Glossary S
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Scroll through the following entries, or use your browser's Find facility (CTRL-F in Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer) to locate a specific term:
SAA
Standards Association of Australia, now called Standards Australia.
SACAL
South Australian Council of Adult Literacy.
SACE
South Australian Certificate of Education. See also Senior Secondary Certificate of Education.
SATAC
See South Australian Tertiary Admissions Centre.
SCC
See Standards and Curriculum Council.
SEAMEO VOCTECH
Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation Regional Centre for Vocational and Technical Education. Secondary education following primary education, comprising years 7 - 12 (or 8 -12 in some States).
SEP
Structural Efficiency Principle.
SES
Socio-economic status.
SFEU
(Scotland) Scottish Further Education Unit.
SME's
Small and medium enterprises. See also Small business.
SMPO
Specialist Migrant Placement Officer.
SQA
(Scotland) Scottish Qualifications Authority.
SRA
State/Territory Recognition Authority; see State Recognition Authority.
SRITAB
Sport & Recreation Industry Training Advisory Body Inc. See Industry Training Advisory Body.
SSC
Student Services Committee.
SSCE
See Senior Secondary Certificate of Education.
STA
State/Territory Training Authority; see State Training Authority.
STP
State Training Profile.
STRO
Supervising Registered Training Organisation. See Registered Training Organisation.
SVQ
(Scotland) Scottish Vocational Qualification.
Sanction
Any action imposed for non-compliance with one or more of the Australian Quality Training Framework Standards for registered training organisations, including: a. the imposition of specific conditions on registration; b. amendment of registration (including a reduction in the scope of registration; c. suspension or cancellation of registration; and d. the imposition of fines.
Sans serif fonts and serif fonts
Many articles and manuals on plain English will advise you to use a font that has ‘serifs’ (the little dashes on letters). There is a belief that it is easier to read text printed in these fonts - at least on paper - because the letters flow smoothly together, and it makes it easier to recognise the shape of words.
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Serif fonts include Times New Roman and Courier
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Sans serif fonts include Verdana, Arial and Tahoma.
After a lot of research in this area, it seems some writers advocate for serif fonts and others sans serif, for readers with normal vision using print. Research indicates that sans serif fonts are easier to read on computer screens. Research definitely indicates that sans serif fonts make text easier to distinguish for readers with low vision. Find out more about the use of fonts and typography.
Scaffolding
Support offered by teachers characterised by explicit teaching of skills and knowledge to assist students to achieve learning outcomes.
Scheduled hours
The hours of teaching activity (including examination time) that the provider schedules for a module or unit of competency enrolment. Compare Curriculum hours, Nominal hours (supervised) and Nominal hours (unsupervised).
School to Work Program
A government program aimed at developing partnerships between schools and industry, business, and the vocational education and training sector, in order to establish accredited vocational education and training. See also School to work transition.
School to work transition
The process of transferring from school to the workforce or further study.
School-industry program
A program for Year 11 and 12 students that combines school learning with workplace learning. Many programs lead to advanced standing in an apprenticeship or traineeship, or credit towards a vocational education and training course.
Scope of registration
- The range of operations for which a training organisation is registered, including whether it may deliver training as well as assessment, the fields or industries in which it may deliver training or assessment, and the maximum level of qualifications it may issue.
- The identification of the particular services that the registered training organisation can provide. The scope of operation of a registered training organisation is also defined by specific Australian Qualifications Framework qualifications or competencies within training package(s) and/or accredited courses.
Screen magnification
Screen magnification software magnifies images and text on a computer screen.
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Magnification levels, colour choices, and manoeuvrability are all aspects that vary between programs. Zoomtext, BigShot and MAGic are commonly used in Australia.
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Microsoft Windows 98, ME, 2000 and XP have a simple magnification program, Magnifier, built in.
Screen readers
Designed for people with a vision impairment, screen reading software converts text to audio or refreshable braille. Commonly used screen reading programs include JAWS and Window Eyes.
Sector
A division of a field of activity, e.g. the vocational education and training sector of further education, public and private vocational education and training sectors.
Selected Study Program
A program that allows students to choose one or more modules from different fields of study.
Selection criteria
Factors taken into account when deciding which applicants will be offered a place in a course. Selection criteria are applied after applicants have met the entry requirements for a course. See also Selection method.
Selection method
Methodology used to evaluate applicants against the selection criteria for a course. This methodology includes information provided by an applicant on the application form and supporting documentation and, where necessary, a selection test, an audition, or submission of a portfolio of work.
Self-assessment
A process in which learners or organisations assess their own performance against particular standards or criteria; (in competency-based training) a process in which learners assess their own performance against competency standards; (in quality endorsement a process in which an organisation assesses the extent to which it satisfies the criteria for quality endorsement, identifying opportunities for improvement.
Self-directed learning
Learning in which the learner is the principal driving force, deciding how, when, and at what pace learning takes place.
Self-paced learning
Learning undertaken at a student's own pace.
