Abstract
The way in which secondary education should be divided, if at all, has been the subject of debate for decades. Ever since the late 1930s, the idea that England’s secondary schooling should be divided up into different ‘streams’ has been re-imagined by successive education policymakers. Beginning with the initial tripartite system first touted by the Spens Report of 1938 (grammar, secondary modern, technical), the idea of streaming has had both its supporters and detractors – especially with the introduction of the controversial 11+ examination as a starting point for such streaming. This short volume, edited by Kenneth Baker (former Education Secretary under Margaret Thatcher), provides what its authors see as a potential next step in re-streaming the system, but without – as they see it – the mistakes of past incarnations. The sharpest difference around which the authors unite is that the technical/vocational avenue should not be the least-loved of the streams, but rather a robust, competitive and rigorous option among equals.
Baker’s short collection of essays is divided into nine chapters and two substantial appendices. Baker himself authored the first three chapters and the remaining six are penned by: Mike Tomlinson (educationalist), Alan Smithers (academic), Robert B. Schwartz (academic), Andrew Halls (public school head), David Brandon-Bravo (middle-school head) and David Harbourne (education adviser), and the appendices by Harbourne and Nigel Wyatt (middle-school specialist).
The book’s title makes clear that its authors are not asking for a return to the tripartite system of yesteryear, but a new model that differs in a number of ways: notably that the system of streaming should be introduced not at 11 years of age, but at 14. Mike Tomlinson, author of the eponymous report into 14+ education published in 2004, agrees wholeheartedly with Baker when it comes to seeing 14–18 as a distinct phase of education currently muddled and impeded by too-frequent assessment. Echoing these concerns, Alan Smithers opens his chapter with the words: ‘Education in England lacks clear shape’ (p. 57) and he goes on to call for the scrapping of GCSEs, given the current coalition government’s decision to increase the age of exit from compulsory schooling to 18 by 2015. Tomlinson agrees about the superfluity of GCSEs after 2015, and goes on to suggest that perhaps English and mathematics should be compulsory throughout secondary education (in line with the Wolf Report), as well as showing his support for a move to a single exam-awarding body in England. What is clear is that the book does not seek to outline a mere tinkering with the existing system, but an overhaul.
The proposed system that is largely supported throughout the volume, and is set out in one of Baker’s chapters, is a 14–18 phase of education divided between four types of education ‘pathways’: technical; liberal arts; sports and creative; and career. Baker outlines clearly what these four pathways would look like. The technical pathway – the one to which most attention is paid in the book – would generally take up and carry forward the work done by existing university technical colleges (UTCs). It also becomes clear that UTCs have a greater role to play as, in Baker’s opinion, their method of focusing the curriculum around the specialisms of the college (teaching academic subjects in the context of the students’ chosen specialism) should serve as a role model for the other three pathways.
The volume does not rely entirely on untested theories, as the UTC example attests, and it also looks at a number of overseas examples to bolster its proposed reforms. Schwartz’s chapter brings to the volume a US-based perspective, where high schools already cater to the 14+ market that Baker favours for England. Schwartz admits a preference for leaving career options until 16 (as it currently stands in England) but nevertheless shows enthusiasm for the UTC model pointed to by Baker. David Harbourne’s chapter looks to models in Austria and Canada. Harbourne concedes that Austria might not be top of any traditional academic rankings system, like the perennial Finns, but lauds their attitude and direction when it comes to technical and vocational education. In Austria, 80% of students at age 14 or above choose a technical or vocational school where a variety of specialisms are catered for, and the nation is regarded by the OECD and EU as a world leader in vocational education. In the Canadian province of Ontario, post-14-year-old students are given both a core education and a skills-based specialization choice, which they follow through to the relatively new mandatory leavers’ age of 18. These examples are included in Baker’s volume wisely to show that his proposed reforms are supported by practice that has already been tried and tested overseas.
The appendices in Baker’s collection are longer than some of the chapters, and serve largely as historical contextualization to the debates over how to provide an equally certified and rigorous vocational/technical education in England and Wales. Harbourne takes the reader through the history of secondary technical education, while Wyatt takes on the history of the strengths of English middle schools. The appendices serve well to support the clearly stated recommendations that complete the main portion of the book. In conclusion, Baker makes 14 recommendations reiterating the main thrust of his own chapters and the supporting voices of the other commentators. The most central arguments are that: 14–18 should be seen as a distinct phase of schooling; that four specialist pathways (maintaining a core of academic skills) should be offered; that universities and local businesses should become increasingly involved; and that qualifications should be reviewed so that equivalence of standing is achieved across routes and modularization is replaced with terminal leaving certificates.
Overall, Baker has produced a well-organized, clearly argued book setting out very precise recommendations for change and containing the support of some leading educationalists. There is much to recommend it not only to government ministers and policymakers, but to anyone interested in the potential for a wholesale shift in the shape of secondary education for the 21st century.