this week in social inclusion and diversity

This year’s Social Inclusion in Education Summit—to be held on 13-14 September 2010 at the Radisson Plaza Hotel, Sydney—will see delegates discuss enhanced equity in education through cross sector understandings and partnerships.

New to the conference agenda this year are the specially tailored streams designed to target key sector issues. The streams focus on the following issues:

For more information on the programme or applications for presenting a paper at the event, contact the conference manager Leah Dansie, E-Mail: Leah [dot] Dansie [at] informa [dot] com [dot] au Or Phone: 02 9080 4349. (While the programme has been drawn up, Leah is still open to suggestions for papers just in case other speakers drop out).

A copy of the programme brochure can be found at:

http://www.informa.com.au/conferences/education/the-2nd-annual-social-inclusion-in-education/P10K43WEBPDF.pdf/view

 

2...A staggering statistic : VET does makes a difference for the better

Exciting research by NCVER reports "for a person with a
 disability who is out of work, completing a VET course increases the
likelihood of getting a job from 9% to 29% in their first year after 
completion.”

 

(In comparison, for someone who is unemployed and does not have a disability, completing VET increases the likelihood of employment from 52% to 62% in their first year after completion).

People with a disability struggle to get jobs. About half of working age people with a disability have a job compared with over 80% of people without a disability, according to the ABS 2003 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers.

Low levels of education generally among people with a disability is one of the factors contributing to their lower employment levels. People with a disability also have greater difficulty keeping a job once they have found one or, if they are out of work, becoming re-employed. It can be especially difficult for those with a disability since childhood, as they may never have had the opportunity to acquire skills or much work experience.

The accessibility and flexible nature of VET courses appeal to people with disabilities. The nature of the assessment—which provides students with proof that they are competent—allows job candidates to show that their disability will not hinder them from performing the necessary tasks or competencies required for their prospective job. This sends a positive signal to employers.

“The benefits for people with a disability in completing a VET course are two-fold," says Cain Polidano, one of the NCVER researchers. “Not only does VET get them ready for work, it also provides them with the skills to maintain their jobs in the long-term”.

The role of vocational education and training in the labour market outcomes of people with disabilities can be downloaded from http://www.ncver.edu.au/publications/2215.html

3...The note-taker service story continued . . .

Two weeks ago, Donna McDonald ACPET’s Executive in Residence reported in NMU on the saga of a student who is deaf attempting to find a note-taker to support her studies. (The student had relocated from another state to Queensland). The purpose of that NMU article was to highlight how difficult it is for even experienced and willing service providers to find—and put into place—the necessary information and support for students with a disability.

The student wrote back to Donna McDonald with the good news that the Queensland VET Development Centre had liaised with the private RTO she is attending with the result that she now has the services of a note-taker to support her studies for the remainder of this year. The student hopes that this assistance will continue for her next three years of study. The student explained, again, how important such as service is for her by providing more details about her previous study experiences:

‘Other students on the Australasian Network of Students With Disabilities (ANSWD at http://www.answd.org/ ; a student organisation, advocating, promoting, lobbying and campaigning on disability issues. It seeks to achieve equality, access, and representation of students with disabilities in the tertiary education sector throughout Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand) have told me that sometimes their note-taker is a fellow student in class. I would prefer that the Note-takers be properly registered.’

She went on to explain the difference a competent Note-taker made to the quality of her own studies: ‘TAFE usually provides a note-taker service but depending on the campus, they can be limited. (One TAFE told me they would only provide a Note-taker during one subject but not for all the other subjects, which I felt was like saying I was deaf part-time!  It's because of their resources and the sheer number of students needing assistance . . .)

‘In the first semester at TAFE I went without a Note-taker despite stating I wanted one. In the second semester, I was granted one and it was great. She did the shorthand and then typed it into a document. Sometimes she printed it off; or otherwise emailed it to me as an attachment. In all cases she emailed it because she felt it was insurance against the document being lost. She had strict guidelines and she told me that my notes could not be shared. I wouldn't have anyway. With her support, I successfully completed a Certificate III course in Visual Arts and Contemporary Crafts.’

The upshot is this: this particular deaf student has secured the note-taking services she requires and which she knows, from her earlier study successes, will assist in her current studies.

However, it seems that there is a good case for establishing a register of high-quality, professional note-taker services and allied funding information. Donna McDonald will liaise with the Queensland VET Development Service, Deaf Services Queensland and Griffith University (which provides training in note-taking services) with a view to developing such a register. She welcomes any advice or guidance from other states which may already have such a register of note-takers for deaf students.