Democratising the curriculum or training the children of the poor
School‐based vocational training in Australia
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11487887 |
|---|---|
| Authors | John Polesel (0000-0003-1752-0849, The University of Melbourne, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2008 |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 615-632 |
| Publication date | 2008-11-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Education Policy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0268-0939 • E-ISSN: 1464-5106 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/02680930802054420 |
| OpenAlex | W2027699908 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 17 |
| References cited | 16 |
Historically grounded in a tradition of meeting local skills needs and training the children of the poor, vocational education and training (VET) in schools continues to struggle in terms of esteem and parity of status. Associated in the literature with the training of a reliable and compliant class of workers, it has also been tainted by its links to the processes of social selection and its lowly status in the hierarchy of school subjects. However, VET has also been proposed as a means of democratising the school curriculum and improving accessibility for marginalised populations. The evidence presented in this article suggests that VET provision in Australian schools is of relatively poor quality and furthermore is associated with significant levels of social selection – rather than democratisation. The Australian policy framework, strait‐jacketed by the belief that it must avoid narrow instrumentalism, has allowed and assisted the evolution of a low quality, low‐intensity VET regime which serves a mainly working‐class clientele in mainly working‐class schools. In reviewing the current Australian evidence, it argues that if the central debate is one between the competing demands of achieving equity (which is associated with comprehensive provision) and that of achieving quality VET (which is associated with tracked provision) then, sadly, Australia fails to deliver effectively on either of these aims
Curriculum · Democracy · Democratization · Economic growth · Economics · Equity (law · Instrumentalism · Pedagogy · Political science · Public relations · Quality (philosophy · Sociology · Training (meteorology · Vocational education · Education Systems and Policy · Global Educational Policies and Reforms · Law · Public Administration · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics
The new localism, social reproduction, and reform of school-based vocational education in the state of Victoria, Australia
The Australian Senior Certificates
Does migrant status affect educational achievement, aspirations, and attainment
The social composition of VET in New Zealand
The World Bank and Education Policy in Colombia
Social capital and aspirations for educational attainment
Injurious assumptions
Unequal schooling
To educate you to be smart’
Letting schools off the hook? Exploring the role of Australian secondary schools in the Coag Year 12 attainment agenda
Access to academic curriculum in Australian secondary schools
The vocational–academic divide in neoliberal upper secondary curricula
Strong and weak ‘brands’ in the school curriculum
Teachers and the emotional dimensions of class in resource‐affected rural Australia
Ability as legitimation of tracking
Egalitarian Australia? Associations between family wealth and outcomes in young adulthood
Strong on retention, weak on outcomes
Theoretical Studies Towards a Sociology of Language
Knowledge and control
Moral Education
Bringing Knowledge Back In
Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture
Core Skills, Participation and Progression in Post-compulsory Education and Training in England and France
Education, social class and social exclusion
Reproduction in education, society, and culture
Education Culture, Economy, and Society
| Citations per year | 1.06 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2010 - 2024 (15) |
| Highly cited | No |