From NVQs to ‘Policy Scholarship’: evolving a research agenda for post‐compulsory professional development

Ecclestone, Kathryn

doi:10.1080/0305763950210202

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…The purposes of the research are to clarify the nature of practice, to assist in a process of reflection about action and to promote professional development. Reflection in this context is intended to be critical and practical, as well as technical; concerned with the theoretical and ethical assumptions underlying teaching activity, as well as with the pursuit of the "effective" teacher (Carlgren, 1994;Ecclestone, 1995).…”

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confidence: 99%

The Impact of GNVQs on the Communication Styles of Teachers

Harkin

Davis

1996

Research in Post-Compulsory Education

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This paper sets out some of the findings of an Oxford Brookes University research project on communication styles in post-16 teaching. It shows how the communication styles of teachers on GNVQ programmes are different to those of teachers on BTEC or 'A' level programmes, being perceived by learners as higher in leadership and warm/understanding behaviours. The paper goes on to argue that, even in GNVQ programmes, there is little learner autonomy and that the challenge of new, more "connective" curriculum models needs to be faced, especially through the development of more communicative classrooms. In 1991, a British government White Paper, Education and Training for the 21st Century, introduced a new qualification, the General National Vocational Qualification (GNVQ). GNVQs are intended to provide a broad-based vocational education, combining core skills in Communication, Information Technology and Application of Number, with vocational studies. They are aimed primarily at 16-19-year-old students and should lead either to employment or to higher education. GNVQs are outcome-based, that is, what learners need to achieve is stated explicitly so that they can gather evidence of achievement; and are intended to encourage learner autonomy through "pro-active student-centred learning" (The National Council for Vocational Qualifications [NCVQl guidance, Oates, 1994). If GNVQs are implemented as intended, they should give rise to a different experience for learners than traditional academic learning programmes, such as 'A' levels, and existing vocational programmes, such as Business & Technology Education Council (BTEC) certificates and diplomas. More recently, the Dearing review of 16-19 education (Dearing, 1996) has renamed GNVQs, Applied 'A' levels, but the characteristics described will remain. The fundamental questions which the present research addresses are, do the new GNVQ/Applied 'A' level qualifications in fact give rise to greater

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confidence: 99%

The Impact of GNVQs on the Communication Styles of Teachers

Harkin

Davis

1996

Research in Post-Compulsory Education

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“…Many (Post Graduate) Certificate in Education programmes, for example, incorporate some process of reflective practice, and this is often conceived, partly at least, as a means of structuring and promoting experiential learning. However, as Ecclestone (1995), Eraut (1995) and Johnstone (1995) point out, terms like 'reflection', 'critical reflection' and 'reflective practice' are just as complex as 'professional' or 'autonomy', and currently there are almost as many models and rationales for reflective practice as there are training and development programmes which incorporate 'it'.…”

Section: Some Essential Characteristics Of Training and Qualificationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…) The second, related problem is that the moral and ethical dilemmas which teachers face arise through the complex interactions of people in contingent circumstances. These interactions are infused with a range of contending ideologies -in the sense of values and practices (Steadman et al, 1994;Ecclestone, 1995). Working through such situations is a correspondingly complex process which requires the application of pragmatic, accountable judgements.…”

Section: The Problem Of Ethical Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…If this intention is achieved, teachers who are trained only to perform prescribed technical procedures -the 'crafts' of the classroomwill become technicians, able to implement government policies, but lacking both the resources and the impetus to reflect on the nature of those policies, or their effects on provision, learners, and the practice of teaching and learning. The effect will be to negate the autonomy of teachers, and to undermine professional knowledge, critical practice and professional scholarship (Barton et al, 1994;Ecclestone, 1993Ecclestone, , 1995Hyland, 1993Hyland, ,1995aHodkinson, 1995).…”

Section: New Right Social Policy Nvqs and Teachers As 'Technicians'mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Post‐16 Teacher Education, National Standards and the Staff Development Forum: time for openness and voice?

Chown

1996

British Journal of In-Service Education

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A Staff Development Forum for the post-16 sector has recently been established. It will examine the need for a more coherent approach to staff training and professional development, including the introduction of 'national standards' in the form of National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs). This paper argues that there is, indeed, an urgent need to consider the case for some form of consensus about what constitutes best practice in teaching. But a proper consideration must begin from a conceptualisation of teaching as professional practice. Three typical characteristics of professional practice are examined for their relevance to teaching: ethical values, autonomous pragmatism and the pursuit of expertise, together with the question of whether current NVQs can provide an account of these characteristics. The conclusion drawn is that methodological inadequacies of a conceptual, psychological and epistemological nature prevent them from doing so, and that these inadequacies derive from the role of competence-based qualifications in New Right social and educational policy. The potential effect of devising qualifications using the current competence-based approach is a reconceptualisation of teaching and learning as technical procedures, and of teachers as technicians. Unless resisted, this will achieve the ideological intention of subordinating the practice of teachers to direct political and managerial control, thus rendering teachers and learners less independent and autonomous, more impotent.

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The Reflective Practitioner: Mantra or a Model For Emancipation?

Ecclestone

1996

Studies in the Education of Adults

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From NVQs to ‘Policy Scholarship’: evolving a research agenda for post‐compulsory professional development

Cited by 4 publications

References 19 publications

The Impact of GNVQs on the Communication Styles of Teachers

The Impact of GNVQs on the Communication Styles of Teachers

Post‐16 Teacher Education, National Standards and the Staff Development Forum: time for openness and voice?

The Reflective Practitioner: Mantra or a Model For Emancipation?

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