Education | |
| This glossary includes terms and abbreviations likely to be found on this site and in associated educational and training publications. Where a term has a broader general meaning, the definition given here refers to its use in the vocational education and training context. Select a link from below to browse to the definition you need: | |
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| Term | Definition |
| AAA | Affirmative Action Agency. |
| AAACE | Australian Association of Adult and Community Education. See Adult and Community Education. |
| AAMT | Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers. |
| AARE | Australian Association for Research in Education. |
| ABE | See Adult Basic Education. |
| ABN | Australian Business Number. |
| Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Training Advisory Council (or ATSIPTAC) | Also called Indigenous education. Education, or education programs, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. |
| Aboriginal Education Strategic Initiatives Program | (AESIP) See Indigenous Education Strategic Initiatives Program. |
| Aboriginal Study Assistance Scheme | (ATAS) A government program providing supplementary tutorial assistance and other kinds of study |
| ABR | Australian Business Register. |
| ABS | Australian Bureau of Statistics. |
| ABSTUDY | Aboriginal Study Assistance Scheme. A government scheme providing financial assistance to indigenous students in school or further education. |
| ACACA | See Australasian Curriculum Assessment and Certification Authorities. |
| Academic advisor | A person working in an educational institution who assists students to choose and plan their study program. |
| Academic award | Also called: credential. A qualification granted for the satisfactory completion of an accredited course. See also Australian Qualifications Framework. |
| ACAL | See Australian Council for Adult Literacy. |
| ACC | Area Consultative Committee. |
| ACCE | Australian Centre for Equity through Education. |
| Acceleration | Progression through an education or training program at a faster rate than usual. |
| Access and equity | A policy or set of strategies to make vocational education and training available to all members of the community, to increase participation, and to improve outcomes - particularly focussing on those groups that have been traditionally under-represented, including: women, indigenous Australians, people with a disability, people from non-English speaking backgrounds, and people from rural and remote areas. |
| Access course | A preparatory, prevocational or bridging course that prepares students for further study or training. Access courses are offered particularly for immigrants, overseas students, and adults who are seeking to re-enter the workforce. |
| Access Program | Also called New Apprenticeships Access Program. A program providing pre-apprenticeship and pre-traineeship training for people who are registered as unemployed and are disadvantaged in the labour market, needing preliminary training before they can successfully participate in an apprenticeship or traineeship. |
| ACCI | Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. |
| Accreditation | The formal recognition of a course by the State or Territory course accrediting body, in accordance with the Standards for State and Territory Registering/Course Accrediting Bodies (ANTA 2001). |
| Accredited course | A structured sequence of vocational education and training that leads to an Australian Qualifications Framework qualification or Statement of Attainment. |
| Accrediting authority | An organisation with the authority and responsibility for accrediting courses and training programs. |
| Accrediting body | See State or Territory Accrediting Body. Alignment process of relating groups of competencies with a definable work outcome, to an Australian Qualifications Framework level. |
| ACE | See Adult and Community Education. |
| ACER | See Australian Council for Educational Research. |
| ACFE | (Victoria) Adult, Community and Further Education. |
| ACFEB | Adult Community and Further Education Board. |
| Achievement | The attainment of a specified standard of performance. |
| ACIBC | Australian Council of Independent Business Colleges. |
| ACIRRT | Australian Centre for Industrial Relations Research and Training, a research centre at the University of Sydney. |
| ACIVC | See Australian Council of Independent Vocational Colleges. |
| ACM | Australian Chamber of Manufactures, now part of the Australian Industry Group. |
| ACOTAFE | Australian Committee on Technical and Further Education. See also Kangan Report. |
| ACPET | See Australian Council for Private Education and Training. |
| ACRC | Australian Competency Research Centre, based at the Barton Institute of TAFE. |
| ACSA | See Australian Curriculum Studies Association. |
| ACTATE | (Australian Capital Territory) ACT Association for the Teaching of English. |
| ACTCAL | (Australian Capital Territory) ACT Council for Adult Literacy. |
| ACTCOSS | (Australian Capital Territory) ACT Council for Social Services. |
| Action learning | Learning by working on real problems, implementing solutions, and reviewing and reflecting on the learning process. |
| Active learning | Learning driven primarily by the learner, with the instructor acting as a facilitator. See also Self-directed learning. |
| Activity Supervisor | (Electronic classroom/Internet) The person who supervises forums and chat sessions so that content proposed by users can be screened for suitability and adherence to standards. |
| ACTRAC | See Australian Committee for Training Curriculum. |
| ACTRAC Products Limited | Australian Committee for Training Curriculum Products Limited, now known as Australian Training Products Limited (ATP). |
