My project aims to find out about how inclusion in VET is assured internationally and how trainers and assessors can understand and support their role. I'll be travelling to sites in Europe where educators have been part of the development of new understandings of inclusion. This includes how inherent requirements for specific professions are developed and the needs of accreditation agencies. I can't wait to share more on this project and am so grateful for the support I've had from colleagues and institutions.
The Fellowship is an investigation into how in Australia we can better develop and adapt our vocational education system to be more inclusive, while not stretching the resources of RTOs (training providers) or trainers and assessors. There are strong indications that there are different ways to support students with disability that are less resource-intensive: these include integration of universal design for learning. By better understanding how other contexts are delivering inclusive VET for all students and ensuring equitable educational and employment outcomes for VET students, this knowledge and know-how will be brought back to Australia where it will be analysed and considered for its appropriateness in the Australian context.
- What training is provided relating to inclusive education concepts and is, and such detailed understanding of the social model of disability promoted: if so, how?
- How are professional development sessions funded, and disseminated?
- Are there any central resources within this country or in the EU that support staff to make realistic and evidence-based assessments of time to support students with disability and other needs?
- What level of guides and support materials are available within the EU context for VET practitioners and how do they make training materials and assessment tasks accessible?
- Does staff training include socio-cultural understandings of diverse cohort needs and does it take an intersectional lens?
- How is cultural awareness training integrated and does it support staff understanding about different cultural positionings of disability and how to support students facing cultural barriers?