Pam Pryor - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Pam Pryor

Research paper thumbnail of Review of the implementation of the Australian Occupational Health and Safety Education Accreditation process

Introduction The Australian OHS Education Accreditation Board (the Board) commenced accreditation... more Introduction The Australian OHS Education Accreditation Board (the Board) commenced accreditation of university occupational health and safety (OHS) courses in 2013. A formal evaluation of this accreditation was undertaken, with the qualitative review component, the main activity, reported here. Aims To assess the opinions of the OHS Academics, Professionals and Program Leaders, of their experience in undertaking the OHS Education Accreditation process for the first time and assess where support or further development or resources might be required to assist with the OHS Education Accreditation process nationally. Methods Participants who had been involved in the accreditation process were interviewed. Nineteen of 22 interviews of 12 eligible persons (some participants had dual roles) were undertaken for the study. An external party not involved in the accreditation process undertook the interviews and analysis of raw data and all data were de-identified and grouped where appropriat...

Research paper thumbnail of The evolution of a global, professional capability framework covering the role, contribution and status of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) professionals: Editorial, introduction and discussion

Research paper thumbnail of Future Directions of University Based OHS Education in Australia: A preliminary report on the outcomes of “Safeguarding Australians” an ALTC Sponsored Study on OHS Education

ABSTRACT http://www.visions.org.au/

Research paper thumbnail of Safeguarding Australians: mapping the strengths and challenges towards sustainable improvements in OHS education and practice

Support for this project has been provided by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council, an in... more Support for this project has been provided by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council, an initiative of the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Learning and Teaching Council Ltd. This work is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Australia Licence. Under this Licence you are free to copy, distribute, display and perform the work and to make derivative works.

Research paper thumbnail of OHS professional education in Australia in 2004 and beyond

Safety in Australia, 2006

Research paper thumbnail of Profile of an OHS professional in Australia in 2005

Research paper thumbnail of Accredited OHS Professional Education: A Step Change for OHS Capability

Safety Science, 2016

In the last two years Australia has seen a step-change in Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) pr... more In the last two years Australia has seen a step-change in Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) professional education with the implementation of the OHS regulator-funded OHS Body of Knowledge project. This project resulted in the development and publication of the OHS Body of Knowledge, accreditation of university-level OHS professional education and certification of OHS professionals and practitioners. The OHS Body of Knowledge for Generalist OHS Professionals was first published in 2012 and work is ongoing. The OHS Body of Knowledge is achieving recognition within Australia and internationally. Professional accreditation for university level OHS education was introduced in 2012. Coincidentally, accreditation of OHS professional education has been implemented at the same time as structural changes in the quality standards for universities and changes in the Australian Qualification Framework presenting significant opportunities. Commencing with a brief description of the rationale,...

Research paper thumbnail of Developing the core body of knowledge for the generalist OHS professional

Historically, the lack of a defined body of knowledge was identified as inhibiting OHS profession... more Historically, the lack of a defined body of knowledge was identified as inhibiting OHS professional education, the quality of OHS advice and recognition of the profession. In 2009, an Australian OHS regulator recognized the issue and provided funding for the development of the OHS Body of Knowledge and implementation of the Body of Knowledge through accreditation of OHS education and voluntary certification of OHS professionals. The paper describes the process for developing the OHS Body of Knowledge including the stimulus for initiating the project, the early exploration and the development and validation of the framework. It then addresses the design of the framework by clarifying the intended users and the underlying principles, describing the meta-paradigm and the final conceptual structure. The paper concludes by briefly discussing the current status, ongoing issues and future direction.

Research paper thumbnail of Towards an understanding of the strategic influence of the occupational health and safety professional

Research paper thumbnail of The evolution of a global, professional capability framework covering the role, contribution and status of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) professionals: Editorial, introduction and discussion

Research paper thumbnail of The emergence of the occupational health and safety profession in Australia

