Alternative assessment for learner engagement in a climate of performativity: lessons from an English case study

Ordinary lives: an ethnographic study of young people attending Entry to Employment programmes

“…In November 2008, when our research began, a total of 21,500 learners aged 16-18 were enrolled on E2E provision in England (DfE 2010), and during 2008-2009, a total of 78,100 learners participated in E2E (Data Service 2010, 21). However, apart from an early study by Spielhofer, Mann and Sims (2003) and more recent work by James and Simmons (2007), Ecclestone (2009) andSimmons (2009), there has been little research on E2E.…”

Don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it's gone? Skills-led qualifications, secondary school attainment and policy choices

“…To some extent, there is an ASDAN 'approach' with anchorage in educational theory that might be termed progressive and constructivist, developed at a time when a significant strand of the 'new sociology of education' argued that the 'best way of producing working class success was to substitute an alternative curriculum that was closer to the experience of working class children' (Whitty, 2010, p.29). Indeed, ASDAN programmes have been well-regarded for their capacity to promote learning, engagement and achievement (James & Simmons, 2007;Raphael Reed et al, 2007), and nationally recognised for 'exemplary contemporary practice' (Pring et al, 2009, p.82;Tomlinson, 2004) in their approach to educating learners in a broad sense, including wider skills and personal qualities.…”

Pedagogies for the ‘Dis‐engaged’: Diverse Experiences of the Young People’s Arts Award Programme

“…Instead, my focus was on informal programmes and young people with limited previous arts education, which had previously been identified as a potential area of 'impact' by Arts Award (Hollingworth et al 2016). Previous research in relation to young people who demonstrate disengagement with conventional schooling has shown that alternative qualifications such as the award have value due to the nature of provision, the networks of professionals involved and the differing modes of assessment (James & Simmons 2007).…”