, 91 per cent in Germany and 94 per cent in Korea. The Victorian Government has set the goal that by 2010, 90 per cent of young people in Victoria will complete year 12 or its equivalent.

The issue for many schools and the Government is that for the cohort of students who are now remaining at school and for many students in their senior years the current senior certificate is not meeting their needs. Many students are questioning the relevance of the range of subjects on offer and have no desire to continue with a university education.

Willis in his book Learning to Labour, believes that there is a real scepticism about qualifications. Working class students believe that no amount of qualifications will get them a job. Furthermore, students who do badly academically, in particular boys, are predisposed to criticise, reject or even sabotage the system where they can, since it places them in an inferior position.

A new strategy

In the case of Victoria, aiming for the goal of 90 per cent of students completing year 12 or equivalent by 2010, a new strategy was needed. It was obvious more of the same was not going to achieve the 2010 goal.

In 2000, the Victorian Government commissioned Peter Kirby to undertake a review of post-compulsory education in Victoria. The Ministerial Review of Post Compulsory Education and Training Pathways in Victoria (the Kirby Report) indicated that a broader range of programs was required to meet the needs of some young people who are in the post-compulsory years. The report stated that:

Those young people who leave school before completing year 11 have experienced difficulties more often and have not adjusted well either to the VCE or to school as a social setting.
Poor results at school are likely to discourage early schools leavers from continuing in some form of education and training.
Those who have difficulties with current arrangements will typically need different learning contexts.

The Kirby Report

VCAL – an alternative pathway

In response to the Kirby Report, a group of educational visionaries conceived the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) as a second senior secondary qualification for Victoria. The aim for VCAL was to provide the skills, knowledge and attitudes to enable students to make informed choices regarding pathways to work and further education.

Personal development, using students’ particular interests and pathways to further training and work for senior secondary students in the context of applied learning are the underpinning principles of VCAL.

VCAL is a pathway qualification that focuses on the development of knowledge and employability skills to help prepare the individual for employment and for participation in the broader context of family, community and lifelong learning.

VCAL provides a state-wide credential through which participating students can receive recognition for their achievements in programs that have traditionally not provided credit within a formal qualification. This can include recognition of learning that occurs in structured workplace learning (SWL), locally developed programs, community projects and youth development programs.

In 2002, there were 22 pilot providers and 546 students; by 2006, there were 401 providers and 12,362 students. In 2007, it is anticipated that 430 providers and 14,000 students will be involved in VCAL.

The 2005, Department of Education’s On Track destination survey of Intermediate and Senior VCAL students provides further evidence that the VCAL is a pathway qualification. The destination data reveals that 23 per cent of the Intermediate and Senior VCAL students have continued with further education after VCAL and 65 per cent have commenced an apprenticeship, traineeship or work. This means that 88 per cent of VCAL students had a pathway to further education, training or work.

The On Track data also revealed that 86 per cent of the 2005 Intermediate and Senior VCAL students agreed that VCAL was an important reason for staying at school.

Success?

However, you cannot measure success by only looking at quantitative data. During the years of the Second World War, sales of Mercedes Benz in the USA had slumped to nothing. It is not surprising that after the war, Mercedes Benz was keen to re-establish itself in the major American market. In 1954, the marque released the Mercedes Benz 300SL. This was the first car to have fuel injection, a top speed of over 210 kph and a complex space frame chassis that gave the car its great stability and its distinctive ‘Gullwing’ doors. This car today is considered a classic and one of Mercedes most significant achievements. However, if you judge success by numbers of cars sold (quantitative data) it would not be a success. Only 1400 were produced.

To determine VCAL’s success you need to also look at the qualitative data. Following are three examples to highlight the success of VCAL.

John, not his real name, is a volunteer fire fighter with the Country Fire Authority. He has completed accredited wild fire training, worked with local residents in advising them on how to protect their home from a fire and on a number of occasions has been called upon to fight bushfires threatening the local community. John’s efforts not only make a significant contribution to the community but also contribute to a number of his VCAL strands—Industry Specific Skills, Personal Development, Literacy and Work Related Skills. John’s classroom is not only his local secondary college but the community, the local fire station and the fire truck battling bushfires. The old African proverb that it takes a village to educate a child is very true with VCAL.

Helen, again not her real name, was a student who had 100 days of absence in years 9 and 10 and had a limited future at school. However, she commenced VCAL in year 11. In year 12 she has had seven days of absence and has won both her school and state VCAL achievement awards. VCAL was able to re-engage her because a hands-on approach was relevant to her learning style and enabled her to have success at school—something she had not experienced for many years.

David had worked hard throughout his 13 years of schooling. He did not expect or want to have his name listed with the 90+ ENTER students published by his school each year. However, after 13 years of schooling he did want a senior secondary qualification that gave him the best preparation for work and skills he could take with him into the community and the work place. His Intermediate VCAL has given him literacy and numeracy skills that are relevant to life, work and the community, employability skills valued by employers and he is a more self-confident student due to his community involvement with the local community artists group. He has achieved a senior secondary qualification that supports his pathway to work.

Further information on the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning can be found on the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority’s website www.vcaa.vic.edu.au

References

Chapman B, Weatherburn D et al. (2002). ‘Unemployment Duration, Schooling and Property Crime’, Crime and Justice Bulletin, NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, No. 74, Dec 2002, p. 10.

Department of Education (2005). The Destination of School Leavers in Victoria On Track.

Willis, P (1977). Learning to Labour, Aldershot, Gower.

David Gallagher is Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning manager at the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

The author owns the copyright in this article. For information related to the reuse of this work in any form please contact the publisher denise.quinn@curriculum.edu.au