'Dehumanising' views of workplace damaging vocational education
04 February 2009
Classifying some occupations as "unskilled" and "low-skilled" and others as "high-skilled" or "professional" is outdated and dehumanising, warns a leading academic.
Classifying some occupations as "unskilled" and "low-skilled" and others as "high-skilled" or "professional" is outdated and dehumanising, warns a leading academic.
It also gives young people a false picture of the modern workplace and is hampering government attempts to develop a quality system of vocational education, Professor Lorna Unwin of the Institute of Education, London, will argue in a lecture on Wednesday (4 February 2009).
"These emotive terms create feelings of prejudice and privilege," Professor Unwin explains. "Nobody wants to put in serious work and study and end up being considered 'low-skilled'."
Professor Unwin will call for a "renewed vision for vocational education in Britain – one that treats all occupations as involving knowledge and skills and sees vocational education as a vehicle for introducing learners to a broad range of experiences."
"All education should contain a vocational element to enable individuals to reflect on the kind of life they want to lead, and develop capabilities that will bring them joy, and enable them to adopt greener lifestyles," Professor Unwin will say.
Classifying some occupations as "unskilled" and "low-skilled" and others as "high-skilled" or "professional" is outdated and dehumanising and gives young people a false picture of the modern workplace, warns a leading academic.
Notes for editors
Further information from Helen Green, press officer, +44 (0)20 7612 6459, h.green@ioe.ac.uk
Professor Lorna Unwin will give her inaugural professorial lecture, "Sensuality, sustainability and social justice: vocational education in changing times" at the Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London WC1, on Wednesday 4 February 2009 at 6pm. The lecture will be published by the Institute of Education and will be available shortly.
Lorna Unwin is professor of vocational education at the Institute of Education, which is a college of the University of London, specialising in teaching, research and consultancy in education and related areas of social science and professional practice.