Fostering "Habits of Reflection, Independent Study and Free Inquiry": An Analysis of the Short-Lived Phenomenon of General/Liberal Studies in English Vocational Education and Training

Autor/inn/en	Bailey, Bill; Unwin, Lorna
Titel	Fostering "Habits of Reflection, Independent Study and Free Inquiry": An Analysis of the Short-Lived Phenomenon of General/Liberal Studies in English Vocational Education and Training
Quelle	In: Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 60 (2008) 1, S.61-74 (14 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1363-6820
Schlagwörter	Independent Study; Compulsory Education; Adult Education; Foreign Countries; Vocational Education; Educational History; Educational Change; Educational Development; Youth Employment; Youth Opportunities; Policy Analysis; Educational Policy; General Education; United Kingdom (England) + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Selbststudium; Schulpflicht; Adult; Adults; Education; Adult basic education; Adult training; Erwachsenenbildung; Ausland; Ausbildung; Berufsbildung; History of education; Bildungsgeschichte; Bildungsreform; Bildungsentwicklung; Youth work; Jugendarbeit; Politikfeldanalyse; Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; Allgemein bildendes Schulwesen; Allgemeinbildung
Abstract	In 1957, 12 years after the end of World War II, the Ministry of Education issued Circular 323 to promote the development of an element of "liberal studies" in courses offered by technical and further education (FE) colleges in England. This was perceived to be in some ways a peculiar or uncharacteristic development. However, it lasted over 20 years, during which time most students on courses in FE colleges participated in what were termed General or Liberal Studies classes that complemented and/or contrasted with the technical content of their vocational programmes. By the end of the 1970s, these classes had changed in character, moving away from the concept of a "liberal education" towards a prescribed diet of "communication studies". The steady decline in apprenticeship numbers from the late 1960s onwards accelerated in the late 1970s, resulting in a new type of student (the state-funded "trainee") into colleges whose curriculum would be prescribed by the Manpower Services Commission. This paper examines the Ministry's thinking and charts the rise and fall of a curriculum phenomenon that became immortalised in the "Wilt" novels of Tom Sharpe. The paper argues that the Ministry of Education's concerns half a century ago are still relevant now, particularly as fresh calls are being made to raise the leaving age from compulsory education to 18, and in light of attempts in England to develop new vocational diplomas for full-time students in schools and colleges. (Contains 5 notes.) (Author).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10