Scottish Government

CHAPTER SIX CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

In this final chapter, we review the evidence to identify gaps in our understanding of attitudes towards vocational learning, before making suggestions for further survey and qualitative, case study research in this area.

6.1 Gaps in the picture

In this section we shall first consider the critique of policy on vocational learning offered by the recent OECD review; and then consider in turn the gaps we have identified in the research about the attitudes of the four groups of stakeholders in vocational learning:

• young people;
• teachers and other professionals, including careers and guidance staff, who support their decision-making about subject and career choice;
• parents and other family members; and
• employers

6.1.1 The policy agenda

Our review of the policy and schools agenda in Chapter 2 showed a clear commitment at the level of policy to the development of vocational learning. In particular, Skills for Scotland: a lifelong skills strategy states explicitly the intention to engender changes in attitudes and to "undertake research on changing attitudes to vocational learning" (Scottish Government, 2007a, p.18). Yet the recent OECD Review of National Policies for Education offered, against a background of praise for many aspects of Scottish education, some criticisms, suggesting that the potential value of vocational learning was not being fully exploited, and arguing that

"provision of vocational education and training to young people in schools … can be viewed as the single most important avenue for creating incentives and raising achievement" ( OECD, 2007, p.124).

They saw Skills for Work qualifications ⁶ as

"introduced essentially as marginal additions to the mainstream curriculum … Behind the fear of a bolder approach to curriculum change is a misconception of the role of vocational studies. … Employability has been very strongly stressed. This is a major consideration. But it should not be stressed at the expense of the wider educational role of vocational studies. All courses that make up a school curriculum - including vocational courses - should aim at promoting cognitive and personal growth as their first objective. Employability depends on mastery of basic skills, positive attitudes to learning, strong self-esteem, a capacity to work with others, adaptability and responsiveness and self-directedness. Moreover, the issue is employability over the long-term in the context of industry and occupational change - not short term integration in a labour market which for young people often means only part-time casual work with low pay and little future." (p.126)

This has been quoted at length here, because - as discussed in Chapter 4 and in the section which follows in this chapter, on the attitudes of young people - the literature, including the evaluations of vocational learning interventions, demonstrates that many of these potential gains have in fact been achieved by young people on such courses, gains which were sometimes broader than the aims of the courses.

The OECD team also note that for Scotland, although formal standards of equity are achieved, "the biggest challenge is to make its comprehensive secondary schools work consistently well and equitably" (p.141) and that there is more variation in student achievement within schools than between them. For some young people from less advantaged social backgrounds, they perceive

"cultural and organisational factors within schools that act as barriers … These factors include curriculum and examinations, teacher values and expectations, teaching style, pupil grouping practices (e.g. setting) and resource allocation practices (which students get which teachers?)" ( OECD, 2007, p.141)

They therefore call for vocational studies courses to be offered to all students, and for "long term retraining of staff to build capacity and change culture" ( ibid., p.142), and argue that more vocational provision should be school-based, rather than in colleges. This last suggestion is at least debatable, in the light of the evidence of the enthusiasm of young people for learning in further education colleges, with tutors whose approaches to learning are very different from those of their teachers in school. Evidence of the value of moving to a new setting is widely demonstrated, both in the literature about vocational education in further education colleges (e.g. James and Biesta, 2007; Coffield et al., 2008), and in the findings of the evaluation of Skills for Work (Spielhofer and Walker, 2008) about the positive reactions of pupils who spent part of their school week in this new environment. It is, however, harder to disagree with the OECD suggestion that there is a need to understand better the "cultural and organisational factors within schools that act as barriers" ( OECD, 2007, p.141), both to the self-belief and achievement of disadvantaged pupils, and possibly to participation in vocational learning by those who are seen as capable of high academic achievements. Their analysis provides a pointer to further research.

6.1.2 Do we know enough about young people's attitudes to vocational learning?

A second pointer to further research from the OECD report (2007) arises from their recommendation that, although the Scottish School Leavers Survey is a valuable source of destination data, we need to know more about the journey young people have taken, because

"without studying the journey, we cannot identify the barriers, the hazards thrown across the route, the signposts, sure or faulty, clear or misleading, and the baggage that has been carried from early in the trip or acquired along the way. Policy-makers are expected to make a difference. That means understanding the processes that make a difference. And that requires a video, not a snapshot." (p.155)

From this flows their recommendation that the scope of the Scottish School Leavers' Survey be extended to make contact with young people well before they leave school, and to provide fuller information about their achievements and experience, and the decisions they take about subjects to study and routes into further education or work.

