Flexible Delivery of Training. Review of Research / Peter Kearns.

Research on flexible delivery of training in Australia since 1990 was reviewed to identify main trends in the delivery of training, the adequacy of research on the topic, and topics that should be addressed in future studies. Selected conclusions of the review are as follows: (1) flexible delivery strategies are valuable in facilitating access to vocational education and training (VET) by disadvantaged groups; (2) more innovation is occurring in off-campus contexts than on VET campuses; (3) effective staff and management development strategies are central to effecting necessary cultural change in training providers and in industry; (4) flexible delivery appears to be entering a more systemic phase of development; (5) Australian national policy toward flexible delivery is now being focused on a more strategic basis within a 5-year strategy; and (6) the emerging new strategic phase of implementation will likely highlight tensions between economic and efficiency objectives in VET provision. According to the review, the following types of research are needed: studies of the application of adult learning principles; research on the learning benefits and outcomes of alternative delivery strategies; longitudinal studies of the change process; and ongoing statistical monitoring of delivery mode and productivity outcomes. (Contains 57 references.) (MN)

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