Author Description

Researchers examined the attitudes that Australian vocational education and training students and teachers hold about generic skills. Data were collected through interviews with 25 technical and further education (TAFE) senior managers and teachers from 4 states, 3 focus groups with a total of 25 TAFE students in Queensland, and surveys of teachers and students in 9 TAFE institutions that resulted in 105 responses from teachers and 755 responses from students. Although most of the teachers believed that they had explained the importance of generic skills to their students, 80% believed that their students were more focused on learning skills directly related to their future job/industry. The teachers and students generally agreed on which generic skills industry considers important, which generic skills are taught well, and which are taught poorly. According to the teachers interviewed and surveyed, the following strategies could improve focus on generic skills: (1) separate training modules for teaching generic skills; (2) better promotion of generic skills' importance; (3) development of teachers with higher levels of knowledge and experience in teaching generic skills; (4) more explicit profiling of generic skills within training packages; and (5) improvements in how generic skills are explained and assessed. (The bibliography lists 30 references. The teacher and student interview schedules and questionnaires and 17 tables are appended.) (MN).