A comparative exploration of the meanings of apprenticeship : convergence or divergence in apprenticeship in England, Finland and France?

This EdD thesis compares and contrasts apprenticeships for 16-18 year olds as an\ud element of the vocational education and training system in England, Finland and\ud France. It is an exploratory study that contributes to the debate on the convergence\ud and divergence of education and training systems in Europe in terms of policy,\ud practice and research. The motivation for the study has arisen from the researcher's\ud experience as a policy practitioner with significant experience and exposure to a\ud number of different education systems. England, Finland and France are chosen as\ud the cases for the study based on a typology of European education and training\ud systems. Whilst apprenticeship is not a mainstream pathway for young people in\ud these countries, the respective governments nevertheless continue to renew their\ud commitment to promoting apprenticeships as a mode of initial vocational education\ud and training, as well as a mode of continuing vocational education and training. The\ud thesis draws on published academic research identified through systematic reviews\ud of literature in English, Finnish and French, complemented by interviews with expert\ud researchers on the subject in each of the countries. The research literatures and the\ud interview transcripts are analysed using thematic analysis. The thesis shows that the\ud role and meaning of apprenticeship as a form of initial vocational education and\ud training is different in the three countries. This divergence arises from the differing\ud contexts in which apprenticeship occurs and its place within the wider education\ud systems in the three countries. The differing institutional frameworks for\ud apprenticeship, and variation in the wider societal values placed on education and\ud training also have a role to play. There is some evidence of convergence in terms of\ud the policy rhetoric of apprenticeship, but there are significant differences in the\ud conceptualisation of apprenticeship research in the three countries. The study offers\ud a number of recommendations for policy and practice emphasising that\ud understanding the original context is crucial to successful apprenticeship policy and\ud practice. The thesis also suggests that further research on apprenticeship should\ud seek to extend the boundaries of the field by broadening the choice of countries\ud studied and expanding the concepts of validity that are used in comparative\ud research

Oppisopimuskoulutus koulutuspolitiikan armoilla: oppisopimuskoulutus nuorten koulutuksena Englannissa

Oppisopimuskoulutuksen etuja nuorten koulutuksen muotona on nostettu esille eurooppalaisessa koulutuspoliittisessa keskustelussa. Oppisopimuskoulutuksella on kuitenkin marginaalinen asema suomalaisessa nuorten koulutuksessa. Tämä katsaus esittelee englantilaisen oppisopimuskoulutuksen mallin ja tarkastelee oppisopimuskoulutukselle asetettuja monia odotuksia. Katsauksessa kuvattu Englannin esimerkki osoittaa oppisopimuskoulutuksen toteutuvan osana nuorten koulutusjärjestelmää, ja usein muun koulutuspolitiikan armoilla. Oppisopimiskoulutuksen marginaalinen asema suomalaisessa nuorten koulutuksessa on näin nähtävä osana laajempaa kokonaisuutta. Nuorten oppisopimuskoulutuksen periaatteiden ja niihin liittyvien koulutuspoliittisten tavoitteiden vertaileminen Englannissa ja Suomessa havainnollistaakin kuinka tärkeää eurooppalaisessa koulutuspoliittisessa keskustelussa on huomioida oppisopimuskoulutuksen asema osana kansallista koulutusjärjestelmää ennemmin kuin vertailtava yksittäisten osien asemaa eri koulutusjärjestelmissä

The reality is complex’: teachers’ and school leaders’ accounts and justifications of grouping practices in the English key stage 2 classroom

Grouping pupils by attainment is frequently practised in primary schools yet is associated with detrimental effects for middle- and lower-attaining children. Drawing on a mixed methods study, we find that attainment grouping practices at key stage 2 in primary schools are seldom straightforward. Although grouping by attainment appears to be the dominant form of grouping, the language used by teachers to talk about their classroom practice suggests a varied and sometimes complex picture. We explore how school leaders and teachers justify their grouping practices and conclude that primary school educators endeavour to strike a balance between their concern for the child and the need to respond to the demands of testing and assessment. In the wake of new reforms to primary education, the findings in this study are significant and timely in providing a picture of the types of grouping currently being carried out in primary schools across England

Teacher “quality” and attainment grouping:The role of within-school teacher deployment in social and education inequality

Prior research suggests that where pupils are 'tracked', better qualified, more experienced teachers tend to be deployed to higher attainment groups, at the expense of pupils in lower tracks. This is especially pertinent from a social justice perspective, given consistent findings in the UK that pupils from socially-disadvantaged backgrounds are over-represented in low attainment groups. This article draws on data from 380 teachers, drawn from 126 secondary schools in England, and interviews with 118 Year 7 students, to examine whether these findings from prior research in the US and elsewhere extend to the case of England in the present day. Findings show some evidence of these inequitable tendencies: those teachers highly qualified in their taught subject were less likely to be allocated to low sets. We also examine whether an intervention designed to encourage more equitable distribution had any impact on practice, and find tentative evidence that deployment in intervention schools had been impacted in relation to teacher subject qualifications. Pupils believed that teachers of higher sets had higher expectations and standards of behaviour, whereas those for low sets were seen to be unhelpfully indulgent, indicating a need for research attention to pedagogy and tracking. Findings are analysed from a social justice perspective, with interest in the consequences of inequitable distribution of teachers for the reproduction of social inequality

Nurturing learning or encouraging dependency? Teacher constructions of students in lower attainment groups in English secondary schools

‘Ability’ or attainment grouping can introduce an additional label that influences teachers’ expectations of students in specific attainment groups. This paper is based on a survey of 597 teachers across 82 schools and 34 teacher interviews in 10 schools undertaken as part of a large-scale mixed-methods study in England. The paper focuses on English and mathematics teachers’ expectations of secondary school students in lower attainment groups, and explores how low-attaining students are constructed as learners who benefit from specific approaches to learning justified through discourses of nurturing and protection. The authors argue that the adoption of different pedagogical approaches for groups of low-attaining learners to nurture them may in some cases be fostering dependency on teachers and cap opportunities for more independent learning. Furthermore, more inclusive whole-school learning-culture approaches may better allow for students across the attainment range to become independent learners

The achievement gap:The impact of between‐class attainment grouping on pupil attainment and educational equity over time

Despite extensive research on attainment grouping, the impact of attainment grouping on pupil attainment remains poorly understood and contested. This paper presents evidence from a study conducted with 2944 12–13 year olds, from 76 schools in England, who were allocated to between‐class attainment groups (‘setting’) in English and mathematics over the first 2 years of secondary schooling. After controlling for prior attainment, pupils in the top set performed significantly better than pupils in the middle and bottom sets in both English and mathematics. The findings indicate a widening gap in attainment, especially in the case of English. Findings, especially in the case of mathematics, provide more evidence of a relative benefit for pupils placed in top sets than a relative detriment for those in bottom sets

Attainment grouping as self-fulfilling prophesy?:A mixed methods exploration of self-confidence and set level among Year 7 students

Within-school segregation of pupils by attainment remains prevalent, despite evidence that these practices detrimentally impact outcomes for those in low attainment groups. This article explores the hypothesis that ‘ability grouping’ by setting impacts pupil self-confidence, precipitating a self-fulfilling prophecy. Survey data from 11,546 11/12 year old pupils in ‘ability sets’, and individual interviews and focus groups with 66 pupils, are drawn upon to explore this hypothesis. We find a significant correlation between perceived set placement and self-confidence in the set subject. More importantly, we also find a correlation between set placement and general self-confidence in learning. Pupils’ qualitative responses illustrate how setting can promote self-fulfilling prophecy, and worrying evidence of internalisation of ‘ability’ labels among pupils