?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Technical+and+further+education+diploma+graduates+%3A+personal+capital+investments+and+returns&rft.creator=Van+Der+Linde%2C+Christopher+Jae&rft.subject=federal+government&rft.subject=human+capital&rft.subject=investments&rft.subject=personal+capital&rft.subject=tafe&rft.subject=returns&rft.subject=vocational+education+and+training&rft.description=This+research+has+examined+the+personal+capital+investments+and+returns+of+a+group+of+TAFE+Diploma+of+Community+Work+graduates+through+the+use+of+qualitative+research+methodology.+Recognising+that+the+concept+of+personal+capital+is+distinct+from+human+capital+in+that+it+considers+the+intrinsic+reasons%2C+impetus+and+values+that+individuals+ascribe+to+their+motivation+to+undertake+and+complete+a+course+of+study.+Personal+capital+is+not+quantifiable+within+the+present+human+capital+outcomes+paradigm%2C+however+the+personal+capital+paradigm+allows+for+a+deeper+exploration+of+a+range+of+further+tangible+and+valid+outcomes+not+addressed+in+the+human+capital+approach.+There+is+a+gap+in+the+current+research+literature+regarding+evaluation+of+TAFE+outcomes+and+it+stems+from+a+predominant+human+capital+focus.+The+existing+paradigm+of+human+capital%2C+which+values+the+acquisition+of+knowledge+and+skills+for+their+economic+value%2C+has+been+of+primary+interest+and+significance%2C+particularly+in+terms+of+government+policy+in+relation+to+vocational+education+and+training%0A%0ABy+using+an+interpretivist+approach+comprising+in-depth+interviews%2C+the+researcher+was+able+to+explore+the+intrinsic+drives%2C+motivations+and+aspirations+and+impetus+that+brought+the+TAFE+graduates+to+initially+undertake+their+studies+in+the+diploma+program.+This+approach+also+allowed+for+an+examination+as+to+whether+the+graduates+perceived+that+they+had+obtained+a+return+on+this+personal+capital+investment+in+the+study+program.+Through+the+conceptual+framework%2C+the+research+established+a+set+of+predetermined+personal+capital+investments+and+returns%2C+although+the+research+was+not+constrained+by+these+pre-determined+themes.+The+use+of+grounded+theory+data+analysis+procedures+in+the+study+allowed+for+the+evolution+and+analysis+of+emergent+categories+or+themes+relating+to+personal+capital+investments+and+returns.+Consequently%2C+the+qualitative+analysis+of+the+in-depth+interviews+has+revealed+a+broader+range+of+themes+relating+to+personal+capital+investments+and+returns+than+otherwise+might+have+been+discovered+if+the+research+had+been+limited+to+the+pre-determined+themes+arising+from+the+conceptual+framework.+It+is+the+author's+contention+that+this+qualitative+study+of+TAFE+diploma+graduate's+personal+capital+investments+and+returns+gives+insights+about+the+notion+of+personal+capital+and+its+importance+to+decision-making+as+to+why+individuals+undertake+the+Diploma+of+Community+Work.+This+study+also+reveals+what+they+personally+and+professionally+expect+from+study+in+such+a+program.+Neither+of+which+the+current+quantitative+data+about+TAFE+graduates%2C+namely+the+Student+Outcomes+Surveys%3B+by+design+and+intent++are+as+yet+capable+of+acknowledging+or+exploring.&rft.publisher=Queensland+University+of+Technology&rft.date=2007&rft.type=Thesis&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.relation=https%3A%2F%2Feprints.qut.edu.au%2F16579%2F1%2FChristopher_Jae_Van_Der_Linde_Thesis.pdf&rft.rights=free_to_read&rft.relation=Van+Der+Linde%2C+Christopher+Jae+(2007)+Technical+and+further+education+diploma+graduates+%3A+personal+capital+investments+and+returns.+PhD+thesis%2C+Queensland+University+of+Technology.&rft.id_number=https%3A%2F%2Feprints.qut.edu.au%2F16579%2F&rft.rights=Copyright+Christopher+Jae+Van+Der+Linde&rft.identifier=Faculty+of+Education