Closing the Gap: Liberal Education and Vocational Preparation

Vocational preparation is a current educational concern as GNVQs are phased in to further education and offered to secondary schools as an alternative to GCSEs at 14-plus. Yet many recent initiatives have been dogged by accusations of political interference, irrelevance to economic needs, falling standards and parental and student disillusionment. This book traces the developments and controversies, from YTS via TVEI to GNVQs, and opens up the practical, educational and philosophical issues of concern to those who "deliver" vocational education in schools and colleges. The book offers a balanced evaluation of changes and proposals, the claims made for them and the criticisms levelled against them, and considers what it means to be "an educated person" in today's - and tomorrow's world. It is written for all providers of (pre)vocational education and guidance in schools and colleges, and educationists who feel unease about current trends.