Ignorant Yobs?: Low Attainers in a Global Knowledge Economy

156 Pages·2013·0.75 MB·English

by  Sally Tomlinson

Ignorant Yobs?: Low Attainers
in a Global Knowledge Economy
What happens to young people who are defi ned as lower attainers or having learning
diffi culties in a global knowledge economy?
How do we stop those with learning diffi culties or disabilities being seen as social
problems or simply as consumers of resources?
Governments in developed countries are driven by the belief that in a global economy
all citizens should be economically productive, yet they are still not clear about the
relationship between the education of low attainers and the labour market. Ignorant
Yobs?: Low Attainers in a Global Knowledge Economy examines this international
phenomenon, exploring how those with learning diffi culties are treated in a world
economy where even low-skilled jobs require qualifi cations.
This unique book provides an examination of countries which converge on the issue
of the low attaining population, despite differing on political, economic and cultural
dimensions. In doing so, it considers some thorny issues at the forefront of education
policy and provision:
• the increasing competitive stratifi cation within education systems;
• the impact of governments who have put competition in the labour market at the
heart of their policies;
• social control of potentially disruptive groups, social cohesion and the human
rights agenda;
• the expansion of a special education industry driven by the needs of middle class,
aspirant and knowledgeable parents, anxious about the success of their ‘less able’
children.
Written by an internationally renowned scholar, Ignorant Yobs?: Low Attainers in a
Global Knowledge Economy synthesises a range of complex, highly topical issues and
suggests how those with learning diffi culties might, with government and employer
support, contribute to a fl exible labour market. This book, using original discussions
in England, the USA, Germany, Malta and Finland, will be of interest to a wide audi-
ence of policy-makers, practitioners, administrators, and politicians, in addition to
undergraduate, postgraduate and research students and academics.
Sally Tomlinson is Emeritus Professor at Goldsmiths College, London University
and Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Edu cation, University of
Oxford, UK.
Ignorant Yobs?: Low
Attainers in a Global
Knowledge Economy
Sally Tomlinson
First published 2013
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2013 Sally Tomlinson
The right of Sally Tomlinson to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Tomlinson, Sally.
Ignorant yobs? : low attainers in a global knowledge economy /
Authored by Sally Tomlinson.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-415-52576-3 (hbk) — ISBN 978-0-415-52577-0 (pbk)
— ISBN 978-0-203-11974-7 (ebk) 1. Learning disabled—
Vocational guidance. 2. People with disabilities—Vocational
guidance. 3. Special education—Cross-cultural studies.
4. Learning disabled—Education. 5. Labor market. I. Title.
HV1568.5.T66 2013
362.3(cid:2)84—dc23 2012025047
ISBN: 978-0-415-52576-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-52577-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-11974-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Galliard
by RefineCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk
Cover image: The Guardian, published on 17 April 2012; illustrator:
Kipper Williams; caption: Finance cartoon.
For John Rex 1926–2011
A scholar with integrity and the courage of his convictions
Contents
Acknowledgements ix
List of abbreviations xi
Introduction 1
1 Unpicking the global knowledge economy and education 15
2 England: social problems and special needs 25
3 England: endless vocational initiatives 41
4 England: working with the lower attainers 55
5 USA: divergence by race 71
6 Germany: transition to where? 87
7 Malta: colonial and religious legacies 101
8 Finland: a model for us all? 113
9 Conclusions: low attainers, low-skill work and fl exicurity 125
Bibliography 135
Index 147
Acknowledgements
With grateful thanks to the Leverhulme Trust whose grant enabled me to carry
out the research for this book.
Special thanks to all the participants: principals, head teachers, teachers and
administrators, who made time to talk to me and to the students who allowed me
to observe them.
Thanks also to colleagues from fi ve countries for help and discussion: Liz
Atkins, Margaret S. Archer, George A. Borg, David Connor, Mary Darmanin,
Hubert Ertl, Peter Flaschel, Vicki Graf, Geoff Hayward, Jarkko Hautamäki,
Hugo Kremer, Reeta Mietola, Michael O’Brien, Lela Rondeau, Sigrid
Luchtenberg, Alison Wolf, and to my readers Hugh Lauder and John Richardson.
List of abbreviations
ADHD Attention defi cit hyperactivity disorder
ASD Autistic spectrum disorder
ASDAN Award Scheme Development and Accreditation Network
