Making sense of the new (and past)
policy context
November 2011
Professor Ken Spours
Institute of Education, University of London
A little bit of history
•
Period 1. Mid 1980s - semi official 14-19 concept (e.g. TVEI)
•
Period 2. Early 1990s – professional championship (e.g. unified proposals
from IPPR, NCE, NUT, NAHT etc)
•
Period 3. 1996-2001 – 16-19 under review & 14-19 in abeyance (Dearing
Review and Curriculum 2000)
•
Period 4. 2001-2010 – 14-19 as official Labour Government policy
o Green Paper (2002) – flexibility agenda
o Review (2003-2004) – Tomlinson and the unified diploma system
o 14-19 White Paper (2005) – Diplomas and collaboration
o Implementation and operational detail (2006-2009)
•
Period 5. 2010 onwards – a question mark over the 14-19 concept
2
New Labour policy
High participation full-time 14-19 education system for an expanding
high skills economy
•Opening up access to Key Stage 4 – vocationalisation, equivalences &
focus on English and Maths
•RPA and widening participation in HE, but with weak work-based route
•Major change 14-16, but little change post-16 as result of rejection of
Tomlinson
•14-19 Entitlement mainly based on Diplomas, 14-19 Partnerships
overseen by local authority
•Choice, competition and collaboration
•A great deal of investment in institutions, qualifications and young people
New Labour’s legacy
Participation, progression & transition
(PPT)
•
Rises in 14+ attainment (1-4% annually at GCSE and A Level)
•
Increase in 16+ full-time participation (2+% annually),
particularly benefiting ‘middle attainers’
•
Relatively static participation in vocational qualifications and
apprenticeship
•
Problems of 16+ progression – currency and skills for Level 3
•
17+ participation - poor attainment in AS, progression from L2
to L3, lack of post-16 IAG
•
18+ transition to the labour market –rises in youth
unemployment and institutional emphasis on progression to HE
4
New Labour’s legacy
Curriculum & qualifications
• More diverse and motivational KS4 curriculum
• ‘BTEC bubble’, institutional gaming and problems of progression
• Slightly ‘retrenched’ post-16 qualifications landscape
• Mechanical learning - open to criticism
• Excessive investment in Diplomas for few learners
• QCF unitisation changes the nature of post-16 BTEC qualifications
5
New Labour’s legacy
Institutions and governance
•
Increased choice of institutions and active competition alongside 14-19
partnerships
•
Focus on leadership
•
Division between government departments
•
Strong use of top-down performance management – funding, targets,
inspection, league tables, national initiatives
•
Gradual increase in the role of the local authority in 14-19 ET but from
a low base and in a competitive environment
•
‘Weakly collaborative local learning systems’
6
Coalition policy: the key texts
• The Importance of Teaching (DfE, 2010)
• The Wolf Review of 14-19 Vocational Qualifications
(Wolf, 2011)
• New Challenges, New Chances (BIS, 2011)
7
Coalition Policy:
Austerity, traditionalism and markets
•
Curriculum traditionalism
•
Greater distinctions between qualifications routes – GCSE/A Levels,
Apprenticeships and….