Safety Science, 2019

Abstract The Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) profession is well established in Australia and... more Abstract The Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) profession is well established in Australia and it would be rare, if not impossible to find a medium to a large public, private or government organisation without an OHS professional department. This paper explores the development and current status of the OHS profession in Australia. To be recognised as a profession, any occupation needs to satisfy a number of individual, collective and external professional criteria. This paper reviews the OHS profession in Australia, through these professional criteria and we describe the: role and career path, defined knowledge and skill base, ethical code of practice, professional status, professional organisations, professional entry criteria, professional education, external requirements, stakeholders, and societal recognition. To further examine the extent to which the OHS occupation deserves professional status we explore in detail the professionalisation strategy of the Safety Institute of Australia (SIA) over the past 8 years. Since 2010 the Safety Institute of Australia (SIA), the largest and broadest Australian OHS professional organisation, has rigorously pursued a strategy aimed at increasing the professionalisation of the OHS profession through concurrent programs of: professional certification, university curriculum accreditation, and the development of an ‘OHS Body of Knowledge’. This paper concludes that the OHS profession in Australia can be considered an ‘emerging profession’. An emerging profession is a recognised discipline or occupation that has established, although not consistently implemented the structures, capability and recognition necessary to be considered an established profession. The current and future challenges and opportunities for the OHS profession are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Review of the implementation of the Australian Occupational Health and Safety Education Accreditation process

Introduction The Australian OHS Education Accreditation Board (the Board) commenced accreditation... more Introduction The Australian OHS Education Accreditation Board (the Board) commenced accreditation of university occupational health and safety (OHS) courses in 2013. A formal evaluation of this accreditation was undertaken, with the qualitative review component, the main activity, reported here. Aims To assess the opinions of the OHS Academics, Professionals and Program Leaders, of their experience in undertaking the OHS Education Accreditation process for the first time and assess where support or further development or resources might be required to assist with the OHS Education Accreditation process nationally. Methods Participants who had been involved in the accreditation process were interviewed. Nineteen of 22 interviews of 12 eligible persons (some participants had dual roles) were undertaken for the study. An external party not involved in the accreditation process undertook the interviews and analysis of raw data and all data were de-identified and grouped where appropriate. Results There were no major issues identified with the mechanics of the accreditation process. The reported major strengths of the process included providing a clear marketing advantage to accredited courses compared to unaccredited courses; providing a prompt to OHS program academics to devote resources to reviewing each course and a mechanism to better argue for resources; the central role of the Body of Knowledge; and the process allowing each of the different institutions to maintain their unique characteristics and specialisations. The major identified limitations of the process included overlap from and competing demands of other university educational requirements; uncertainty regarding the balance of core aspects of the Body of Knowledge vs non-core aspects; the time and resources required for universities to participate in the accreditation process; potential overlap academics on the Panels benefitting from knowledge of their competitors' courses; and a need to better educate industry about the work of the Board and its accreditation system. Conclusions The accreditation process appears to have largely achieved its immediate aims without putting an excessive burden on the University staff or the OHS and academic members of the accreditation panel. Areas of potential improvement were also identified, such as the dual use of information for accreditation processes and internal university audit and a more equal emphasis on safety compared to health in the accreditation process. These areas have been considered by the Board for future course accreditation assessments.

Research paper thumbnail of Profile of an OHS professional in Australia and implications for achievement of the National OHS Strategy 2002 - 2012

The National OHS Strategy for Australia has five priorities and national action plans have been s... more The National OHS Strategy for Australia has five priorities and national action plans have been set for each priority with the first encompassing 2002 -2005. This paper examines the results of an Australian survey into what OHS professionals do in practice to identify the implications for achievement of the priorities identified in the National strategy. The analysis of the responses

Research paper thumbnail of Safeguarding Australians: mapping the strengths and challenges towards sustainable improvements in OHS education and practice

Research paper thumbnail of Future Directions of University Based OHS Education in Australia: A preliminary report on the outcomes of “Safeguarding Australians” an ALTC Sponsored Study on OHS Education

Research paper thumbnail of Development of a global framework for OHS professional practice

Safety Science, 2019

There have long been discussions on the professionality of occupational health and safety (OHS) a... more There have long been discussions on the professionality of occupational health and safety (OHS) and concerns about standards of practice, with the recognition of OHS as a profession further inhibited by lack of clarity on role and variations in terminology and principles underpinning practice. In 2013, the International Network of Safety and Health Practitioner Organisations (INSHPO) recognized the need for a global approach to reconceptualise OHS professionals as influential leaders who can work to integrate OHS within business processes. The Occupational Health and Safety Professional Capability Framework: A Global Framework for Practice was subsequently developed by this international body representing OHS professional associations across 10 countries with the outcome endorsed by 53 organisations at a ceremonial signing of the Singapore Accord. This paper reviews the development of the framework and the emergence of two clear roles; the OHS Professional and OHS Practitioner. It e...

