February 9th 2023 – 2.00-4.00 PM Australian Eastern Daylight Time or 1.00pm to 3.00pm AEST
This hybrid seminar will explore the findings of a current study investigating the worklife experiences of Australians. The study captures worklife learning histories, monitoring how work and learning co-occur in the current era and capturing the perspectives of working age Australians about how their employability needs to be guided and supported through their own learning and lifelong education provisions, albeit through experiences in tertiary education, workplaces or community.
Abstract
Much is made of the importance of adults’ learning across their life span, particularly for work-related purposes. This worklife learning is now seen as being both important and urgent as the requirements for work constantly change and the need to be employable over a longer portion of adult life grows stronger. Often, addressing these learning needs is translated into provisions of lifelong education (i.e., courses, programs) and these play a significant role for many adults. However, much if not most of the learning across adults’ working life often occurs outside of intentional educational provisions (i.e., lifelong education) and through everyday work activities (OECD, 2013), and engagements with familiars and community members, and also through these adults’ own learning efforts. Indeed, different kinds of educational experiences are likely to be helpful and necessary as adults learn through their day-to-day work and when making transitions of different kinds across their working lives. Therefore, it is important to understand how that learning arises and how it can be supported, guided, and augmented by educational provisions cast broadly and by other forms of support.
This seminar draws upon the findings of a current study investigating the worklife experiences of Australians through capturing worklife learning histories, monitoring how work and learning co-occur in the current era and capturing the perspectives of working age Australians about how their employability needs to be guided and supported through their own learning and lifelong education provisions, albeit through experiences in tertiary education, workplaces or community.
The project seeks to address the following questions:
What kinds of learning are required to sustain employability across working life?
What kinds and combinations of workplace experiences and educational provisions can support and guide that learning?
What societal, workplace, educational, and personal practices will most likely secure that learning across working life?
The seminar offers an overview of the investigation, and its study and then has a series of short presentations on specific aspects of that learning and development.
Professor AnnetteFoley
MC
Annette is a Professor of Adult and Vocational Education at Federation University Australia. She has worked for over 30 years as an adult educator in TAFE, higher education, adult community education, and the private training sector. Before Annette commenced her academic role at FedUni she had first-hand experience as a TAFE manager and CEO in a VET/ACE and youth services organisation, where she worked in a regional community and liaised with industry, community and local government agencies to develop education and training programs for youth and older learners.
ABOUT
Professor StephenBillett
Panelist
Stephen Billett is Professor of Adult and Vocational Education at Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia and an Australian Research Council Future Fellow. He has worked in vocational education, educational administration, teacher education, professional development and policy development in the Australian vocational education system and as a teacher and researcher in higher education. Stephen is a current board member of Adult Learning Australia.
ABOUT
Professor LaurentFilliettaz
Panelist
Laurent Filliettaz is a full professor in Adult Education, Language and Work at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Switzerland. His expertise includes literacy issues in workplace contexts, multimodal interaction analysis in connection to learning and training practices in vocational education and training.
ABOUT
Professor HenningSalling Olesen
Panelist
Henning Salling Olesen is Professor Emeritus from Roskilde University, Denmark. His research area is lifelong learning and particularly work-related adult education. His specific expertise is in life history methods and the study of subjective dimensions of work identity and career.
ABOUT
Professor SarojniChoy
Panelist
Sarojni Choy is Professor of Adult and Vocational Education at Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland Australia. Her teaching and research expertise are in workplace learning, adult education, vocational education and training, connecting learning in different settings, continuing education and training, professional development and workforce capacity building.
ABOUT
Dr RaymondSmith
Panelist
Raymond Smith is an educator and learning theorist who works in the fields of adult learning, organisational learning and vocational education. His research focuses primarily on the personal nature of adults’ learning as it is generated by and emerges from their needs and contributions in the social context of work.
ABOUT
Assoc. Professor DebbieBargallie
Panelist
Debbie Bargallie is a descendent of the Kamilaroi and Wonnarua Aboriginal peoples of New South Wales, Australia. She is Associate Professor (Principal Research Fellow) at Griffith University, Queensland. Debbie is a critical race scholar. Her book Unmasking the racial contract: Indigenous voices on racism in the Australian Public Service (2020) was published by AIATSIS Aboriginal Studies Press in June 2020.
ABOUT
Dr Anh Hai (Leah)Le
Panelist
Anh Hai (Leah) Le is a research fellow at Griffith University. Her research interest focuses on workplace learning and curriculum development in tertiary education, with a specific emphasis on the process of building knowledge through scholarly engagement with industry and tertiary institutions. Much of her recent research has focused on lifelong and adult education.
Much is made of the importance of adults’ learning across their life span, particularly for work-related purposes. This worklife learning is now seen as being both important and urgent as the requirements for work constantly change and the need to be employable over a longer portion of adult life grows stronger. Often, addressing these learning needs is translated into provisions of lifelong education (i.e., courses, programs) and these play a significant role for many adults. However, much if not most of the learning across adults’ working life often occurs outside of intentional educational provisions (i.e., lifelong education) and through everyday work activities (OECD, 2013), and engagements with familiars and community members, and also through these adults’ own learning efforts. Indeed, different kinds of educational experiences are likely to be helpful and necessary as adults learn through their day-to-day work and when making transitions of different kinds across their working lives. Therefore, it is important to understand how that learning arises and how it can be supported, guided, and augmented by educational provisions cast broadly and by other forms of support.