vocational education Flashcards
what is vocational education
teaching people the specific knowledge and skills to prepare them for a particular career
can either be on the job training - such as with apprenticeships, or in a college
assessment of vocational education is usually in the form of building a portfolio of evidence
eg apprenticeships or BTECs
what is academic education
more intellectual, more general, and focusses on developing people’s knowledge of a subject and especially their critical thinking skills
assessment of academic subjects is mainly done through written education
when did vocational qualifications start in Britain
1980s
views in 1950s
most people in Britain worked in unskilled, or semi-skilled factory jobs and the majority of people going into manual labour would have received some sort of training on the job, but they didn’t need qualifications to get these jobs
views in mid 1970s
transitional decade which saw the decline of manufacturing in britain as companies moved manufacturing to cheaper countries which led to rising unemployment
birth of many new technology changes the nature of work, with many new jobs being created which demanded a more highly skilled work force
views mid 1980s
both conservative and labour governments agreed that education should be more focussed on improving the state of the economy by providing training courses for young people in different areas of work
new right vocational policies - date
1980s
new right vocational policies
introduction into 16-19 education was NVQs
intended to reward practical achievement, which qualifications being gained through competencies demonstrated through building a portfolio of edidence
new labour vocational policies - date
1997 - 2010
new labour vocational policies - objectives
to provide individuals with the training needed for a high skilled/ high waged economy so that workers are competitive in a global labour market - post-fordism
to reduce unemployment
new labour vocational policies
expansion of the modern apprenticeship scheme
introduction of vocational alevels to eradicate the traditional vocational-academic divide in mostly working class children went down the vocational route
functionalist view
Shultz - human capital theory
the education system performs vital role by teaching vocational skills
productive investment - a way for society to bring about and sustain economic growth
schools and universities provide highly education and trained workers who can use advanced productive technologies found in modern industries
brings bout economic growth
support new vocational initiatives such as modern apprenticeships which provide on the job training
functionalist evaluation
provide an overly optimistic view on vocational education
marxists would point to the dangers of deskilling and how this could lead to further exploitation of the working class
vocational education also creates a divide between the middle and working class
new right view
agree with functionalists about the role and goals of vocationalism
however - dont feel that the education system at the moment is meeting those goals
this is because the education system has lost it’s touch with the economy
education should be marketised and allow parents choice, there needs to be a further expansion of vocational courses
education should prepare students to compete in a global workforce
new right evaluation - functionalists
functionalists argue that the new right tend to underestimate the vocational training roles of schools
the introduction of specialist schools means that many students are equipped with a range of work-based skills
new right policy evaluation
new right policies often lead to vocational education for the working class and academic for the middle class
this reproduces class inequalities
marxist view
Braveman - deskilling
the development of technology in a capitalist economy requires deskilling due to technology doing much of human labour faster and more cheaply
workers lose skill over time and the education system only has to provide workers with basic numeracy and literacy skills needed for low-level work
new vocational initiatives provide the economy with cheap labour and disguise true levels of unemployment
these all serves the needs of capitalism
vocational education reinforces class divisions - middle class choose academic subjects and go to university and working class choose vocational routes and earn less
post modernist view
Harver
both functionalists and marxists fail to recognise character of post modern industry, which demands different types of workers in flexible labour markets
postmodernists argue vocational education is better than academic education in some ways as it allows for job specific knowledge that is flexible, creative and practical rather than involving just passing an exam
the postmodern education system provides this diveristy
postmodernist evaluation
marxists argue that today’s education system only appears diverse - it continues to reproduce inequality including through new vocational initiatives which channel working-class students into working-class jobs
