The relationship between basic skills and operational effectiveness in the British army

Abstract

This paper draws on data that formed part of a major three-year longitudinal study (2008–2011), which set out to investigate basic skills (BS) provision and needs in the British army and its relationship to operational effectiveness. Using mixed methods, the findings draw on qualitative data from 60 semi-structured interviews with 26 young recruits and interviews and survey data with 1518 recruits, with an average age of 19.6 years. The research also uses testimony from their line managers and trainers. The first part of the paper looks at educational BS provision that the army provides. While the benefits of this provision are discussed, there is a debate about the extent to which BS programmes provide recruits with qualifications rather than enduring and transferable skills, which would make them more operationally effective and useful to the army organisation. The second part deconstructs the concept of what is meant by being ‘operationally effective’ and the role BS play in reaching this ultimate military objective.

Keywords:

• army
• education
• operational effectiveness
• basic skills

Disclosure statement

GNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. The study was commissioned in 2007 by the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Ministry of Defence. The research was conducted by the National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy and the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education.

2. At the time of the study the post-compulsory education system used the National Qualifications Framework and literacy and numeracy standards were described in five levels. Whilst there is no formal comparison between school key stages and adult learning levels, Entry Level 1 (EL1) is the equivalent to the standard expected of a 5–6-year-old, rising through Entry Level 2 (EL2) to Entry Level 3 (EL3), which is equivalent to the standard expected of a primary school leaver at 11 years old. Level 1 (L1) roughly equates to the national secondary school examination taken at age 16, GCSE grades D–G, and Level 2 (L2) equates to GCSE grades A*–C. Since 2010, these standards have been moved onto the new Qualifications and Credit Framework (http://ofqual.gov.uk/qualifications-and-assessments/qualification-frameworks/).

3. Biographical questions were asked in the first quantitative survey concerning the recruits’ sex/gender, ethnicity, qualifications, age, the age that their parents left full-time education and their parents’ employment when the recruits were 16. Narratives of poor schooling, including frequent school moves due to residential mobility, and other indicators of disadvantage, were also present throughout the majority of the 26 qualitative interviews.

4. GCSE is the General Certificate of Secondary Education, an academic qualification awarded in a specified subject, generally taken in a number of subjects by students aged 14–16.