Technical And Vocational Education Initiative Research Articles

The effectiveness of personal development planning

ABSTRACTOver recent years, the development of strategies in schools and colleges to support individual student needs and encourage autonomous learning has influenced the work of most teachers and tutors. Personal Development Plans (PDPs) draw on good practice in careers guidance and on many of the educational initiatives introduced over the past decade, particularly, Records of Achievement (RoAs) and the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI). The focus of PDPs is a dialogue between student and tutor which clarifies choices, identifies goals and plans appropriate actions. This process aims to raise personal understanding and motivation and, ultimately, school effectiveness. This article arises from an evaluation of the Personal Development Plans (PDP) project in Wiltshire.The Wiltshire project was initiated in January 1992, and was a joint venture by the Careers Guidance Service, the local authority advisory service, TVEI and Wiltshire Training and Enterprise Council (TEC). These agencies perceived PDPs as a co‐operative project which, first, could make a highly positive contribution to the TEC's aim of promoting and sustaining a lifelong learning culture in the county; second, could provide the impetus to attain the National Targets for Education and Training (NTETs) which have been articulated for the year 2000 (DES, 1991) and hence, increase school effectiveness; and third, would ease the introduction of youth credits in the county by enabling 16‐year‐olds to make well‐informed decisions (Ruthven and Pike, 1993). Findings from the evaluation of Wiltshire PDPs are discussed. Positive strategies for supporting PDPs are suggested, the nature of the one‐to‐one dialogue is probed, and a hierarchy of concerns for practitioners is suggested.

Breadth and the Core

This article describes a staff development process aimed at promoting flexible approaches to ‘A’ levels and places it in the wider context of student achievement and teaching and learning styles. In addition to a number of Barnet College English Literature team INSET activities, staff and curriculum development has also involved a Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) funded collaborative project with Ravenscroft School in Barnet and involvement with the London Six Consortium for the AEB's ‘A’ level English Literature 660 Syllabus.

Dealing with Work: secondary students’ work experience and the curriculum

ABSTRACT The Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) was introduced as a major programme in the United Kingdom that would relate secondary schools’ curricula to the ‘world of work’. Since its launch in 1984 TVEI has developed and taken on many forms but one of its continuing universal elements has been the requirement that secondary school students’ should have some form of work experience. Although TVEI has been much evaluated and researched little attention has been paid to how students’ work experience is perceived to be of educational value and used by their teachers. The research described in this paper is an examination of how students’ work experience was managed and used in a sample of secondary schools. The paper argues that what students learn from work experience is held to be of no value in terms of the formal curriculum. However, teachers in the school sample do consider work experience as adding value by the social development of students who are of average or below average academic ability

The Technical and Vocational Education Initiative and school autonomy in the management of curriculum change

Abstract This paper arises out of wider, ESRC‐funded research on the legacy of the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) in a national sample of original pilot schools. The paper draws on two periods of fieldwork in the schools, the first in 1985 and 1986, the second in 1991 and 1992. This methodology allows the adoption of a longitudinal perspective in studying TVEI. The paper focuses on attempts to manage curriculum change through TVEI. This was to be achieved through the novel means of providing funds in return for contractual commitments by local education authorities to implement programmes which met the national TVEI aims and criteria specified by the Manpower Services Commission (this method of allocating resources became known as categorical funding). The paper begins with a brief description of TVEI and draws important distinctions between the pilot and extension phases of the Initiative. This is followed by a review of the claims for, and critiques of, the categorical funding mechanism. The rationale and rhetoric of TVEI management is then compared with the practice in the schools. The data reveal a considerable gap between rhetoric and reality. The boundaries of TVEI are shown to have become increasingly blurred and to have allowed considerable scope for local variations. Arrangements for monitoring and reviewing are revealed as something of a facade. The procedures and criteria through which TVEI resources were distributed within the schools are shown to have been subject to a whole range of contextual factors, rather than being governed by identifiable TVEI aims and criteria. TVEI management was pervaded by complicity between participants at various levels and strong pressures to proclaim ‘successes’ and highlight ‘good practice’. A picture of the domestication and subversion of TVEI emerges from the data. Explanations are offered for this state of affairs and the paper concludes by summarizing the reasons for the comparative failure of categorical funding to bring about the changes sought by the political originators of TVEI.

The Fate of the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative in a Pilot School: a longitudinal case study

AbstractThis paper arises out of wider Economic and Social Research Council funded research on the legacy of the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) in a national sample of original pilot schools. It describes and analyses the development of TVEI in one school over the period 1983‐91 and draws on field‐work at the school in 1986 and 1991. The development and demise of a radical cross‐curricular course are explained. It is argued that the particular fate of the innovation was the result of the interplay between a range of system level, local ‘market’ and in‐school factors.

