2016 Volume 83 Issue 4 Pages 448-460
The purpose of this study is to examine the process of transition from vocational education to higher education in England by analysing the results of a case study of further education colleges, which are the main institutions of vocational education for 16- to 18-year-olds.
In England, the GCE A level plays the principal role in determining the academic route of students, and acquiring approximately three subjects at A level has been considered the traditional requirement for progressing to higher education. On the other hand, the number of participants joining vocational courses for level 3 qualifications has increased significantly since the implementation of the policy of widening participation in higher education in the 1990s. The policy of expanding educational opportunity beyond the age of 16 through providing vocational education also aims to expand participation in higher education via vocational routes.
Due to this political policy, studies examining whether vocational qualifications are perceived to be equal to academic qualifications in the process of transition to higher education have been required. This study examines the parity of esteem between vocational and academic education through analysing the pattern of transition from vocational education to higher education.
In this study, I focused on the nature and extent of academic drift within vocational education. Academic drift implies the following: (1) an increase in the number of learners pursuing academic qualifications; (2) the uptake of academic practices at the expense of vocational contents and practice. From these two perspectives, a case study was conducted. The results of the study are discussed as follows.
First, for students who were not able to achieve their expected results through academic routes, college staff attempted to suggest vocational education courses as an alternative route toward higher education. Assessment by course-work, a different method from traditional academic assessment, was effective in encouraging these students to adjust to studying in vocational courses.
Second, three variations of the patterns of transition from vocational education to higher education were found: progression by (i) pursuing only vocational qualifications, (ii) pursuing a combination of vocational qualifications and A-levels, and (iii) studying in vocational courses after finishing A-level or AS-level courses for top-ups of UCAS points. These patterns were the result of an inflow of learners from academic to vocational routes with the aim of progressing to higher education. At the same time, this inflow triggered a weakening of the relevance of vocational education to work. Therefore, it was possible to interpret these patterns of transition as forms of academic drift in vocational education.
These results suggest that the parity of esteem between vocational and academic education and the widening participation in higher education through the vocational education route have been accompanied by the transformation of vocational education at the secondary level as an unintended consequence.
