The False Dichotomy between Academic Learning & Occupational Skills

Bibliographic Data

ID9685422
AuthorsThomas R Bailey (corresponding author), Clive R Belfield, Clive Belfield (0000-0003-2556-7540, Queens College, CUNY)
Year2019
Volume148
Issue4
Pages164-178
Publication date2019-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDaedalus (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0011-5266 • E-ISSN: 1548-6192
PublisherMIT Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1162/daed_a_01765
OpenAlexW2973751059
LanguageEN
Citations received2

What distinctions are there between vocational (career and technical) education and academic learning in college? In this essay, we compare broad academic and vocational program goals, embodied skills, tasks, and jobs, with a focus primarily on community college students. There is considerable overlap between the two types of education, so a separation of tracks presents a false dichotomy. In addition, vocational certificates, which often have little academic content, have attracted attention lately as a path to good jobs. New evidence indicates that degrees offer more substantial advantages than certificates in the labor market. We argue for an alternative framework for thinking about the optimal accumulation of skills in college. Rejecting the traditional distinction between vocational education and academic learning, we posit that educational paths are best understood as accumulations of general education followed by terminal work-related education. We label this the Gen-Tech framework and consider its explanatory power and implications for colleges and students

Academic skills · Embodied cognition · Epistemology · Explanatory power · Higher education · Mathematics education · Pedagogy · Political science · Vocational education · Work (physics · Computer Science · Education Systems and Policy · Higher Education and Employability · Psychology

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