Introducing Dr Jeannette Kavanagh
Following her initial teacher training, Dr Kavanagh has:
- Undertaken six further postgraduate qualifications, including her Diploma in Solution-Oriented Counselling and Coaching.
- Taught and developed curricula at all levels in our education system – primary, secondary and tertiary.
- Designed and run public speaking skills seminars, for a diverse range of clients.
- Provided business development and strategic planning advice to small and medium-sized businesses.
- Established and run her business and educational consultancy DrJeannette Kavanagh and Daughter since 1996. Through that consultancy, Jeannette has offered a range of strategic solutions to clients in business as well as the education sector.
Senior Executive experience
Apart from running her own business, Jeannette has held senior executive positions including that of:
- National Vice President Action Learning Action Research Association (ALARA);
- Deputy Director (Policy and Planning) at Box Hill Institute of TAFE ;
- Ministerial Advisor to Minister(s) of Postsecondary Education;
- Manager of Community Education at Holmesglen Institute of TAFE.
Educational Innovator
I've been fortunate to have been part of major educational innovations all of which have broadened the curriculum options available to schools. The groundbreaking work I did in credit transfers reflected my desire to make sure that we reduced the duplication of effort in our system. So often, graduates from TAFE programs or people with a great deal of measurable skills gained in the workplace had to learn those skills again if they started a University course. The strategic vision and planning skills that made my work in credit transfers so successful, are part of the arsenal of educational tools I bring to your school.Dual recognition: As a senior executive within the education bureaucracy I initiated the first ever discussions about the need to integrate TAFE programs into the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE). After initial resistance to that idea, my proposals were embraced to become what is now an accepted part of the education landscape: Dual Recognition.
VET in secondary schools: During my time as Deputy Director of Box Hill Institute of TAFE, and later in my consultancy work, I worked with secondary colleges to increase vocational education training (VET) options for secondary school students. In collaboration with many local schools and departments at Box Hill TAFE, I drafted the first articulation agreements to bring Vocational Education and Training (VET) to local secondary schools.
Credit Transfers across all sectors: As well as that vital work with secondary schools, I framed the first ever strategic alliances between the TAFE sector and Victorian Universities. I negotiated the terms of credit transfers between Box Hill TAFE and Universities in Victoria. My original credit transfer agreements set the benchmark and became the template for national credit transfers to the present day.