Local variation in the Scottish pilot projects of the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative

Abstract This report is a statistical evaluation of the Scottish pilot projects in one of the largest experimental innovations ever to have been undertaken in British schools ‐‐ the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI). The TVEI had deliberately exploratory aims, to encourage the technological and vocational education of students at school and college. The evaluation is based on data from the 2‐yearly Scottish Young People's Survey: thus the Initiative, and its development over time, can be evaluated in the context of an entire national system. The outcomes which are measured include attainment in public examinations, the propensity to truant from school, staying on in full‐time education beyond the minimum leaving age, and (for those who left education) gaining employment or a place on a training scheme. The analysis is conducted by multilevel modelling. Statistical controls at the student level allow for individual differences between students who were and were not on the TVEI programme....

The Management of Educational Change: a case study

ABSTRACT This report examines the issues inherent in the management of curriculum change. The change in question was initiated through one of five national Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) projects in modern foreign languages for post‐16 students. In the light of the expanding opportunities in Europe post‐1992, and the place of a modern foreign language as a foundation subject in the National Curriculum, the main purpose of the project was to find ways of generating a place for modern foreign languages in the post‐16 core curriculum. A brief background to developments in TVEI is given, and the identification of required changes against this background and that of a new European awareness is described. A description of the project itself highlights the processes by which change was established and the management issues inherent in the initiation of change. Following the monitoring and evaluation of the project, the author concludes that change at a local level was very effective. Viewed...

Managing the Culture: the key to effective change

Abstract This article argues that the management of organisational culture is the key to successful innovation. Contemporary management of change literature alludes to the necessity to bring about a change of culture in order to foster an appropriate climate for change, but inadequately addresses the issue of operationalising such a phenomenon. Drawing on the wealth of empirical studies on the implementation of the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI), the author argues that this innovation ‐‐ by virtue of its implicit emphasis on a context‐driven as opposed to knowledge‐driven curriculum ‐‐ necessitated a change of culture, leading to consideration of the key factors involved in this process. In identifying key factors, it is further argued that the changed power relationship implicit in the policy text of TVEI came to be mirrored at the managerial level in order to provide a culture in which the innovation would flourish. As such, the ‘new’ managerialism was bom.

The Position of Music in the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI): a Critical Appraisal

Now in its ninth year, the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) has a complex history, marked by lively debate about the value and purpose of education itself, and about the role of central government in educational reform. At first seemingly unrelated to the arts, the scheme has gradually come to have a chequered impact on them. Whereas many music teachers have not been at all affected, others have been deeply involved. For them, it has brought distinct, sometimes radical innovation in both the form and content of the curriculum.

Evaluating transitional education: a TVEI demonstration

ABSTRACT An account of the evaluation carried out of the transition of students from full-time study into further education as part of their involvement in the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI). An instrument for measuring the opinions of students about TVEI was developed and applied. Some of the factors considered are proximity, gender and attainment. The case is made for the use of such a procedure within transitional education.

Consultative Patterns of Guided Learning in English Post‐16 Studies

Abstract The case for change in the post‐16 curriculum has been well established by both educationists and employers. While the ‘gold standard’ of A‐level is still defended by government, pressure for post‐16 reform has intensified as a result of (a) significant curriculum changes and teaching/learning approaches achieved through GCSE syllabuses, and (b) related recognition of a national need for higher recruitment in post‐16 education. This paper examines (a) a long‐established English A‐level syllabus which includes many features that characterise the ‘new’ GCSE modes, and (b) ways in which this syllabus may be seen to link with educational principles and practices that have been commended by the technical and vocational education initiative (TVEI). I shall only ask them and not teach them and they shall share one enquiry with me; do you watch and see if you find me telling or explaining to them instead of eliciting an opinion. (Socrates, c.400 BC)

Labouring at School: Work-Experience in the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative

The Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) is a four year programme of study for 14-18 year olds which aims to provide vocational and general education broadly related to employment trends. It was announced by the Prime Minister in 1982 and in 1986 the government signalled its intention to extend TVEI to all local education authorities (LEAs) in England and Wales. Although it is not yet clear how much of TVEI will be retained within or alongside the National Curriculum, elements of the Initiative will undoubtedly affect the future education of school students. The central curricular feature of TVEI has been work-experience and in 1988 the Department of Education and Science (DES) announced that this activity was to be extended to all secondary students in England and Wales. This paper analyses the recent development of work-experience, locates it within broader shifts which have taken place in the school-society relationship and uses data from eight LEAs to examine its organization and effects on participating students.

