Opportunity and aspiration or the great deception? The case of 14-19 vocational education

Atkins, L, 2010. Opportunity and aspiration or the great deception? The case of 14-19 vocational education. Power and Education, 2 (3), pp. 253-265. ISSN 1757-7438

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Abstract

The policy discourse around those young people who are the focus of the 14-19 agenda in the United Kingdom is one of negativity which frames them as low achievers with low aspirations. In tension with this deficit model, policy offers these young people 'opportunities' in the form of a vocational education which, according to the rhetoric, will lead to high-skill, high-paid work and a lifetime of opportunities. Drawing on original empirical research, this article contests the assumption that these young people have low aspirations, arguing that constrained by discourses of negativity and lacking the agency for change, their chances of achieving their aspirations are almost non-existent. Further, it suggests that the rhetoric of 'opportunity' is merely smoke and mirrors, a massive deception whereby young people are channelled into the low-pay, low-skill work market in readiness to fulfil economic demands for cheap labour as and when it is needed. It concludes with proposals for change in the 14-19 and post-compulsory education and training systems which could provide a more equitable and effective framework for young people to achieve their hopes and dreams.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Power and Education
Creators:	Atkins, L.
Publisher:	Symposium Journals
Place of Publication:	Oxford
Date:	2010
Volume:	2
Number:	3
ISSN:	1757-7438
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.2304/power.2010.2.3.253 DOI
Rights:	© 2010 Symposium Journals Ltd.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Education
Record created by:	EPrints Services
Date Added:	09 Oct 2015 10:01
Last Modified:	23 Aug 2016 09:07
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/6576

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