| ACTU | Australian Council of Trade Unions. |
| ACTVTA | Australian Capital Territory Vocational Training Authority.). |
| ACVETS | See Australian Committee on Vocational Education and Training Statistics. |
| ADF | See Australian Defence Forces. |
| Admission criteria | Requirements - such as educational qualifications, knowledge, skills or experience - for entry to a particular course. |
| ADTAC | See Australian Disability Training Advisory Council. |
| Adult and Community Education | Education of adults; education programs designed for adults, often incorporating approaches to education that draw on the learners life or work experiences, involve learners in planning the learning activities and encourage learning in groups, as well as more self-directed learning. |
| Adult Basic Education | (ABE) Remedial or school-level education for adults, usually with emphasis on the literacy, numeracy and social skills needed to function within the community or to gain employment. |
| Adult Learners Week | Premier annual event for Adult and Community Education. |
| Adult learning | The processes by which adults learn and build on their existing knowledge and skills. |
| Adult Learning Australia Inc. | (ALA) The peak organisation for adult and community education providers and participants. |
| Adult Literacy and Numeracy Australian Research Consortium | (ALNARC - http://www.staff.vu.edu.au/alnarc) The Adult Literacy and Numeracy Australian Research Consortium represents a national collaboration between five university-based research centres, based on a collaborative research management model designed to respond to state-based needs. |
| Adult migrant education | E ducation programs that aim to assist adult immigrants and refugees in their settlement in Australia , including English language and literacy programs. See also Adult Migrant English Program and Advanced English for Migrants Program. |
| Adult Migrant English Program | (AMEP) An education and settlement program funded by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) for new immigrants and refugees, providing English language teaching, counselling and support services. |
| Adult Migrant English Service | (AMES - New South Wales and Tasmania) A provider of English language and literacy programs and related services, including workplace training programs and consultancies for newly-arrived immigrants, job seekers, workplace clients and youth. |
| Adult Multicultural Education Services | (AMES - Victoria). A provider of English language and literacy programs and related services, also assisting clients to access training programs, obtain recognition for overseas qualifications, and gain employment. |
| Advanced Certificate | A qualification under the former Register of Australian Tertiary Education (RATE) system of awards. |
| Advanced Diploma | A qualification in the vocational education and training and higher education sectors. See also Australian Qualifications Framework. |
| Advanced English for Migrants Program | (AEMP) A government program assisting immigrant jobseekers to obtain employment and overcome individual barriers to participation in vocational education and training by providing advanced English language training, generally with a vocational focus. |
| Advanced standing | (Also called: status or credit recognition) Granted to a student on the basis of previous study (credit transfer) and/or experience (recognition of prior learning), exempting the student from a particular course, subject or module. |
| AEC | See Australian Education Council. |
| AEI | See Australian Education International. |
| AEMP | See Advanced English for Migrants Program. |
| AEP | See National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy. |
| AEShareNet | (In full, Australian Education Sharing Network) An online system managed by the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs for dealing with copyright issues in the vocational education and training sector. |
| AESIP | Aboriginal Education Strategic Initiatives Program, now known as the Indigenous Education Strategic Initiatives Program (IESIP). |
| AESL | AEShareNet Ltd. See AEShareNet. |
| AEU | See Australian Education Union. |
| Affirmative action | Action favouring those groups that tend to suffer from discrimination, or that are under-represented in the workforce or education and training programs. |
| AFRA | Australian Furniture Removers Association. |
| AHRI | Australian Human Resources Institute. |
| AHRP | Australian Hospitality Review Panel. |
| AICTEC | Australian Information and Communication Technology in Education Committee. |
| AIEF | Australian International Education Foundation, now known as Australian Education International (AEI). |
| AIG | See Australian Industry Group. |
| AIM | Australian Institute of Management. |
| AIMS | Australian Institute of Marine Science. |
| AIRC | Australian Industrial Relations Commission. |
| AITAC | See Australian Indigenous Training Advisory Council. |
| AITD | See Australian Institute of Training and Development. |
| ALA | See Adult Learning Australia Inc. |
| ALBE | Adult Literacy and Basic Education. |
| ALEA | See Australian Literacy Educators Association. |
| ALGA | Australian Local Government Association. |
| ALLP | Australian Language and Literacy Policy. |
| ALMitab | Australian Light Manufacturing Industry Training Advisory Board. |
| ALNARC | See Adult Literacy and Numeracy Australian Research Consortium. |
| Alon | (Also: ALON) Adult Learning online database, an information network for the Australian adult learning community. |
| ALRN | Adult Literacy Research Network. |
| ALT | Adult Literacy Teaching. |
| Alternative entry | (Also called: special entry) Entry to a course or program by special arrangement where the learner does not meet the standard entry requirements (usually Year 12 or equivalent). |
