Separate But Equal?

Book excerpt: This book looks in detail at the strong contrasts in the provision traditionally made for 'academically' and 'vocationally' minded students, and looks at differences and similarities in practice. The chapters report evidence of how students on both sides think they have been taught. They also report on how those students prefer to learn, how their teachers define the kinds of learning appropriate for particular qualifications and how the organisation of learning for 'different but equal' qualifications was observed in forty schools and colleges. The book's main focus is on the objectives and processes of learning at a stage which is certainly being transformed, but which is still powerfully shaped by myths about the sixth form and education of 'leaders'.