Research paper thumbnail of Review of the implementation of the Australian Occupational Health and Safety Education Accreditation process

Introduction The Australian OHS Education Accreditation Board (the Board) commenced accreditation... more Introduction The Australian OHS Education Accreditation Board (the Board) commenced accreditation of university occupational health and safety (OHS) courses in 2013. A formal evaluation of this accreditation was undertaken, with the qualitative review component, the main activity, reported here. Aims To assess the opinions of the OHS Academics, Professionals and Program Leaders, of their experience in undertaking the OHS Education Accreditation process for the first time and assess where support or further development or resources might be required to assist with the OHS Education Accreditation process nationally. Methods Participants who had been involved in the accreditation process were interviewed. Nineteen of 22 interviews of 12 eligible persons (some participants had dual roles) were undertaken for the study. An external party not involved in the accreditation process undertook the interviews and analysis of raw data and all data were de-identified and grouped where appropriat...

Research paper thumbnail of The evolution of a global, professional capability framework covering the role, contribution and status of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) professionals: Editorial, introduction and discussion

Research paper thumbnail of Future Directions of University Based OHS Education in Australia: A preliminary report on the outcomes of “Safeguarding Australians” an ALTC Sponsored Study on OHS Education

ABSTRACT http://www.visions.org.au/

Research paper thumbnail of Safeguarding Australians: mapping the strengths and challenges towards sustainable improvements in OHS education and practice

Support for this project has been provided by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council, an in... more Support for this project has been provided by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council, an initiative of the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Learning and Teaching Council Ltd. This work is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Australia Licence. Under this Licence you are free to copy, distribute, display and perform the work and to make derivative works.

Research paper thumbnail of OHS professional education in Australia in 2004 and beyond

Safety in Australia, 2006

Research paper thumbnail of Profile of an OHS professional in Australia in 2005

Research paper thumbnail of Accredited OHS Professional Education: A Step Change for OHS Capability

Safety Science, 2016

In the last two years Australia has seen a step-change in Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) pr... more In the last two years Australia has seen a step-change in Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) professional education with the implementation of the OHS regulator-funded OHS Body of Knowledge project. This project resulted in the development and publication of the OHS Body of Knowledge, accreditation of university-level OHS professional education and certification of OHS professionals and practitioners. The OHS Body of Knowledge for Generalist OHS Professionals was first published in 2012 and work is ongoing. The OHS Body of Knowledge is achieving recognition within Australia and internationally. Professional accreditation for university level OHS education was introduced in 2012. Coincidentally, accreditation of OHS professional education has been implemented at the same time as structural changes in the quality standards for universities and changes in the Australian Qualification Framework presenting significant opportunities. Commencing with a brief description of the rationale,...

Research paper thumbnail of Developing the core body of knowledge for the generalist OHS professional

Historically, the lack of a defined body of knowledge was identified as inhibiting OHS profession... more Historically, the lack of a defined body of knowledge was identified as inhibiting OHS professional education, the quality of OHS advice and recognition of the profession. In 2009, an Australian OHS regulator recognized the issue and provided funding for the development of the OHS Body of Knowledge and implementation of the Body of Knowledge through accreditation of OHS education and voluntary certification of OHS professionals. The paper describes the process for developing the OHS Body of Knowledge including the stimulus for initiating the project, the early exploration and the development and validation of the framework. It then addresses the design of the framework by clarifying the intended users and the underlying principles, describing the meta-paradigm and the final conceptual structure. The paper concludes by briefly discussing the current status, ongoing issues and future direction.

Research paper thumbnail of Towards an understanding of the strategic influence of the occupational health and safety professional

Research paper thumbnail of The evolution of a global, professional capability framework covering the role, contribution and status of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) professionals: Editorial, introduction and discussion

Research paper thumbnail of The emergence of the occupational health and safety profession in Australia