The Genesis and Evolution of Pre‐vocational Education: England

Abstract In the following article, the author attempts to provide a skeleton overview of the movement for pre‐vocational education, stressing that present concern regarding such issues as the purpose of education and the extent to which a utilitarian approach is acceptable, school‐to‐work transition, and emphasis on particular work‐related skills have, in fact, formed a recurring debate dating back at least a century. Anxiety regarding Britain's hegemony over Europe, particularly Germany, has always featured in the debate, as has the issue of education versus training. Key educational legislation provides four key stages in the development of the debate, culminating in close examination of the implications of the Education Reform Act of 1988 for the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI).

Exploring the Reform of In‐service: TRIST in three authorities

abstract This paper is based on the experience of evaluating part of a nationally funded in‐service scheme for secondary and further education teachers in the United Kingdom during the period September 1985 to March 1987. The scheme was related to the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI), a national pilot scheme of curriculum renewal for the age group 14‐18, promoted and funded through the Manpower Services Commission (MSC). The in‐service scheme was known as TVEI‐Related In‐Service Training (TRIST). The scheme was evaluated in three local education authorities (LEAs); two metropolitan boroughs and one shire county. Particular consideration is paid to the prevailing educational climate as it was influenced by a variety of Central Government policy initiatives during the TRIST funding period. The authorities, as a result of their experiences during the TRIST scheme, were able to respond in a more prepared manner to the radical changes required by the Government's new national policy for the...

Enfield TVEI Goes ‘Special’

The London Borough of Enfield was one of 14 LEAs chosen to pilot the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) in September 1983. A unique feature of the scheme at the time was the inclusion of West Lea, a school for delicate children between five and 16, among the 12 schools and two colleges of further education taking part. Terence Bailey, senior adviser, special education, and Michael Hearn, assistant education officer (TVEI), London Borough of Enfield, describe the experiment, following up the theme of the December 1987 issue on new national curriculum and training initiatives 14–19.

Student perception of teaching and learning styles in TVEI

Abstract Over 2,000 students from 27 schools participating in the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) completed a pre‐test and post‐test questionnaire. This work focuses on student perception of classroom activity and provides some evidence that TVEI‐designated students experienced a more student‐centred approach with more emphasis on group work, discussion, choice and activities outside school and correspondingly a less traditional or didactic approach. In the debate concerning outcomes of TVEI it is important to consider to what extent the classroom processes emphasised by the initiative were implemented. This work compares the perception of TVEI students with that of both non‐TVEI students in TVEI pilot schools and with students from other schools not involved in the pilot scheme.

Technical and vocational education: a comparison between initiatives in Britain and abroad

Summary The paper examines technical and vocational education and training for 14‐18‐year‐olds in four European countries (Denmark, France, Sweden and West Germany), the USA and Japan. The aim of the paper is to compare the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) with other systems of vocational education and training (VET) and to examine similarities and differences between them. TVEI was launched in September 1983 by the Manpower Services Commission (MSC), in collaboration with the DES, DE and the Welsh Office, in response to a government initiative of November 1982. Its aim is to provide a four year course, commencing at 14 years, of full‐time general, technical and vocational education, including appropriate work experience. Courses would lead to nationally recognised qualifications. Within this framework young people would be encouraged to develop broadly based occupational skills (From a letter from Lord Young to Directors of Education, dated 28 January 1983, quoted in Appendix A of the TVEI Operating Manual). The discussion is organized around six broad themes: (1) the target group for VET; (2) organizational issues; (3) curricular and pedagogical issues; (4) attitudinal issues; (5) accreditation; and (6) education‐employer links. Before turning to these questions, it may be useful to clarify some of the terms which will be used. ‘Vocational’ education or training, which is seen as preparing people for the world of work, can be interpreted broadly or narrowly. In its broad sense, all education is vocational in so far as it encourages qualities, attitudes, knowledge, understanding and competences which are the necessary foundation for employment; in its narrowest sense, it refers to training for a specific vocational area (HMSO, 1985). Cantor (1985) distinguishes between vocational ‘education’ which is provided in schools, colleges and universities as part of the educational system, and vocational ‘training’ which is preparation for work provided for and in industry. ‘Technical’ education is usually taken to refer to the mastery of a body of knowledge and skills, which can be applied in a practical way (Gleeson and Mardle, 1980).

The Technical and Vocational Education Initiative and economic performance in the United Kingdom: an initial assessment

Government support for the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) is based largely on the belief that it will contribute to the improvement of the UK's economic performance. This paper reviews evidence on the relationship between education and training, workforce skills and economic performance, and concludes that it would be helpful if TVEI's objectives were to be expressed in more detail, so as to provide a better basis for evaluation.