| AMEP | See Adult Migrant English Program. |
| AMES | See Adult Migrant English Service. |
| ANHLC | Association of Neighbourhood Houses and Learning Centres. |
| Annual Student Contact Hours | (ASCH, also called: Annual Hours) The total nominal hours (supervised) for the modules undertaken in a year, used as a measure of total system delivery, e.g. for an institute, State or Territory. |
| ANSTO | Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation. |
| ANTA | See Australian National Training Authority. |
| ANTA Board | The governing body of the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA), responsible for the organisations performance, as well as advising and providing support to the ANTA Ministerial Council (MINCO). |
| ANTA CEOs Committee | A committee that examined the implications of proposals before they were considered by the ANTA Board, and advised on those implications. CEOs also individually advised their Ministers and considered draft resolutions for the Ministerial Council. The ANTA CEOs Committee also worked to increase co-operation between State and Territory vocational education and training systems. |
| ANTA Key Research Centres | Research centres which were directly funded by the Australian National Training Authority - under the Key Vocational Education and Training Research Centres National Project - to undertake research and develop specialist expertise in designated areas, in order to inform vocational education and training policy. |
| ANTA Ministerial Council | (MINCO) A body comprised of the Commonwealth, State and Territory Ministers responsible for vocational education and training, that decides national policy, objectives and priorities for vocational education and training. |
| ANTARAC | Australian National Training Authority Research Advisory Council, superseded by the National Research and Evaluation Committee (NREC). |
| ANU | Australian National University. |
| ANZCERTA | Australia and New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement. See Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Arrangement. |
| ANZSIC | See Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification. |
| APL | ACTRAC Products Ltd, now known as Australian Training Products Ltd (ATP). |
| Application codes | A unique number for each application course and location and attendance mode. |
| Apprentice | A person undertaking training under an apprenticeship. See also New Apprenticeships and Trainees. |
| Apprenticeship | A system of training regulated by law or custom that combines on-the-job training and work experience while in paid employment with formal off-the-job training. The apprentice enters into a contract of training or training agreement with an employer that imposes mutual obligations on both parties. Traditionally, apprenticeships were in trade occupations (declared vocations) and were of four years duration. See also New Apprenticeships and Traineeships. |
| Approving authority | A body that approves apprenticeships and traineeships for the purposes of the Workplace Relations Act 1996, and determines the impact of training on productive time for apprenticeships and traineeships that are approved. |
| APSDEP | Asian and Pacific Skill Development Program. |
| APSDIN | Asian and Pacific Skill Development Information Network. |
| AQC | Australian Quality Council. |
| AQF | See Australian Qualifications Framework. |
| AQFAB | See Australian Qualifications Framework Advisory Board. |
| AQTF | See Australian Quality Training Framework. |
| ARAP | Assessing and Registering Authority. |
| ARC | Australian Recognition Framework, now Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF). |
| ARIS | Adult Education Resource and Information Service, managed by Language Australia. |
| ARTC | Australian Recognised Trades Certificate. |
| Articulation | The arrangements that facilitate the movement or progression of students from one course to another, or from one education and training sector to another. See also Advanced standing, Credit, and Recognition of prior learning. |
| ASCED | See Australian Standard Classification of Education. |
| ASCH | See Annual student contact hours. |
| ASCILITE | Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education. |
| ASCO | See Australian Standard Classification of Occupations. |
| ASEAN | Association of South East Asian Nations. |
| ASF | See Australian Standards Framework. |
| ASIC | Australian Second Language Proficiency Rating(s). |
| ASPA | Australian Secondary Principals Association. |
| ASPBAE | Asia South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education. |
| Assessment | The process of gathering and judging evidence in order to decide whether a standard or objective has been achieved. See also Competency-based assessment and Evidence guide. |
| Assessment guidelines | An endorsed component of a training package that underpins assessment and sets out the industry approach to valid, reliable, flexible and fair assessment. Assessment guidelines include information concerning: assessment system overview, assessor requirements, designing assessment resources, conducting assessment and sources of information on assessment. |
| Assessment materials | Optional component of training packages that complement endorsed industry assessment guidelines and could take the form of assessment exemplars or specific assessment tasks and instructions. |
| Assessment tool | A method for the gathering of evidence for assessment, such as a knowledge test or a checklist of practical performance. |
| Assessor | A person qualified to carry out assessment. |
| Associate diploma | A qualification under the former Register of Australian Tertiary Education (RATE) system of awards. |
