‘A degree is a degree’: understanding vocational institution degrees in a high participation system

The higher education sector in Australia is undergoing profound change. In this turbulent environment, traditional providers are working in new ways and new providers are entering the field. Focusing on the growth of Bachelor degrees in government owned vocational institutions in Australia which provide Technical and Further Education [“TAFEs”], this Special Issue explores whether these degrees contribute new pathways to social inclusion or whether they provide a distinctive type of higher education to those on offer at other providers.

This Special Issue draws in the main on research undertaken for the ARC Discovery Project number DP170101885 Vocational Institutions, Undergraduate Degrees: Distinction or Inequality. The SI takes as its contextual starting point the idea that policy makers and politicians have been considering the relationship and purpose of VET and universities in preparing people for the challenges of an advanced knowledge based economy. Specifically policy makers and politicians have asked whether or not there should be a unified system. The papers in this SI are a contribution to the debate about the role of higher education in VET within a tertiary education system.