Young People's participation, progression and transition to higher study and work: a London perspective

This report provides an initial exploration of issues related to young people’s 14+ participation, progression and transition across London and the role of education providers, employers and the youth labour market in this process. The report was commissioned by London Councils’ Young People’s Education and Skills Board and its findings endorse the priorities identified in London – Being the Best: The Vision for Young People’s Education and Skills in London. The report uses a range of national and international literature, national data and, where available, London-specific data and reports, including those published by London Councils, to tease out key messages for policy-makers and practitioners. It also identifies areas where action needs to be taken to improve the education and life-chances of young Londoners, in particular 14-19 year olds, and where further research is required

Vocational qualifications and progression to higher education: the case of the 14-19 Diplomas in the English system

Ensuring effective progression from vocational qualifications to higher education has become an important issue internationally as a part of government strategies to raise skill levels and to provide more equitable access to tertiary level study. From September 2008, the Government in England has begun to introduce a new set of qualifications for 14-19-year-olds, called Diplomas, intended to prepare young people for both employment and higher education. In competition with the traditional General Certificate of Education Advanced Levels, the reputation of the Diploma will depend on its ability to provide a progression route to university. Drawing on evidence from a variety of sources, including five seminars involving further education teachers, higher education admissions tutors and representatives of national agencies, this article suggests that the potential of the Diplomas to become a major route to higher education will be constrained by what we term a 'low uptake, low understanding, low recognition and high complexity syndrome'. Using historical sources, the article also points to key similarities between the new Diplomas and the earlier, ill-fated Advanced General National Vocational Qualifications as middle track awards in the English triple-track qualifications system. We conclude by suggesting two contrasting possible strategies to address this issue. © 2010 Taylor & Francis

Key skills for all? The Key Skills Qualification and Curriculum 2000

It is widely recognised that the Key Skills Qualification, an important component of the Curriculum 2000 advanced level curriculum reforms has experienced extensive problems during its first full year of implementation. This much is not in dispute. What is being keenly debated, however, are the ways in which this experience should be analysed and what lessons should be drawn. Is it a case of understandable ‘teething problems’ which will be overcome as the qualification ‘beds in’ or are there deeper and more fundamental problems of the purpose and design of the Key Skills Qualification for advanced level students? In order to address these questions, this article examines the Key Skills Qualification within its historical and policy context as well as bringing together a range of quantitative and qualitative evidence gathered as part of an Institute of Education (IOE)/Nuffield Foundation Research Project. The research suggests that while there is support for the concept of key skills, the Qualification has been met with considerable student and professional resistance due to its narrow skills focus and assessment regime within the context of increased study programmes at advanced level. We conclude that the Government's aim of 'key skills for all' at advanced level is unlikely to be achieved unless it takes a fundamentally different approach to policy in this area

Part-time work and full-time education in the UK: the emergence of a curriculum and policy issue

The 1990s have seen a burgeoning international, national and local literature on the significance of part-time work for those in full-time education. In this article, we trace the development of different strands of research in this area over the last decade. In common with other writers, we attribute the increased interest in the phenomenon of part-time work among full-time learners to changes in the youth labour market allied to rising levels of post-16 participation. Using evidence from three recent studies, we suggest that the scale and intensity of participation in part-time work amongst full-time 16-19 year olds appears to have increased significantly towards the end of the 1990s and that a growing commitment to part-time work is become the norm for learners in full-time 16-19 courses. Our research suggests, however, that learners in advanced level courses have related study and paid work in different ways and we develop a number of learner typologies to reflect this. In the final section we explore how the 'Qualifying for Success' qualification reforms (often referred to as 'Curriculum 2000'), which seek to expand study programmes for advanced level 16-19 year olds, might affect the relationship between earning and learning. We conclude by identifying a number of issues around earning and learning that we feel deserve further research and public debate

Rethinking general education in the English upper secondary system

The Secretary of State for Education's recent announcement of an English Baccalaureate at 16+ has opened up a debate about the nature of general education in the English upper secondary system. Drawing on evidence from national and local studies, we argue that it is important to see general education in England, not only in terms of the curriculum, but also as the product of a range of inter-related factors, which together form a 'model'. Using this analytical framework, we describe and analyse the two models of general education associated with the New Labour and Coalition administrations respectively. We conclude by suggesting a set of challenges and principles to inform the development of a third, curriculum-led model. © 2011 Institute of Education, University of London

Expanding Higher Education in the UK: From 'System Slowdown' to 'System Acceleration'

This paper sets out to explore the implications of current patterns of participation and attainment, particularly among 16-19 year olds, for the further expansion of higher education in the UK. It uses a range of recent statistics on participation and attainment to describe what is termed ‘system slowdown’. It then goes on to explore a basis for ‘system acceleration’ through the development of five possible routes into higher education both for 16-19 year olds and for adults. We conclude the paper by looking briefly at a number of inter-related strategies the Government could adopt to encourage ‘system acceleration’. We suggest that unless the Government is prepared to consider policy changes of this type, it is unlikely to reach the higher education participation target it has set itself and may also jeopardise the basis for a sustainable lifelong learning system for the 21st century