| ASTF | Australian Student Traineeship Foundation, now known as Enterprise and Career Education Foundation (ECEF). |
| Asynchronous communication | (Electronic classroom/Internet) Online asynchronous tools can be used to communicate anywhere and at any time. Asynchronous communication does not require users to be logged in simultaneously. Email and forums are forms of asynchronous communication. Compare with Synchronous communication. |
| ATA | Automotive Training Australia Ltd, a national industry training advisory body. |
| ATAS | See Aboriginal Tutorial Assistance Scheme. |
| ATB | Automotive Training Board. |
| ATO | (Taxation) Australian Taxation Office. |
| ATP | See Australian Training Products Ltd. |
| ATS | See Australian Traineeship System. |
| ATSI | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. |
| ATSIC | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission. |
| ATSIPTAC | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Training Advisory Council, now known as Australian Indigenous Advisory Council (AITAC). |
| Attainment | Reaching a particular level, accomplishing a goal. In vocational education and training, successful completion of the requirements of a module or course. See also Statement of Attainment. |
| Attendance mode | The nature of a students attendance at an educational institution, including internal (undertaking all units of study on campus), external (undertaking all units of study off campus), or mixed-mode (a mixture of the two). |
| Attendance pattern | The pattern of a students attendance at an educational institution according to times of attendance and the number of contact hours. |
| Attrition | In an educational institution, a reduction in the number of students as a result of dropping out, withdrawing, etc. |
| Attrition rate | The proportion of students starting who discontinue through withdrawal, dropping out, etc. |
| ATTRP | Australian Tourism Training Review Panel. |
| Audit | A systematic, independent, and documented process for obtaining evidence to determine whether the activities and related outcomes of a training organisation comply with the Australian Quality Training Framework Standards for Registered Training Organisations. |
| Auspicing | The process by which a registered training organisation authorises industry or another training organisation to deliver training and/or conduct assessment. See also Conflict of interest and Present association. |
| Australasian Curriculum Assessment and Certification Authorities | (ACACA) The association of Chief Executive Officers of the eight State and Territory senior secondary certificate authorities. The purpose of the association is to promote curriculum, assessment and certification in schooling functions with special reference to senior secondary studies. |
| Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification | (ANZSIC) A system developed and maintained by the Australian Bureau of Statistics that is used for classifying industries. |
| Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry | (ACCI - http://www.acci.asn.au) The ACCI represents the interests of business to government at the federal level, and to the community at large. The ACCI operates both nationally and internationally. |
| Australian Committee for Training Curriculum | (ACTRAC) A former committee that co-ordinated development of national curricula for vocational education and training. ACTRAC amalgamated with the National Training Board (NTB) to form the Standards and Curriculum Council (SCC), which was later replaced by the Australian National Training Authoritys National Training Framework Committee. |
| Australian Committee on Vocational Education and Training Statistics | (ACVETS) A committee that advised the ANTA Board on the collection and reporting of vocational education, and superseded National Advisory Committee on Vocational Education and Training Statistics (NACVETS), now called the National Training Statistics Committee (NTSC). |
| Australian Council for Adult Literacy | (ACAL - http://www.acal.edu.au) Established in 1977 to promote issues regarding adult English language, adult literacy and numeracy policy and practice. |
| Australian Council for Educational Research | (ACER) An independent national agency undertaking educational research and development. |
| Australian Council for Private Education and Training | (ACPET) A national body representing the private education and training sector in Australia. |
| Australian Council of Independent Vocational Colleges | (ACIVC) An industry association whose membership is made up of private colleges who deliver business and business related courses. |
| Australian Curriculum Studies Association | (ACSA) A professional association of curriculum workers from all levels of education that aims to promote curriculum research and the exchange of information on curriculum developments. |
| Australian Defence Forces | Includes Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Regiment/Australian Army. |
| Australian Disability Training Advisory Council | (ADTAC) A committee that advises the ANTA Board on ways of increasing participation and improving outcomes in vocational education and training for people with a disability. |
| Australian Education Council | (AEC) A former body comprising the Ministers of Education in each State and Territory and the Commonwealth. See also Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA). |
| Australian Education International | (AEI) An Australian Government initiative, working with the Australian education and training industry to promote the industry overseas and to advance the internationalisation of Australian education and training. Formerly the Australian International Education Foundation (AIEF). |