In Chapter 4, we drew on a range of studies of young people's views, some using both large surveys and smaller scale qualitative work, e.g. Hallam et al. (2007) whose findings on the UK-wide Skill Force initiative are based on questionnaire data from 795 students in 17 centres and 56 schools, supplemented by 62 interviews, and Carole Millar Research (2004) who investigated Scottish pupils' attitudes to further education using questionnaires from 846 pupils in 21 schools, supplemented by focus groups in 12 of these schools. Although both projects use a blend of quantitative and qualitative methods, in other ways the two reports are very different, and comparing them will perhaps help demonstrate the difficulties in understanding young people's attitudes to vocational learning. The first is evaluating the impact of a very specific type of intervention, Skill Force courses, and the authors' own description of their findings makes clear that vocational learning was only part of the agenda:

"The findings demonstrated that the programme was successful in meeting the needs of many disaffected students, improving their motivation, attendance, attitudes towards education and attainment and also provided students with a range of practical vocational qualifications." (Hallam et al., 2007, p.43)

The second report has a more diffuse goal of exploring school pupils' attitudes to further education, and among the many positive responses of pupils about their experience of college courses, Carole Millar Research (2004) recorded many factors which again have very little to do with vocational learning. Pupils valued, for example, being treated with respect by college staff; the different teaching styles, in the more relaxed atmosphere of college; being shown what to do, rather than being told what to do; working at their own pace; taking responsibility for their own work; having the chance to try different subjects; and having access to better resources, for example, in subjects such as Construction and Catering. In both these reports, then, vocational learning (either development of the softer skills of communication and teamworking to prepare young people for the workplace, or courses leading to the acquisition of skills and qualifications for a particular vocational area) may be seen as one of the by-products of a process which is geared primarily to helping young people rediscover their enthusiasm and confidence in learning. As Hallam et al. (2007) explain,

The stated mission of Skill Force is to reawaken enthusiasm for life through education; build self-worth, and through that families and communities; and reduce truancy, exclusion, unemployment and criminal records. (2007, p.46)

The provision of students with 'vocational qualifications that employers recognise and value' (Hallam et al., 2007, p. 46) is only one element in a long list of predominantly social and behavioural aims of the programme, but is nevertheless an important outcome for some of the participants.

Several points emerge from comparison of these two research reports. Firstly, it highlights the difficulty of disaggregating the different types of vocational and personal learning which may take place when young people learn, be it in school, college or the workplace. Secondly, these two projects - and many others, including the Skills for Work evaluation data discussed in detail in Chapter 4 - demonstrate the plurality of gains reported by young people, and the fact that apparently similar experiences on the same course may have very different meanings for the various participants. For some, just getting out of school for half a day and making a fresh start with a new tutor who treats them with respect may be enough to increase their motivation; for others, the college course may mark a step towards a career goal; and for others again, such as the intending teachers who chose to take a Childcare course in college, the course provides useful background knowledge about their intended career, but does not represent an attractive alternative to the academic route on which they have embarked. Thirdly, both reports demonstrate the value of combining a large scale survey to capture the range of perspectives of the majority of participants, with qualitative research with a sample of this population. Interviews and / or focus groups provided opportunities for young people to describe in their own words how they felt about vocational learning, and whether their experience of it at school was likely to influence their future subject and career choices. Their words and views bring survey data to life, and illustrate the complexity of responses.

Research done in this area so far does, however, leave many questions unanswered. Evaluations of the pilot of Skills for Work ( SQA, 2006b, 2007b; Spielhofer and Walker, 2008) draw on questionnaires from 840 participants and interviews with 41 young people. They produce many positive messages about retention (with 85.6 per cent of candidates completing their courses and achieving a qualification); about young people's enjoyment of the experience; and about their expectations of its future value to them, since around three-quarters of the interviewees expected that it would help them find work in future (Spielhofer and Walker, 2008, p.iv). Perhaps it would be useful to track these participants to establish whether these positive expectations translate into success, and whether those whose interest has been stimulated by Skills for Work opt to take vocational qualifications at school or at college. This suggestion coincides with the recommendation of the OECD to study the journey and the destination of young people leaving school. How do young people decide whether to take a vocational option in school, or at college, or to seek an apprenticeship? Although evaluations of Skills for Work have left us with a good picture of the variety of responses from participants, less is known about why pupils opt for vocational subjects at school. We need to know more about the impact of Skills for Work opportunities on patterns of pupils' choices. Are the new opportunities encouraging pupils to drop out of academic subjects? What impact do such decisions have on young people's future employment prospects? We also note that little is known about the perspectives of those pupils who choose not to participate in Skills for Work, and whether this is a personal decision, or one influenced by the views of school staff and / or parents.

