Practically irrelevant: Vocational Qualifications in schools not fit for purpose
26 Aug 2010 08:46 AM
Third-rate courses wrongly presented as 'vocational', must go.
Beneath the continuing rise in GCSE results lies a troubling truth about what is happening in schools.
Forming part of the forthcoming publication, Unqualified Success: Investigating the state of vocational training in the UK, research from independent think tank Civitas finds that:
i. Students are being led away from basic academic subjects to learn how to serve drinks in Hospitality BTEC Firsts and to identify airport facilities in Travel and Tourism OCR Nationals;
ii. Even in compulsory academic subjects e.g. science, students are being entered for lower-level 'vocational' versions;
iii. The reputation and worth of vocational training is being heavily undermined as 'practically irrelevant' qualifications are mis-sold as 'vocational';
iv. Evidence suggests that an educational apartheid is underway as lower-income students are considerably more likely to be entered for sub-standard qualifications.