Vocational Education and Training: Discourse, Systems, and Practices of VET in Rural Tasmania and Nova Scotia

Oct 15, 2026

Comparative analysis examines vocational education and training (VET) in rural Tasmania and Nova Scotia, focusing on how rural learners are advised within market-oriented but differently structured VET systems in Canada and Australia. The study frames each jurisdiction’s vision of VET within compulsory education and argues that students’ socio-material conditions enable opportunities for challenging educators’ efforts toward an engaging, non-binary academic-vocational approach. It concludes that achieving the goals of the new vocationalism in rural areas requires programming centered on capabilities, change, and multiple integrated literacies spanning and expanding the academic-vocational binary.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages28

Reading Time1 h 11 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction: Methodology and James’s Question

Binary educational models and vocational-academic separation

Nova Scotia and Tasmania as comparative cases

Discourse analysis of contemporary VET

Vocational Education and Training: Discourse, Systems, and Practices of VET in Rural Tasmania and Nova Scotia Michael Corbett Acadia University Zachary Ackerson Acadia University Abstract In this article we offer a comparative analysis of vocational education and training (VET) in two rural regional locations by situating the pragmatic problem of advising rural students against the backdrop of differently structured market-oriented vocational education systems in Canada and Australia, respectively. Each of these jurisdictions offers a particular vision of the place of VET in the context of compulsory education. In rural/regional Canada and Australia, we argue, the socio-material situation within which students live can provide what Bourdieu called “coherent and convenient” educational Canadian Journal of Education / Revue canadienne de l’éducation 42:2 (2019)©2019 Canadian Society for the Study of Education/ Société canadienne pour l’étude de l’éducation [www.cje-rce.ca](www.cje-rce.ca) choices for students to challenge educators to create the conditions for an engaging and non-binary (academic-vocational) approach to compulsory schooling. We conclude, given the constantly changing nature of contemporary occupational opportunities and labour markets, that the goals of the new vocationalism will only be achieved in rural areas through challenging programming that focuses on capabilities, change, and multiple integrated literacies that span and expand the academic-vocational binary. Keywords: vocational education and training (VET), academic-vocational binary, rural/ regional, compulsory schooling Résumé Cet article propose une analyse comparative des systèmes d’enseignement et formation professionnels (EFP) dans deux régions rurales, en situant concrètement le problèmelorsqu’il s’agit de conseiller les étudiants des milieux ruraux en contexte de systèmes deformation professionnelle orientés vers le marché, et structurés différemment au Canada eten Australie, respectivement. Chacun de ces systèmes éducatifs offre une vision particulièrede la place de l’EFP en contexte d’éducation obligatoire. Au Canada et en Australie, nous soutenons que la situation socioéconomique dans laquelle vivent les étudiants en milieu rural peut les amener à faire un choix éducatif que Bourdieu appelle « logique et pratique », ce qui met au défi les éducateurs de créer les conditions d’une approche attrayante et non binaire (universitaire/professionnelle) de l’éducation obligatoire. Étant donné la nature en constante évolution des opportunités de travail et des marchés contemporains, nous concluons que les buts des nouvelles formations professionnelles ne seront atteints, en milieu rural, qu’à travers des programmes stimulants axés sur les capacités, le changement, et de multiples compétences intégrées qui traversent et élargissent la formation universitaire/professionnelle. Mots-clés : enseignement et formation professionnels (EFP), dualisme des formations universitaire et professionnelle, rural/région, éducation obligatoire Canadian Journal of Education / Revue canadienne de l’éducation 42:2 (2019) [www.cje-rce.ca](www.cje-rce.ca) Introduction: Methodology and James’s Question Binary educational models that juxtapose vocational training and academic courses as largely separate programs have been normal in many national, state, and provincial education systems. In her recent survey of vocational education in Canada, Allison Taylor (2015) compares models of vocational education that include the Swedish system, integrating vocational and academic education; the German system, which maintains two equally valued tracks; and the UK/Canadian model, which is marked by strong academic-vocational separation and lower status for vocational education. A recent analysis has found that despite Canada’s highly decentralized education system, the stigmatization and devaluation of vocational education is consistent across the country (Arnold,

FAQs

What is the document’s main purpose in comparing VET systems?

It compares vocational education and training in two rural regional locations by examining how rural students are advised within differently structured market-oriented VET systems in Canada and Australia.

How does the study interpret the academic-vocational binary?

It analyzes how the binary is positioned differently in Australia and Canada and how VET discourse can present a particular ideological picture that shapes educational arrangements.

What conclusion does the article draw about achieving the new vocationalism in rural areas?

It concludes that the goals of the new vocationalism will be achieved in rural areas only through challenging programming focused on capabilities, change, and multiple integrated literacies that span and expand the academic-vocational binary.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Anna Hans