The paper problematises conceptualisations of Vocational Education and Training (VET) and its relationship to social justice by examining a number of debates. It explores a post-structural policy analysis which is sensitive to the manner in which, through research, we constitute the object of our inquiry and as a result of this process subtly…

This paper engages with and reflects on the arguments developed by contributors to the special issue. These papers serve to provide a corrective to English and, on occasion, European perceptions, which often view the Nordic countries as being all of a piece and beacons of progressivism. The contributors provide analyses that not only point to the…

This paper has set itself a number of tasks. The starting point is with Smyth and Simmons' discussion of the affective dispositions of the working class. Rather than exploring the dispositions of members of the working class, the paper examines the attribution of these, not only to the working class but also to other groups. Research addressing…

The paper places youth transitions and vocational education and training (VET) within the global policy context in which economic competiveness is hegemonic. It compares research from the 1970s/80s, which explored young peoples' lived experiences of VET and youth training schemes with contemporary work on similar themes. It argues that there are…

Purpose: The paper explores the relationship between vocational education and training (VET), the labour market and social justice in the current conjuncture. Approach: The paper adopts an approach rooted in critical policy analysis. It consequently sets the discussion within the wider socio-economic and political context. Such an approach enables…

The paper draws on the Wolf (2015) report ("Heading for the Precipice: Can Further and Higher Education Funding Policies Be Sustained?") and other quantitative data, specifically that derived from HEFCE's Participation of Local Area (POLAR) classifications. In addition it explores key literature and debates that associate higher…

The paper addresses national and global questions concerned with neoliberalism, social democracy and social justice. It explores a number of themes that arise from the British Labour Party's policy review and its rebranding as One Nation Labour (ONL). In particular it addresses ONL's approach to the economy, localism and vocational education and…

The paper addresses workplace learning; vocational pedagogy, education and knowledge; and the transformation of practice. It draws upon discussions of vocationalism, vocational pedagogies as well as the constitution of vocational knowledge(s), debates which are set within particular historical and socioeconomic as well as national contexts. It…

This paper seeks to draw out the continuities and ruptures in current English education policy. In particular it considers the relationship between Coalition policy rhetoric and that of the Labour Party. Although the paper is concerned with the British and more specifically English context, it examines a range of questions that move beyond that…

Background: The paper compares and contrasts the policy context of teacher training for vocational educators (VETT) in Scotland and England and locates this in its European setting. It explores the wider socio-economic context, one that emphasises lifelong learning, competitiveness and social justice. Purpose: In particular, it addresses the UK…

The current paper draws on data derived from a small-scale ongoing longitudinal study of further education trainee teachers. It examines their experiences during and after the completion of their training. The study was conducted at a university in the English Midlands and sets trainees' experiences within the socio-economic and policy context.…

The paper considers the broader policy context in which English Post Compulsory Education and Training (PCET) is placed, examining the model of class implicit within policy documents and particular currents within new Labour thinking. It notes that class relations and patterns of inequality have deepened. Class as a structural feature of the…

The paper addresses a number of issues concerning policy and curriculum in post-compulsory education and training (PCET). Firstly, it seeks to locate PCET within its socio-economic context as it is this that frames curricula within the learning and skills sector and serves to legitimate its particular form. Secondly, the paper addresses the manner…

The paper examines the relationship between research and practice. Its starting point is a consideration of the difference between policy science and scholarship. This leads to an analysis of the current importance attached by the state to evidence-informed practice and systematic review. Such research strategies will, it is claimed, lead to…