Education and Training 14-19

'[T]hose concerned about the qualifications available to young people would do well to read [this book] carefully' - Post-16 Educator 'Ann Hodgson and Ken Spours are recognised as two of the most insightful and incisive commentators on 14-19 education in England. This book will be read with interest by teachers and lecturers, policy-makers, researchers and everyone with an interest in the future of this key sector of education' - Professor David Raffe, Centre for Educational Sociology, University of Edinburgh 'It is not necessary to agree with everything in this volume in order to recognise it as absolutely essential reading for anyone with an interest in 14-19 policy and practice. It is the ideal catalyst to provoke some much needed debate and new thinking on this key topic' - Professor Ewart Keep, Deputy Director, ESRC Centre on Skills, Knowledge & Organizational Performance,University of Cardiff '...This book offers a critical and informed analysis of the need for reform and the progress made to date. It is essential reading for both policy makers and practitioners' - Sir Mike Tomlinson, Chief Adviser for London Challenge and former Chair of the Working Group on 14-19 Reform 14-19 education and training is a complex, fast changing and contested terrain which has been the focus of enormous controversy. This book will help those involved in the education of young people understand the wider context for 14-19 reform, the main dimensions of government policy and how it is likely to affect practice. It also offers alternative views about the way forward. The authors provide a comprehensive and up-to-date account of the emerging 14-19 phase in England, with a focus on A Levels and GCSEs, the 14-19 Diplomas, vocational learning, apprenticeships and institutional collaboration. Drawing on international and historical analysis, recent research and practice, as well as interviews with key policy actors, they set out the case for a more unified and strongly collaborative approach. The book is intended for education practitioners, policy-makers and researchers. It will also be of particular relevance to post-graduate students on PGCE, Masters and Doctoral programmes. The authors are both Readers of Education at the Institute of Education, University of London, and are co-directors of the Nuffield Review of 14-19 Education and Training in England and Wales.