Historically, vocational subjects have been a part of the Australian school curricula for 200 years. In early school curriculum the vocational aspect was considered to be related to the acquisition of manual skills such as domestic science or woodwork, rather than careers. From the 1950s to mid 1980s, vocational education, focused specifically on career and job training, was the responsibility of the technical colleges, which had been established to develop these skills. The concept of high schools targeting identified skills for the future work force, and hence becoming involved in the vocational skill development of youth, developed in the mid 1980s in Australia. Industry influence on governments to make educational decisions based on economic initiatives has increased over this time.Major growth has occurred in Vocational Education and Training (VET) in schools, with student participation rates in vocational education trebling in the past six (6) years (House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Training, 2004). This increase is predicted to continue as VET qualifications and the process of accreditation is improved and becomes increasingly user-friendly (Polesel, 2004). The focus on vocational education and industry needs is recognised as an economic necessity for Australia. Schools and teachers, however, need to balance the demands of industry and government with the holistic educational needs of the youth they are entrusted to teach.The school curriculum currently offers a broad range of subject choices that provide for diverse student needs. However the rapid growth of vocational education in schools has impeded effective reflective practices of current vocational programs. Vocational education is experiencing a boom due to the increasing popularity of vocational subjects. The planning and implementation of the diverse subject offerings at school level is often a response to immediate needs rather than in-depth analysis and evaluation. For this reason, it is timely for a critical analysis of the current Hospitality programs in schools to ensure currency and relevancy of content and implementation.The project was localised to one school to enable an extensive and thorough analysis of the Hospitality program. Marymount College is a co-educational Catholic College of approximately 1050 students. Located in the Gold Coast suburb of Burleigh, Marymount College offers a wide range of VET subjects ranging across the five (5) industry areas of Information Technology, Business, Marine Science, Industrial Skills and Hospitality & Tourism.The aim of the analysis will be to suggest what measures need to be implemented in the programs at Marymount College, Gold Coast, Burleigh, Australia, to ensure best practice in Hospitality vocational education. These measures can be constructively applied to other Queensland schools currently delivering vocational education and Hospitality, or to those schools considering introducing subjects associated with Hospitality.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/238563 |
| Creators | Jenkins, Gayle |
| Publisher | ePublications@bond |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Detected Language | English |
| Source | Theses |
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