6.1.3 Is there more to learn about attitudes of teachers and other professionals?

Many of the studies we have reviewed, notably the Inter-ed ltd (2003) evaluation of Higher Still and the Spielhofer and Walker (2008) evaluation of the Skills for Work pilot, take detailed account of the perspectives of those implementing the initiatives. Spielhofer and Walker's conclusions are overwhelmingly positive:

"Interviews with schools, colleges and providers revealed that they are committed to the value of SfW courses and see them as having raised the status of vocational learning in schools. … School and college staff interviewed were positive about the impact of SfW courses on students. Enhancement of students' specific vocational skills and knowledge was seen as a key impact. Other main areas of impact identified included helping students to make decisions about post-school transitions, improving students' motivation to learn, enhancing students' attitudes and skills relevant to employment and enhancing their ability to work with and relate to adults." (2008, p.87-88)

They note, however, some tensions in timetabling and:

"some evidence that higher ability students were less likely to choose SfW courses if it meant replacing a Standard Grade - this was both a result of school and parental pressures and expectations to achieve eight Standard Grades. … The alternative approach of expecting students to complete a SfW course on top of their eight Standard Grades further strengthens the perception that they are not equivalent, and that they are just of additional, rather than equal, value." (Spielhofer and Walker, 2008, p. 89)

It would appear that some schools, and possibly some teachers within them, are more convinced than others of the principle of 'parity of esteem'. Spielhofer and Walker conducted telephone surveys with a member of the senior management teams in each of 29 schools, and also interviewed 22 school staff (including headteachers, deputes and guidance teachers) in 9 schools as part of their case study visits. As in the evaluation of any initiative, participants are most likely to be those with responsibility for making it work, rather than those who are less enthusiastic, or those whose own core activities, such as teaching an academic subject, may be affected by the advent of a new initiative. We see a need for research which explores the 'resistance', passive or otherwise, to the changes which the current emphasis on vocational learning imply. Are teachers of academic subjects threatened in any way by the new options available to their students? Are careers and guidance staff encouraging all pupils equally to sample vocational learning? A cohort study over the next three years would also reveal whether the broadening of the curriculum to include vocational learning is having a positive or negative effect on achievement in academic subjects.

In colleges too, most of the views in the literature reviewed are of staff who were engaged in making partnerships work. We have some research (e.g. in Spielhofer and Walker, 2008) about how they meet the challenges of working with younger students, but further research - in particular on how they cope with Skills for Work groups of individuals with such a broad range of motivation for participation - would be enlightening.

6.1.4 The power of parents?

Although the influence of parents on young people's career decisions is not undisputed, with 68 per cent of young people in a recent YouGov survey claiming that they sought parents' advice on choices ( LSC, 2008), the current campaigns by the Edge Foundation and the Learning and Skills Council are targeting parents. They aim to ensure that parents have up-to-date information about vocational options and to discourage them from pushing their sons and daughters towards academic routes which may not be suitable for them. Research suggests that, even if direct advice from parents is not sought, their socio-economic status and their own experience of education is likely to affect their expectations of their children, and subtler issues of social and cultural capital may influence young people's choices. As we discussed in Chapter 4, Section 4.2, however, the processes of subject and career choice are not fully understood. Parental views on Skills for Work have not yet been explored, and this is a gap which future research might fill once the roll-out of the programme is achieved. There is certainly more to be learned about parental attitudes, and about the potential of successful programmes such as Skills for Work for their sons and daughters to make parents more positive about vocational courses; but perhaps it would be more appropriate to do this in a few years' time, when the longer term outcomes of Skills for Work can also be assessed.

6.1.5 Do we understand enough about employers' attitudes?

As noted in Chapter 5, some employers are enthusiastically engaged in working with schools and colleges, while others are still struggling to understand the range of new qualifications which candidates for employment may bring from school. They all stand to gain from Skills for Work, if it achieves its aims of preparing young people for the world of work, but perhaps further research into their attitudes at this stage would be premature. If, however, research is undertaken to track for a few years young people who have had different experiences, or indeed no experience at all, of vocational learning at school, their employers' views of their preparedness for work and the skills they had brought with them would be an important part of that picture. Because of the ongoing research into employers' attitudes undertaken by Futureskills Scotland, and because employers have had as yet little opportunity to experience of the impact of Skills for Work on their new recruits, we suggest that further research into employers' attitudes would, like further research on parental attitudes, be more fruitfully conducted in two or three years' time.

6.2 Suggestions for future research

The following suggestions should be considered as a list of potential options, some of which could be use to guide policy, while others could be used to track the implications of policy in the longer term. In this context, we have not assessed the resource implications of each of the suggestions.

We see a need for more data on levels of participation of whole cohorts across the range of post-compulsory options, on an age group or year group basis. It would also be useful to determine whether positive reactions to vocational learning at school influence future career choices, and to explore the relationship between vocational / academic choices and socio-economic status. The OECD suggestion that we need to understand better how individuals construe their journeys from compulsory education to their eventual careers also seems worth pursuing. We also perceive a need for better understanding of attitudes to different types of vocational learning; and of the cultural and organisational factors in schools and colleges which may limit pupils' opportunities to benefit from vocational learning. For this, a qualitative approach using interviews with young people and a broad range of teaching and management staff would be appropriate, if we seek to understand the dynamics of choices about vocational learning.

