Re-imagining VET

Reflection on capital and its intersections

Bibliographic Data

ID22422086
AuthorsJames Avis (0000-0002-7404-938X, University of Huddersfield, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume31
Issue2
Pages346-364
Publication date2026-04-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueResearch in Post-Compulsory Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1359-6748 • E-ISSN: 1747-5112
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13596748.2026.2647628
OpenAlexW7154572792
LanguageEN
References cited15

The paper adopts an approach derived from critical theory and structuralism. It sets itself four main tasks. Firstly, to set the discussion within an engagement with vocational education and training (VET) that serves to explore its conceptualisations, considering their limits and radical possibilities. This section morphs into the second, which examines the capitalocene, which locates the climate crisis in the context of class society. Here again, there is an engagement with VET which requires its re-thinking, allied with the necessity to move beyond neo-liberalism and more specifically capitalism. It calls for the development of an anti-capitalist stance that could transcend the status quo. The third section draws on a literature that, whilst critiquing neo-liberalism, rests on a capitalist terrain. The fourth section revisits the English policy context in which VET is located. It calls for not only a rethinking of VET, together with its links to social democracy, but also an acknowledgement of social antagonism and a recognition of struggle.

Education Systems and Policy · Innovative Education and Learning Practices · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics