Richard Evans is the Chairman of the CIPHE’s Education and Training Group. In this issue of ETM, he looks at the Trailblazer concept and the Plumbing & Domestic Heating Technician Apprenticeship. Bigger doesn’t mean better! Apprenticeships still occupy a central part of the skills agenda, but will all this discussion bring about the high quality frameworks that are now urgently required? The main political drive seems to be to create large numbers of appren- ticeships, but with little reference or debate about the quality and fitness for purpose of the programmes. These two elements are surely the most important and
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General Further Education Colleges.
Dick Evans takes time out to examine the role of General Further Education (GFE) colleges and suggest that league tables and inspection criteria often fail to recognise the role and scope of these institutions. Are changes necessary and what might happen if these don’t occur? General Further Education Colleges (GFEs) have always occupied an important place in the FE sector. These institutions form part of the FE sector along with others institutions such as sixth form colleges, tertiary colleges and specialist/ mono-technical institutions when managed by the FEFC and now are part of the extended network of providers under the
Gender and Mathematics.
Dick Evans explores the impact of gender difference on mathematical performance. Whilst writing the articles on ‘Mathematics – Why the problem’! (Numeracy Briefing issues 9 and 10) I became aware that the interacting factors that created the negative view of the subject could reflect the widely-held perception that females perform less well than the males. This view has generated a popular stereotype that the women and girls are not good at the maths. Research. A considerable amount of research has been carried out in this area from analysis of basic international statistics on numbers of females and males studying mathematics
Further Vision
About this time last year 1 wrote an article for this journal entitled ‘Thoughts on the new Further Education (FE) sector’. A year after incorporation, has the Cinderella educational sector arrived at the ball? Its first year has been full of both challenges and opportunities, but it has been exposed to a political, financial and economic climate which has, to say the least, been contradictory and paradoxical. Many colleges had excellent relationships with their LEAs, while others did not. These variations inevitably caused problems with transitional funding arrangements. However, many colleges now realize how cost-effective and economical some LEA services
Further and Vocational Education
In Further and Higher Education there are major concerns about recruitment, retention, achievement and ultimate destination of students studying engineering and technology. Colleges and universities continue to experience difficulties in realising their student target numbers and there are concerns about the quality of the students being accepted onto the programmes of study at all levels within the two sectors. Skills/competence/knowledge/understanding gaps are now manifest across the spectrum of employment, whether it be at craft, technician or professional level. One major difficulty the FE colleges experience is obtaining valid, reliable and up-to-date statistical information about the students studying engineering across the
Functional Mathematics – a Possible Solution?
Dick Evans is concerned that functional maths will go the way of so many other initiatives in mathematics A new term has appeared on the educational landscape namely functional mathematics. But has it been used before? Will it require a set of unique and radical solutions? I ask these important questions having witnessed a series of worthy reforms in the past which have inevitably regressed into narrow incremental tinkering with existing approaches and subjected to political dogma and interference. One immediate problem is how functional mathematics is defined. For example, is it the mathematics that all people need to participate
Functional Mathematics – A Context?
Richard Evans is concerned that functional maths is being distorted by a plethora of other developments Any discussion of functional mathematics must now be informed by the recent White Paper “Raising Skills, Improving Life Chances”, The Leitch Report and the reforms associated with the development of specialised diplomas and the Framework for Achievement (FfA). Specialised Diplomas. The development of the specialised diplomas highlights the current chaotic state in government thinking with a ridiculously early deadline being set for the introduction of the first five pilot programmes next year. Critical elements of the proposed framework are still unclear and/or are still
FOUNDATIONS FOR THE FUTURE
Richard Evans is the Chairman of the CIPHE’s Education and Training Group. In this issue of ETM he considers the implications of the Wolf Review in relation to work experience programmes for 14-16 year olds. The importance of work experience programmes It is irrefutable that work related learning (WRL) is an essential part of any vocational curriculum irrespective of level. WRL can take a number of forms e.g. work shadowing, work sampling, work experience/placement or sandwich programmes. The urgent need to improve the quality and status of technical and vocational qualifications depends critically on a curriculum that is balanced and
Foundation Degrees Revisited
In this article Dick Evans considers the progress of the Foundation Degree (FD) prototypes particularly in subjects that traditionally have experienced difficulties in recruiting and have serious skill shortages in the work place e.g. science, engineering and construction. Analysis of the existing prototypes of the FDs provides an interesting insight into how providers are developing FDs. Many of the prototypes are in business; commerce, media and IT related subjects. The first tranche of prototypes technically finish this year and presumably after an evaluation will be introduced across universities and colleges this autumn. The government has set a target that 50%
Forensic Science – A Case Study
An increasingly popular course amonst students, but one that leaves employers wanting more of graduates. Dr Dick Evans considers the situation, and highlights a number of suggestions for improvement. There has been a great deal of media cover age recently on the crisis in science particularly at Higher Education (HE) level following a number of high profile closures of chemistry and physics departments. This in spite of numerous warnings including those published in ‘t’magazine over many years. I have argued that long-term solutions are necessary to rebuild a strong mathematical and scientific base in this country at all stages of