BESD Behavioural, emotional and social diffi culty
BTEC Business and Technology Education Council
CAF Common Assessment Framework
CSE Certifi cate of Secondary Education
DES Department for Education and Science
DfCSF Department for Children, Schools and Families
DfE Department for Education
DfEE Department for Education and Employment
DfES Department for Education and Skills
DTI Department for Trade and Industry
E2E Entry to Employment
EAL English as an Additional Language
EBD Emotionally and behaviourally disturbed
EET Education, Employment or Training
EFA Education Funding Agency
EHCP Education, Health and Care Plan
EMA Education Maintenance Allowance
EMR Educably mentally retarded
ESN Educationally subnormal
ESN-M Educationally subnormal (moderate)
ESRC Economic and Social Research Council
FE Further Education College
FSM Free School Meals
GCSE General Certifi cate of Secondary Education
GNVQ General National Vocational Qualifi cation
IEP Individual Education Programme
ILO International Labour Offi ce
IPE Individualised Plan for Employment
IPPR Institute for Public Policy Research
xii Abbreviations
LD Learning Disability
LDD Learning Diffi culty or Disability
LSA Learning Support Assistant
LSC Learning and Skills Council
MALD Moderate and additional Learning Diffi culty
MCAST Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology
MLD Moderate learning diffi culty
MoVE Modelling of Vocational Excellence
MSC Manpower Services Commission
MSEC Malta Secondary Education Certifi cate
NED Non-educated Delinquent
NEET Not in Education, Employment or Training
NVQ National Vocational Qualifi cation
NCVQ National Council for Vocational Qualifi cations
OCD Oppositional conduct disorder
OCR Oxford, Cambridge, Royal Society of Arts Examinations
ODD Oppositional defi ance disorder
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Ofsted Offi ce for Standards in Education
PISA Programme for International Student Assessment
PMLD Profound and multiple learning diffi culty
PRU Pupil Referral Unit
QCF Qualifi cations and Curriculum Framework
RCCCFM R eport of the Royal Commission on the Care and Control of the Feeble-
minded
RSA Royal Society of Arts
SEN Special Educational Needs
SENCO Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator
SKOPE Centre for Skills, Knowledge and Organisational Performance
SLD Severe learning diffi culty
SPLD Specifi c learning diffi culty
SWG Student Welfare Group
TEC Training and Enterprise Council
TVEI Technical and Vocational Educational Initiative
UTC University Technical Colleges
VET Vocational education and training
YOPS Youth Opportunities Programme
YPLA Young People’s Learning Agency
YTS Youth Training Scheme
Introduction
The hooligan, defective, feeble-minded and delinquent loafers of 1910
have become the yobs, chavs, NEETS and scroungers of 2010.1
This book is about the expanding numbers of young people in developed
countries who are variously regarded as lower attainers, have learning diffi culties
and/or special educational needs, and what is happening to them. The past
30 years have seen a widespread acceptance of beliefs that all citizens in nation-
states are subject to the forces of globalisation and global economic markets.
All national governments now believe that higher levels of educational attain-
ment and skills training are necessary for successful competition in knowledge-
driven economies. All young people are urged to invest in their own human
capital and constantly learn new skills, competing with each other in strati-
fi ed education systems and uncertain job markets. In this scenario knowledge
becomes a marketable commodity and those demonstrating high levels are
prized above manual, craft and physically-skilled workers. The old divisions of
those deemed suitable for academic or vocational life courses take on new
meanings.
While education systems in developed countries were expanding during the
later-nineteenth and early-twentieth century, from the mid-twentieth century
there was a rapid expansion as groups previously excluded or given only a minimal
education were drawn into lengthened formal systems, usually at lower levels of
schooling. This was particularly true of those who were regarded as having
diffi culties in learning to minimal levels of numeracy and literacy, being low
attainers in formal testing, failing to achieve to constantly raised qualifi cation
levels or acquiring one or more of a variety of expanding descriptions eventually
bundled from the 1980s into a shorthand of special educational needs. Characteris-
tics of those drawn into expanding systems at lower levels were that they were
predominantly from lower social classes, with more males than females and with
an over-representation of racial and ethnic minorities. Rationalisation for this
educational expansion for all groups has centred round the political, commercial
and social interests that all young people should be economically productive, and