Vocationalism and school science education

Abstract

This article reviews an important but neglected area of the science curriculum: connections with work and the workplace. The first section offers some historical background, arguing that economic and practical relevance has from the beginning been an important theme within science education. The article then undertakes a broader exploration of the intellectual background, usage and meaning of the term vocationalism within education, before turning to vocational themes as they are represented more specifically within research on science education. It then examines the development and contemporary policy significance of vocational provision across the world. This is followed by an account of a specific case: the innovative version of school science currently under development in England, which is occurring under the rubric of ‘applied science’. Finally the article sketches a research agenda for vocationalism within science education, drawing on the themes and issues that have been identified. It suggests that greater attention to this area will contribute to a broadening of the intellectual compass and relevance of science education research.

Keywords:

• science education
• vocationalism

Notes

1. The word ‘school’ is used as a shorthand to identify pre‐university curricula. It is also meant to exclude narrow forms of training for specific employment. There are evident definitional difficulties here, but it is hoped that this commentary will sufficiently delimit the sector with which the article is concerned.

2. Royal Society, First Charter. Retrieved December 12, 2008, from http://royalsociety.org/downloaddoc.asp?id=5110

3. Retrieved March 3, 2009, from http://www.unece.org/env/esd/inf.meeting.docs/EGonInd/ISCED.97.manual.pdf

4. Most recently through a review of the area: Learning for Jobs—The OECD Policy Review of Vocational Education and Training (VET). Retrieved May 17, 2009, from http://www.oecd.org/document/42/0,3343,en_2649_39263238_40344106_1_1_1_1,00.html

5. One of the problems in relating this to international data is that this version of ‘late secondary’ does not map directly onto the UNESCO ISCED levels, where the 2/3 boundary occurs at the end of compulsory schooling.

6. Retrieved December 12, 2008, from http://www.qca.org.uk/qca_13477.aspx

7. It can be argued that there is a play, whether deliberate or not, on the ambiguity between ‘applied learning’ as a distinctive type of learning and ‘applied learning’ as ‘theoretical’ learning which has been applied.

8. The Certificate in Pre‐Vocational Education, the General National Vocational Qualification (GNVQ) and a qualification originally offered by the Business and Technical Education Council (BTEC). The phrase ‘technical education’ is very rarely used in this context.

9. The applied strand of Twenty First Century Science is a conspicuous exception to this. Retrieved May 20, 2009, from http://www.21stcenturyscience.org/the-courses/applied-science,1436,NA.html

10. Retrieved January 20, 2009, from http://yp.direct.gov.uk/diplomas/