Vocational Education Flashcards
What is Vocational Education?
Education that aims to prepare people for work and meet the needs of the economy.
Functionalist Perspective
Positive view
Vocational education is beneficial to boost the economy
New Right Perspective
Positive view
Vocational education is beneficial to boost the economy
Marxist Perspective
Negative view
See it as second-rate education (for w-c) to support profit-centric capitalist society. M-c students partake in more academic education, leading to positions of power.
Main Focus of Vocational Education in Britain
Improving quality of basic skills in the workforce, important due to high levels of unemployment in young people (16% of 16-24 unemployed)
Ending status division between academic and vocational qualifications to integrate vocational learning into academic education.
Measures Taken- Work Experience
Work experience programmes ease the transition from school to work and assist students in getting jobs+carrying them out successfully. Give them a better understanding of work and the economy.
Measures Taken- Expansion of Post-16 Education and Training
More training courses+government training schemes. Eg. work based NVQs, diplomas (withdrawn 2014), Pearson BTECs, traineeships, and apprenticeships to provide nationally approved qualifications. GCSEs, AS and A Levels made more difficult to ensure students are better qualified.
Measures Taken- Stronger Emphasis On Key Skills
Emphasis on use and application of number, communication, information technology, problem solving, and basic literacy+numeracy skills. These were found lacking, alongside appropriate attitudes and awareness of working life by CBI (confederation of Britidh industry) and Pearson’s Gateway to Growth education and skills survey (2014)
Criticisms- Work Experience
Often seen as boring and repetitive by students
Usually involves little development of skills+has little to do with future ambitions
Criticisms- Post-School Training Schemes
Provide little development of skills+used as a source of cheap labour by employers and doesn’t lead to ‘proper’ jobs at the end.
Means of reducing politically embarrassing unemployment statistics, reducing proportion of NEET 16-18 year olds+keeping them away from crime.
Lack of focus on producing a qualified labour force
Criticisms- Vocational Qualifications
Seen as having lower status than academic subjects.
Less likely to lead to university entry and more likely to lead to lower status+paid jobs.
Parents, teachers, students see vocational qualifications as inferior and w-c students are more likely to take them, reinforcing class divides.
Birdwell et al (2011)
English+Welsh secondary schools neglect pupils with vocational aspirations, focusing on students destined for higher education.
Schools do little to prepare students for the world of work
Many vocational qualifications were useless, work-related training was low quality and schools undervalued the importance of part time work, volunteering, and extracurriculars in building skills
