vocational education Flashcards

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1
Q

what is vocational education

A

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

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2
Q

what is academic education

A

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

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3
Q

when did vocational qualifications start in Britain

A

1980s

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4
Q

views in 1950s

A

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

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5
Q

views in mid 1970s

A

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

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6
Q

views mid 1980s

A

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

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7
Q

new right vocational policies - date

A

1980s

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8
Q

new right vocational policies

A

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

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9
Q

new labour vocational policies - date

A

1997 - 2010

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10
Q

new labour vocational policies - objectives

A

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

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11
Q

new labour vocational policies

A

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

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12
Q

functionalist view

A

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

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13
Q

functionalist evaluation

A

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

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14
Q

new right view

A

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

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15
Q

new right evaluation - functionalists

A

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

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16
Q

new right policy evaluation

A

new right policies often lead to vocational education for the working class and academic for the middle class

this reproduces class inequalities

17
Q

marxist view

A

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

18
Q

post modernist view

A

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

19
Q

postmodernist evaluation

A

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