•
Institutional diversity and competition
•
The consumer and the role of data
•
Autonomy and the removal of bureaucracy – bonfire of the quangos
•
Sharper accountability – tightening of performance tables and
inspection
•
No room for planning at the local and regional levels – the market
decides
•
Austerity and less money – removal of EMA and replacement with
more targeted funding
8
Coalition Policy
Curriculum & qualifications
•
Review of the National Curriculum – greater focus on traditional
content and subjects
•
Emphasis on linearity, external assessment, spelling, punctuation
and grammar
•
The idea of programmes of learning
•
E Bacc at KS4, 80/20 curriculum and new rules around applied/
vocational qualifications
•
Post-16 – large qualification, tutorial support, English and Maths
and work-related experience/internship
•
Removal of specific support for Diplomas and focus on
Apprenticeships
•
Changes to performance tables – e.g. at KS4 vocational
qualifications count as one and only some count
9
Coalition Policy
Institutions and governance
•
Two government departments – BIS and DfE with different styles
•
Funding bodies – SFA and new EFA - inside departments
•
RPA as a background factor
•
Institutional diversity – academies, free schools, UTCs, studio schools
•
Greater freedom for institutions in terms of curriculum and funding but
still strong central steers/incentives (e.g. OFSTED, funding,
performance tables)
•
Schools have responsibility for IAG and move to all-age careers service
•
Regional and sub-regional planning gone
•
Continued strategic overview for local authorities but with few
resources and contracting out
10
Key concerns
•
Division in curricular and institutional terms
•
Lack of equity for 14-19 year olds – resources, curriculum
experience and progression outcomes
•
No 14-19 curriculum conception or clear aims for the phase
•
Unclear governance and leadership arrangements at the local
level
•
Inefficiency and poor cost effectiveness due to duplication of
provision and shortage of programmes in some areas/levels
•
Effects of external economic and policy factors on PPT ‘push’
and ‘pull’ factors
11
Key factors shaping 14-19
education
Qualifications
Values and
purposes
Higher
education
Funding
Targets and
performance
measures
Local labour
market
14-19
education
Learner
population
Inspection
National
initiatives
(e.g.
Academies)
Internal factors
(e,g. staffing)
Institutional
type
Local strategy
Employers and
the economy
Competition/co
llaboration mix
So where does this leave you and what
can you do?
•
•
•
•
•
Keeping the faith with strong professional and
educational values
Exploiting buzz words – Baccalaureate, educational
quality, deep thinking, Big Society – to argue for a
more equitable, coherent, unified and inclusive 14-19
phase
Contributing to collective debate and action at the
national and regional levels, based on policy memory
and professional experience
Offering expertise and leadership at the local level to
support and spread creative, locally-tailored, bottom-up
practice
………?
Further reading
Coffield, F., Edward, S., Finlay, I. , Hodgson, A., Spours, K. and Steer, R. (2008) Improving Learning, Skills and
Inclusion: the impact of policy on post-compulsory education. Abingdon: Routledge.
Hodgson, A. and Spours, K. (2006) The organisation of 14-19 education and training in England: Beyond weakly
collaborative arrangements Journal of Education and Work, 19, (4) 325-342.
Hodgson, A. and Spours, K. (2008) Education and training 14-19: curriculum, qualifications and organisation.
London: Sage
Hodgson, A. and Spours, K. (2010) 'Vocational qualifications and progression to higher education:
the case of the 14-19 Diplomas in the English system', Journal of Education and Work, 23: 2, 95 — 110
Hodgson, A., Spours, K. and Waring, M.(eds) (2011) Post-compulsory education and lifelong learning across the
UK: policy, organisation and governance. London: IOE publications.
London Review of Education Special Issue (2011) Educating 14-19 year olds in the UK in the new political context
Volume 9 (2).
Lumby, J. and Foskett, N. (2005) 14-19 Education: policy, leadership and learning. London: Sage
Newman, J. (2005) Modernising Governance: New Labour, policy and society. London: Sage
Pring, R., Hayward, G., Hodgson, A., Johnson, J., Keep, E., Oancea, A., Rees, G., Spours, K. and Wilde, S.
(2009) Education for all: the future of education and training for 14-19 year olds. London: Routledge.
Raffe, D. and Spours, K. (2007) (eds) Policy-making and policy learning in 14-19 education. London: Bedford Way
Papers, Institute of Education.
Wilde, S. and Wright. S. (2007) On the same wavelength but tuned to different frequencies? Perceptions of
academic and administrative staff in England and Wales on the articulation between 14-19 education and
training and higher education. London Review of Education 5, no. 3: 299-312.
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