We believe we need to revolutionise the education system to include more practical and vocational learning. In today's job market it's skills that count. Tell us how you would improve the way young people learn and what they learn.
Posted by: Edge | 30.03.2009 05:04pm
Both posts here touch on a much bigger issue, one which has always shaped the education of young people in the UK and arguably continues to do so today: class.
One of Edge's central goals is to eliminate the chasm between academic and vocational learning, and it's a frustrating truth that this divide has for a long time also been synonymous with the opposition between middle and working class values and expectations.
As Hugh Joslin points out, there are still significant barriers faced by people from working class backgrounds when it comes to gaining access to certain professions. Recent research showed that white working class boys comprised the lowest achieving group at school, with only 15% gaining 5 'good' GCSEs.
Does the solution to this worrying trend lie in strengthening the vocational component of existing qualifications, as The Tank suggests?
Or would the presence of International Baccalaureate style components alienate practical learners altogether?