Changing organisational practices to meet the needs of Indigenous students in mainstream VET
by Jo Balatti and Martha Goldman

Download PDF document

Dr. Jo Balatti (no photo available)
Researcher, Organisational Development Consultant
James Cook University.
Her research in Indigenous education has included mentoring programs and access to VET. She is currently teaching an action research subject to 4th year students in the Remote Area Teacher Education Program.

Martha Goldman
Project Manager/ Teacher
Tropical North Queensland TAFE.
Flexible Learning Leader in 2000

Martha's teaching and research interests and experience include: language, literacy and numeracy; online and flexible learning; Indigenous education and training; professional development and action research. Martha was a Flexible Learning Leader in 2000 and has managed LearnScope projects and other professional development activities. Other publications include Bridging the Digital Divide, a summary paper from the NET*Working 2002 online conference.

This paper reports on some of the more important changes that VET providers have implemented to deliver mainstream courses more effectively to Indigenous students. It then suggests further changes that need to take place and identifies organisational factors that seem to impede the implementation of such change. This paper is crucial reading for managers, funding decision makers and policy developers, as it shows how individual learners are disenfranchised by structural and cultural impediments within organisations, despite efforts by teachers and learners to engage in flexible learning options.

Introduced by Jo Murray