Safety Science, 2019

Abstract The Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) profession is well established in Australia and... more Abstract The Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) profession is well established in Australia and it would be rare, if not impossible to find a medium to a large public, private or government organisation without an OHS professional department. This paper explores the development and current status of the OHS profession in Australia. To be recognised as a profession, any occupation needs to satisfy a number of individual, collective and external professional criteria. This paper reviews the OHS profession in Australia, through these professional criteria and we describe the: role and career path, defined knowledge and skill base, ethical code of practice, professional status, professional organisations, professional entry criteria, professional education, external requirements, stakeholders, and societal recognition. To further examine the extent to which the OHS occupation deserves professional status we explore in detail the professionalisation strategy of the Safety Institute of Australia (SIA) over the past 8 years. Since 2010 the Safety Institute of Australia (SIA), the largest and broadest Australian OHS professional organisation, has rigorously pursued a strategy aimed at increasing the professionalisation of the OHS profession through concurrent programs of: professional certification, university curriculum accreditation, and the development of an ‘OHS Body of Knowledge’. This paper concludes that the OHS profession in Australia can be considered an ‘emerging profession’. An emerging profession is a recognised discipline or occupation that has established, although not consistently implemented the structures, capability and recognition necessary to be considered an established profession. The current and future challenges and opportunities for the OHS profession are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Review of the implementation of the Australian Occupational Health and Safety Education Accreditation process

Introduction The Australian OHS Education Accreditation Board (the Board) commenced accreditation... more Introduction The Australian OHS Education Accreditation Board (the Board) commenced accreditation of university occupational health and safety (OHS) courses in 2013. A formal evaluation of this accreditation was undertaken, with the qualitative review component, the main activity, reported here. Aims To assess the opinions of the OHS Academics, Professionals and Program Leaders, of their experience in undertaking the OHS Education Accreditation process for the first time and assess where support or further development or resources might be required to assist with the OHS Education Accreditation process nationally. Methods Participants who had been involved in the accreditation process were interviewed. Nineteen of 22 interviews of 12 eligible persons (some participants had dual roles) were undertaken for the study. An external party not involved in the accreditation process undertook the interviews and analysis of raw data and all data were de-identified and grouped where appropriate. Results There were no major issues identified with the mechanics of the accreditation process. The reported major strengths of the process included providing a clear marketing advantage to accredited courses compared to unaccredited courses; providing a prompt to OHS program academics to devote resources to reviewing each course and a mechanism to better argue for resources; the central role of the Body of Knowledge; and the process allowing each of the different institutions to maintain their unique characteristics and specialisations. The major identified limitations of the process included overlap from and competing demands of other university educational requirements; uncertainty regarding the balance of core aspects of the Body of Knowledge vs non-core aspects; the time and resources required for universities to participate in the accreditation process; potential overlap academics on the Panels benefitting from knowledge of their competitors' courses; and a need to better educate industry about the work of the Board and its accreditation system. Conclusions The accreditation process appears to have largely achieved its immediate aims without putting an excessive burden on the University staff or the OHS and academic members of the accreditation panel. Areas of potential improvement were also identified, such as the dual use of information for accreditation processes and internal university audit and a more equal emphasis on safety compared to health in the accreditation process. These areas have been considered by the Board for future course accreditation assessments.

Research paper thumbnail of Profile of an OHS professional in Australia and implications for achievement of the National OHS Strategy 2002 - 2012

The National OHS Strategy for Australia has five priorities and national action plans have been s... more The National OHS Strategy for Australia has five priorities and national action plans have been set for each priority with the first encompassing 2002 -2005. This paper examines the results of an Australian survey into what OHS professionals do in practice to identify the implications for achievement of the priorities identified in the National strategy. The analysis of the responses

Research paper thumbnail of Safeguarding Australians: mapping the strengths and challenges towards sustainable improvements in OHS education and practice

Research paper thumbnail of Future Directions of University Based OHS Education in Australia: A preliminary report on the outcomes of “Safeguarding Australians” an ALTC Sponsored Study on OHS Education

Research paper thumbnail of Development of a global framework for OHS professional practice

Safety Science, 2019

There have long been discussions on the professionality of occupational health and safety (OHS) a... more There have long been discussions on the professionality of occupational health and safety (OHS) and concerns about standards of practice, with the recognition of OHS as a profession further inhibited by lack of clarity on role and variations in terminology and principles underpinning practice. In 2013, the International Network of Safety and Health Practitioner Organisations (INSHPO) recognized the need for a global approach to reconceptualise OHS professionals as influential leaders who can work to integrate OHS within business processes. The Occupational Health and Safety Professional Capability Framework: A Global Framework for Practice was subsequently developed by this international body representing OHS professional associations across 10 countries with the outcome endorsed by 53 organisations at a ceremonial signing of the Singapore Accord. This paper reviews the development of the framework and the emergence of two clear roles; the OHS Professional and OHS Practitioner. It e...