We recommend the use of both quantitative and qualitative research to address these gaps in our understanding. Existing administrative data is a potential resource for tracking learners over time. We are aware that Careers Scotland collect data on all school leavers around 9 months after leaving and that this informs the Scottish Government's National Indicator on sustained and positive destinations, but we would recommend that the follow-up is extended to measure more sustained destinations. This approach could also be used to recruit participants for qualitative research. In the event that existing survey data could not be utilised, a longitudinal approach could be adopted.

We therefore recommend more quantitative research on:

• levels of participation of whole cohorts across the range of post-compulsory options, on an age group or year group basis. This would investigate whether young people reach positive and sustained destinations.
• attitudes to subject options, including vocational options, across whole cohorts of young people. While our interest is primarily in vocational options, it would be necessary to cover academic and vocational alternatives which young people can choose, and their reasons for those choices: for example, their interest in the subject, their belief that it will be useful in their future career, the relative difficulty of the subject, their attitude towards the teacher(s) of that subject, and the influence of teachers, parents, peers, careers officers or anyone else who may be advising them on their choices. Follow-up qualitative research could also be considered.

More qualitative research is required on:

• Young people's accounts of their 'journeys' from school to their destinations in employment or continuing education. This would supplement the survey research on subject and career choices, giving insight into the attitudes both of the young people themselves and of those whom they see as offering them advice on their decisions. If vocational education is to achieve 'parity of esteem', a fuller understanding of the attitudes towards it of those two groups will help, by showing whether attitudes are changing, and may suggest what more might be done to speed change in attitudes amongst, for example, parents or teachers.
• The impact of programmes of vocational learning for school-age young people, both on the schools which provide them and on their partner colleges. While previous research, including the recent evaluations of Skills for Work, has provided evidence of the attitudes of those leading, or closely involved in, the provision of vocational learning, there is little evidence on the attitudes of other staff in those organisations. Given that vocational learning is an option, and that a pupil making that choice is also choosing not to do another subject or not to follow another route, the attitudes of teachers of non-vocational subjects are likely to play an important part in pupil's decisions. Taking a broader perspective on a wider range of staff in these organisations would also highlight the impact of such programmes on the whole school. Staff may report changes in the behaviour and application of pupils who are attending college courses; several evaluations have noted that timetabling can become challenging; and there may even be implications for levels of resourcing and staffing in all subject areas. If vocational learning is to become a growth area, what may shrink?
• What is being done under the auspices of vocational learning in relation to pedagogy, assessment, content, modes of learning, etcetera; and the impact of that on attitudes. In this area too, the attitudes of teachers of all subjects are important, and also those of parents and employers, although, as noted above, it is probably too soon to consider research into employer attitudes at this stage, before several cohorts of pupils have enjoyed the benefits of Skills for Work at school and have then filtered through into the workplace.
• The ways in which parents with different characteristics (in terms of prior educational attainment, ethnicity, social and economic status, for example) influence children's choices and how these relate to the child's gender. Since it is clear from the data discussed in Chapter 3 that uptake of certain subjects varies widely by gender, this would provide a better understanding of the reasons for this, and the attitudes which may need to be changed if a better gender balance is to be achieved.

We could suggest ways of combining quantitative and qualitative work, in one or more research projects, aimed at capturing both the breadth and the depth of the issues. But before such a project could be designed, agreement on the pertinent research questions would be necessary. Our suggestions for these research questions would include:

1. Which subject options do pupils choose, and why? Do they consider the full range of options? Do they feel any pressure on them, from parents, teachers or careers staff, to choose - or not choose - certain subjects? Are they aware of the implications of subject choices for their future careers and incomes? Do resourcing issues - the availability of equipment and the staff who teach the subjects - play a part in the decision?

2. What are the barriers to engaging in vocational learning? Do parental expectations or teachers' expectations discourage those who might be capable of university entry? Do others who might benefit from further vocational learning have the information that they need to make appropriate choices?

3. If young people have participated in Skills for Work, does that influence their future choices of subjects in school? Does it influence their choice of college or university course, or employment, after school? Does it help them when they reach the workplace? Which aspects of their vocational learning do they value in retrospect: the skills and knowledge relating to a particular vocational area, or the softer skills of learning how to cope in the workplace? We acknowledge that it is too soon to investigate some of these questions about longer-term impact. Perhaps in five years' time there will be sufficient experience of the impact of Skills for Work to make this worthwhile.

4. What are the implications for educational organisations - both schools and colleges - of the growth of vocational learning opportunities for school pupils? How do they cope with structural, administrative and cultural changes to implement the new policies?