Senior Secondary Certificate of Education
(SSCE) A national title for senior secondary school qualifications recognised by the Australian Qualifications Framework and issued by the State and Territory governments. The Senior Secondary Certificate of Education may include vocational education and training units leading to a relevant Certificate I - IV qualification. Each State and Territory has its own Senior Secondary Certificate of Education.
Short course
A course of vocational education and training that stands alone and does not usually lead to a full qualification. A Statement of Attainment may be issued on successful completion.
Simulator
A device used especially in training to reproduce the conditions of the working situation, enabling tasks to be learned and practised safely and economically.
Skill
An ability to perform a particular mental or physical activity that may be developed by training or practice. See also Basic skill and Generic skill.
Skill formation
The development of skills or competencies that are relevant to the workforce.
Skill recognition
The recognition or acknowledgement of the validity of skills and qualifications by educational institutions, professional bodies, employers, registration authorities and other organisations.
SkillShare
A not-for-profit community-based organisation assisting unemployed people to obtain and retain work. See also Jobs Australia Ltd.
SkillShare Program
An education, training or employment- related program organised by a SkillShare centre or agency.
Skills analysis
An identification of the skills or competencies needed for each job.
Skills audit
An identification of the skills required and held by the workforce.
Skills centre
An industry or enterprise-based training facility offering a range of accredited training to enterprise employees, industry groups and individuals. Skills centres may be in-plant or standalone, or may be linked with a college or group training company.
Skills passport
A record of the competencies possessed by a person and recognised through formal assessment. Proposed, but not formally implemented, in Australia.
Skills recognition agency
An organisation that provides an assessment service and issues qualifications and statements of attainment, but does not deliver training.
Skills transfer
The transfer of skills or competencies from one work context to another.
Small business
A business conducted on a small scale. The Australian Bureau of Statistics defines small businesses in the following way: In this publication small business refers to management units with less than 20 employees in all industries except manufacturing where they have less than 100 employees, and agriculture where they have an estimated value of agricultural operations of between $22 500 and $400 000. Source: ABS cat.no.1321.0, Small business in Australia, 1997, p.211.
South Australian Tertiary Admissions Centre
(SATAC) Receives and processes applications for the eight Institutes of TAFE and the three universities in South Australia.
Special entry
(Also called: alternative entry or alternative category entry) Entry to a course by special arrangement where a student does not meet the standard entry requirements (usually Year 12 or equivalent).
Stakeholder
A person or organisation with an interest or concern in something. In vocational education and training, stakeholders include governments, purchasers of training, providers of training, industry, industry training advisory bodies, clients and the community.
Standard
A level or measure of achievement; a statement of performance or outcome criteria. See also competency standard.
Standards and Curriculum Council
(SCC) A body formed by an amalgamation of the National Training Board (NTB) and Australian Committee for Training Curriculum (ACTRAC) to enable a close link between standards and curriculum. The SCC was replaced by the Australian National Training Authority's National Training Framework Committee.
State Recognition Authority
(SRA) Also called: State/Territory Recognition Authority. The body in each State or Territory responsible for the registration of training organisations and the accreditation of courses where no relevant training package exists.
State Training Authority
(STA) Also called State/Territory Training Authority. The body in each State or Territory responsible for the operation of the vocational education and training system within that jurisdiction. Each State or Territory training authority participates in the formulation of national policy, planning and objectives, and promotes and implements the agreed policies and priorities within the State or Territory.
State Training Profile
(Also called State/Territory Training Profile) A report that outlines the planned or actual provision of publicly-funded vocational education and training in a State or Territory. Plans were also sent to the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) and are used in determining Commonwealth funding to States and Territories for vocational education and training.
State or Territory Accrediting Body
The body responsible under the State or Territory vocational education and training legislation and decision making framework for all decisions relating to the administration of the accreditation of courses.
Statement of Attainment
Certification issued to a student for partial completion of a qualification, including, where relevant, the units of competency achieved under nationally endorsed standards. Achievements recognised by statements of attainment can accumulate towards a qualification within the Australian Qualifications Framework.
Status
See Credit.
Strategic industry audit
The compliance audit of registered training organisations operating in a specific industry or industry sector, targeted on the basis of identified risks relating to that industry or sector.
Stream 1000
Programs where the primary intention is recreation, leisure or personal enrichment, and not the development of vocational knowledge or skills.
Stream of study
A classification that describes a course in terms of the level and type of its intended vocational outcome.
Structured workplace learning
(Also called: workplace learning and work placement) The on-the-job component of a VET in Schools program. The skills, or 'learning outcomes', commonly reflect nationally recognised, industry-defined competency standards. The student is not paid by the employer.
Student attrition
See Attrition.
Student contact hours
The total nominal hours (supervised) for the modules undertaken.
Student load
(Also called: study load) The total student contact hours for the program(s) being undertaken, e.g. a minimum of 11.5 nominal hours per week over the teaching period for all courses.
Syllabus
An outline of a course or subject (module that lists what is to be taught or learned. See Curriculum.
Synchronous communication
Communication that takes place in real-time, where participants are all logged in to one network at the same time. Participants can be at different locations. Contributions are immediately communicated to other users for an immediate response. A chat facility is a form of synchronous communication. Compare with Asynchronous communication.
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