It was great to read earlier this year that parents want to see more practical teaching in schools.
To mark its 10th anniversary, the Edge Foundation surveyed over 1,000 parents of secondary aged children to get their views about vocational education. I am pleased to say that there was majority support from the sample with most agreeing that technical degrees combining academic and vocational study are of equal value to traditional academic subjects.
The survey which was recently covered in the TES, revealed some insightful information about the value of vocational pathways against university ones.
One truly interesting point was the fact 75% said they wanted young people to get a ‘baccalaureate’ style certificate at 18 that summed up their achievements in both academic and practical subjects.
Less covered was the fact that under one fifth of parents from the survey believed that their child likes to learn in a purely academic way.
I have long been a believer in the value of vocational qualifications and it’s great to see increasing evidence of the growing recognition of vocational qualifications in society. Giving vocational qualifications equal value to academic subjects is crucial and, as I posted on TES earlier this month, dropping the snobbery about the value of vocational learning and recognising its equal place in education is necessary if we’re ever to move the debate on.
In many respects, the writing is already on the wall. By 2022, there is set to be an additional 3.6 million job vacancies in skilled occupations - all of which employ high numbers of people with vocational qualifications.
The fact that parents are wising up to this opportunity is really encouraging and although parents still possess more knowledge about academic options, knowledge of vocational routes is improving compared to the last survey in 2008 . There are still challenges to overcome about the perception of vocational qualifications but overall the above marks a positive turning point in one key group of stakeholders who help guide and encourage the next generation of teenagers so this can only be a positive step towards vocational qualifications and pathways being viewed in equal balance to academic ones.
If you want to find out about the vocational qualifications offered to schools and sixth forms then please contact us on 0191 239 8000 or email [email protected]. You can also visit our V Certs pages for more information.
