Vocational Education

Question 1

What is vocational education

Answer 1

Durkheim- teaching of specialist skills
Schultz- ‘human capital’
Education serves the needs of the economy (skilled labour)
Promotion of vocational programmes, such as BTEC

Question 2

How do schools achieve this?

Answer 2

• post 16 education split into sixth form and further education colleges
• some vocational courses (BTEC) run alongside GCSE at level 2 and A level
• careers advice and subject choice
• embedded in hidden curriculum

Question 3

How does this apply to contemporary education

Answer 3

• range of vocational qualifications BTEC and T-level subjects
• resit criteria for English and maths
• emphasis on key skills
• work experience programmes

Question 4

What are the criticisms

Answer 4

• exploitation of cheap labour by some providers on apprenticeships
• status division between academic vocational qualifications
• cuts to funding since 2010 for general FE colleges
• vocational aspirations hit by education triage