| Australian Education Sharing Network | See AEShareNet. |
| Australian Education Union | (AEU) The peak union and federal lobby group for public teachers and educational workers in Australia. |
| Australian Flexible Learning Framework | A five-year, national collaborative program of the Commonwealth, States and Territories in conjunction with the Australian National Training Authority. The Framework identifies five complementary goals that seek to create and share knowledge about flexible learning, and to support its take-up in the vocational education and training sector. The goals are creative, capable people; supportive technological infrastructure; world-class online content development; applications and services; enabling policies; and problem-solving regulation. |
| Australian Indigenous Training Advisory Council | (AITAC) A body that advises the ANTA Board on ways of meeting the vocational education and training needs of indigenous Australians. Previously: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Training Advisory Council (or ATSIPTAC). |
| Australian Industry Group | (AIG) An independent body created by the merger of the Metal Trades Industry Association of Australia and the Australian Chamber of Manufactures, representing about 11,500 companies. |
| Australian Institute of Training and Development | (AITD) A national association for people involved in training and human resource development. |
| Australian Literacy Educators Association | (ALEA - http://www.alea.edu.au) The ALEA provides support and professional development to educators and others interested in literacy. |
| Australian National Training Authority | On Friday 22nd October 2004, the Prime Minister announced that, from 1 July 2005, the responsibilities and functions of the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) would be transferred to the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST). |
| Australian Qualifications Framework | (AQF - http://www.aqf.edu.au) A comprehensive nationally consistent framework incorporating all qualifications recognised in post-compulsory education throughout Australia. The framework identifies six levels in the vocational education and training sector: Certificate I, Certificate II, Certificate III, Certificate IV, Diploma and Advanced Diploma. |
| Australian Qualifications Framework Advisory Board | (AQFAB) The body responsible for promoting, guiding and monitoring implementation of the Australian Qualifications Framework and advising the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) on any required changes to the guidelines. |
| Australian Quality Training Framework | (AQTF) The nationally agreed recognition arrangements for the vocational education and training sector. The Australian Quality Training Framework is based on a quality assured approach to the registration of training organisations seeking to deliver training, assess competency outcomes and issue Australian Qualifications Framework qualifications and/or Statements of Attainment, and ensures the recognition of training providers and the Australian Qualifications Framework qualifications and Statements of Attainment they issue, across Australia. |
| Australian Recognition Framework | (ARF) See Australian Quality Training Framework. |
| Australian Research Council | (ARC) A body providing advice to the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs on national research priorities and the co-ordination of research policy, and making recommendations on the allocation of resources under a range of approved programs. |
| Australian residency | Australian citizenship, Permanent Residency status, Temporary Protection Visa, or Visa subclass 309 or 820. See also Queensland residency. |
| Australian Standard Classification of Education | (ASCED) An Australian Bureau of Statistics classification that describes programs according to their subject matter; expected to supersede field of study and discipline group. |
| Australian Standard Classification of Occupations | (ASCO) A hierarchical classification developed and maintained by the Australian Bureau of Statistics that categorises all occupations in the Australian workforce. |
| Australian Standard Industrial Classification | (ASIC) A system for classifying industries developed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in use before the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC). |
| Australian Standards Framework | (ASTF) Now known as Enterprise and Career Education Foundation. |
| Australian Traineeship System | (ATS) The former system of traineeships set up after the Kirby Committee of Inquiry into Labour Market Programs (1985). Superseded by New Apprenticeships. |
| Australian Training Awards | A set of awards presented annually to recognise and reward students, apprentices, trainees, employers, training providers and other organisations who have demonstrated high levels of achievement or best practice in vocational education and training. |
| Australian Training Information Network | (Also known as: TRAIN) A national vocational education and training information service that has been discontinued. |
| Australian Training Products Ltd | (ATP) A publishing company and national clearinghouse for all national, crown-copyrighted training materials, including curriculum and non-endorsed components of training packages, as well as other associated training resources and learning materials. Formerly known as ACTRAC Products Ltd (APL). |
| Australian Vocational Certificate Training System | (AVCTS) The competency-based vocational training system proposed in the Carmichael Report (1992). Superseded by the Australian Vocational Training System (AVTS), then Modern Australian Apprenticeship and Traineeship System (MAATS), and then by New Apprenticeships. |
| Glossary V2.0 | |
