Contemporary Marxists Critique Of Voc Quals

Question 1

Finn

Answer 1

Vocational education e.g. YTS was used to make young people more employable by acquiring right attitudes for low paid low skill work. Training did not create more jobs as lack of jobs reason for recession not lack of skills. YTS aimed to decrease wages as used as cheap labour, reduced unemployment as classes as employed. Took people of streets and took up free time to reduce crime, blame for unemployment shifted to individual as took benefits away

Question 2

Cohen

Answer 2

Function of youth training was to create good attitudes e.g. discipline and acceptance. It deskilled not reskilled the work force as low paid exploitative work not specialised vocational skills. About social control as a way of screening young people for recruitment in return for rudimentary training -employers could recruit form a pool of cheap labour

Question 3

Green

Answer 3

Hidden curriculum on YTS transmits message that good attitudes and labour discipline are more important than skills. GMVQ/NVQ create bipartism as W.c. Do voc quals and m.c do academic quals- taught basic skills related to low paid jobs rather than craft skills e.g. retail work in supermarket shelving

Question 4

Thompson

Answer 4

Function of youth training to produce a pool of low skill, cheap labour for capitalism- young people make up a reserve army of labour (in during booms, out in slumpd) which drives wages down so voc quals are exploitative

Question 5

De waal

Answer 5

New voc quals like gcses don’t teach skills to use, they are about occupying time the unemployed. Have little value in the world. They create division in tripartite as middle class academic, working class vocational (bipartism), also hide unemployment

Question 6

Davies and biesta

Answer 6

Wrote papers on vocational education for 14-19 year olds and argued the experience varied. Bad:dull and repetitive, Students used as cheap labour, masked unemployment stats. Good! Some got valuble experience leading to jobs and helping the economy

Question 7

Post-usher

Answer 7

Point to increasing diversity, choice and change that characterises today’s society and the need to meet the demands of contemporary society.
Education can be used to influence identity and argue that adult education can play a big part in this.