Massey Documents by Type

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/294

Browse

Filters

2000 - 20032

Settings

Subject: search.filters.subject.Accreditation (Education)

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Is workplace assessment working? : a critical theory analysis of the stated intentions for NQF workplace assessment in NZ and their realization in a case study in the ambulance service : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Education (Adult Education) at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2003) Hoy-Mack, Penny
    Workplace Assessment (WPA) of National Qualifications Framework (NQF) competency standards has assumed significance as an alternative pathway for vocational qualifications for the NZ workforce. The stated intentions of the initiators of workplace assessment of NQF qualifications were multiple, an, at times, uneasy alliance of differing ideologies. These intentions included: an increase in the capability of the workforce, unified qualifications, social well-being and upward mobility for workers, the widening of participation in education, more fair and valid assessment and public choice. These official narratives for WPA are viewed through a critical theory 'lens', which is then focussed on a case study within the NZ Ambulance Service. The qualitative field work constitutes semi-structured interviews of six workplace assessors and eight candidates employed by Wellington Free Ambulance service. This research indicates that the intention to increase skill levels was partly realised in the valid and direct assessment of performance offered by WPA. Yet, competition with university qualifications detracted from the unified nature of the NQF; its qualifications were relegated to lower levels of the ambulance service. The intention to provide equitable pathways encountered barriers, particularly for volunteer ambulance officers. Moreover, lessened provider capture has resulted in inconsistencies in assessment practice. However, the assessors' holistic evidence-gathering methodologies employed an interplay model, integrating atomistic competencies and holistic judgements of ambulance work. This hermeneutic knowledge counters tendencies to reductionist assessment of ambulance work. A further model of workplace assessors' practice is developed showing how the level of closeness or distance between assessors and candidates influences the candidates' confidence and therefore fairness in workplace assessment. Participatory practices and positive closeness favourably affected assessment events. Costs, particularly the time required for WPA, are partly borne by the ambulance workers, with a resulting intrusive effect into the 'lifeworld' of these workers. The study concludes that WPA is a site where the ongoing contest for emancipation is played out, where workers may challenge the subjectivity of the learning organisation. Yet, candidates saw WPA as a way to meet their personal and career aspirations and valued the rewards attached to the qualifications gained, which offered them protection from the vagaries of the labour market.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The National Qualifications Framework in private training establishments : a patch of evaluation in the seamless system : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilments of requirements for the degree of Master of Educational Administration at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2000) Terrell, Jane L
    Education sectors have been grappling with the controversial National Qualifications Framework (NQF) for nearly a decade. Unlike other sectors, the majority of private training establishments (PTEs) have chosen to adopt the unit standards-based qualifications of the NQF. Although responsible for only a small percentage of all tertiary enrolments, PTEs have awarded more NQF qualifications than any other educational sector. This study sought to explain this remarkable record through evaluating the extent to which the NQF was compatible with the organisational context of PTEs. Three PTEs situated in greater Auckland were selected for a collection of case studies evaluating compatibility of organisational context with the NQF. In each PTE administrators, tutors and students were interviewed and surveyed, and documents were reviewed. Following a framework developed by the researcher, compatibility of organisational context with the NQF was evaluated in terms of assumptions, objectives and approaches. The study found there was general readiness for change in the PTEs studied, and that PTE organisational assumptions and objectives were highly compatible with assumptions and objectives of the NQF. However, investigation of approaches to curriculum, teaching and assessment revealed gaps between NZQA intentions for the NQF and the realities of implementation. Gaps were particularly apparent in the areas of curriculum and assessment. Concerns were expressed about the increase in tutor workload caused by the lack of clarity in unit standards and by managing standards based assessment, as well as by the difficulty of achieving reliable judgement. The study concluded that compatibility of the organisational context of the three PTEs of the study with the NQF, enhanced by a general readiness for change, was highly likely to have been responsible for success in its implementation. It suggested that most concerns could be addressed by more effective internal and external moderation systems supported by NZQA. It further suggested, however, that NQF implementation might have less success in organisations that did not share significant features of the context of these three PTEs.