Trends in the restructuring of vocational education in the reform of qualification system at upper-secondary level in England

― Focusing on the introduction of T Level qualifications

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the trends and limitations in the restructuring of vocational education at upper secondary level in England, focusing on the vocational qualification ‘T levels’, which were introduced in 2020. In England, the reform of post-16 vocational education at the upper-secondary stage (level 3) has been proceeded since the 2010s, with the main aims of streamlining the complex vocational education system, providing high-quality vocational routes which lead to stable employment and higher education, and responding to a rapidly changing economy. The introduction of the new vocational qualification, T levels, is positioned as a significant milestone in the series of reforms. T levels are two-year vocational education programmes for 16–19-year-old students, which consist of 12 occupational areas. They began to be phased in from 2020, and all T levels are expected to be implemented by 2025. Simultaneously, the introduction of T levels is part of the comprehensive restructuring scheme for level 3 qualifications. The government intends to reduce existing vocational qualifications and applied general qualifications（AGQs）that overlap in purpose and content with T levels and A levels and make T levels the ‘gold standard’ for technical education. However, the feasibility of this reform vision depends on how teachers and learners perceive T levels. Particular attention should be paid to the relationship to academic education, as vocational qualifications have historically been viewed as the second-rate option to academic qualifications. Therefore, this study firstly provides an overview of the context of the introduction on T levels and their specific features. Next, it is examined how T levels are perceived and implemented by teachers based on exploratory interviews at further education colleges. T levels are mainly composed of classroom-based learning and industry placement for a minimum of 315 hours. The total learning time is expected to be approximately 1,800 hours over 2 years, which is equivalent to three A levels. The main difference between T levels and existing vocational qualifications lies in their assessment structures. Existing vocational qualifications are essentially formative assessments with a continuous marking of unit-based tasks, whereas T levels are assessed by written examinations and project assignments, which　are externally set by the awarding organisations, at the end of each year. Although the government claims that T levels were developed in collaboration with employers, this assessment structure has a common form with A levels. Thus, teachers tend to perceive T levels to be ‘theory-based’ and ‘exam-driven’ and attempt to adopt academic practices. Moreover, these features of T levels cause scepticism among teachers about the relevance of the content of programme to occupational purposes. These results suggest the paradoxical consequence that the intention to set up high-quality vocational routes with equivalence to academic routes can lead to academic drift within vocational education, making the primary purpose unclear. The findings of this study illustrate the limitation that the restructuring initiative of qualification systems involves by proceeding within the framework of the academic/vocational dichotomy.