Civilising the Natives? Liberal Studies in Further Education Revisited

Abstract

This paper uses Basil Bernstein's work on pedagogic discourses to examine a largely neglected facet of the history of vocational education -the liberal studies movement in English further education (FE) colleges. Initially, the paper discusses some of the competing conceptions of education, work and society which underpinned the rise and fall of the liberal studies movement -if indeed it can be described as such. It then draws on data from interviews with former liberal and general studies (LS/GS) lecturers to focus on the ways in which different variants of liberal studies were, over time, implicated in inculcating certain forms of knowledge in vocational learners. Whilst it is acknowledged that LS/GS always represented contested territory and that it was highly variable both in terms of content and quality, the paper argues that, at least and under certain circumstances, liberal studies provided young working-class people with the opportunity to locate their experiences of vocational learning within a critical framework which is largely absent from FE today. This, it is argued, can be conceptualised as an engagement with what Bernstein described as 'powerful knowledge'. Keywords: Liberal studies, further education, Bernstein IntroductionTechnical and vocational education has long been regarded as second best to academic learning, especially in classconscious England where the elite have always favoured a classical education set within exclusive institutional settings (Hyland and Winch, 2007). Work-related learning has traditionally been seen as more appropriate for working-class people, especially when delivered in colleges of further education (FE 1 ), whose chief concern has always been providing the knowledge and skills required for everyday employment (Ainley and Bailey, 1997, p. 2).Yet, from the 1950s until the beginning of the 1980s, virtually all English FE colleges included an element of liberal education in the majority of their vocational courses. At the level of the specific programme such provision was referred to as liberal studies (LS), general studies (GS) or general and communication studies (G&CS), although 1 The term FE college is used to describe a range of institutions which have always been multi-functional but whose main remit has traditionally been providing technical and vocational education and training to individuals over the minimum school-leaving age. During the period dealt with in this paper these included generalist institutions, often known as technical colleges or colleges of further education, and specialist institutions which focused on certain subject areas such as art and design, business or construction. Whilst international comparisons are not straightforward, FE colleges have a number of broad similarities with community colleges in the USA and the TAFE institutes in Australia.2 terms such as complementary studies or contrasting studies were also used to describe such provision. One reason for this disparate terminology was a lack of agreement about the purpose ...

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“…The fact that students choose studies due to the state funding on them presupposes another problem -lack of motivational incentives. Scientists (Simmons 2015;Corey 2013, p. 195-199;Lawler 2013;Mulcahy 2009;Čiužas and Adaškevičienė 2006) note that the liberal education is associated with freedom of the person, education of the citizen of the open society; however, the aim of the state to control students, when free of charge studies become as motives for choice of studies, does not make conditions for education of a free person. In accordance with employers and students, to attract entrants to the specialities which are in lack in the labour market, political decisions, which would impact on stimulation of pupils' motivation and interest in specialties relevant to the labour market, providing them with opportunity to test themselves at school, for instance, in the engineers' circles and other activities, thus making acquainted with scientific directions, are necessary (subcategory -need and importance of political decisions stimulating pupils' interest / motivation in demanded specialties).…”

The Historical Experience of Liberal Studies for Vocational Learners in Further Education

“…This includes work on different approaches to the organisation and delivery of LS/GS (see inter alia Neale, 1966;Watson, 1973); the relationship between liberal studies and the vocational curriculum (see, inter alia, Gleeson and Mardle, 1980); and on connections between the changing political context and different forms of LS/GS (see inter alia, Carroll, 1980;Bailey and Unwin, 2008). There is also more recent research which examines the experiences of former liberal studies teachers (see Simmons, 2015;, although there is still little on the experiences of learners. The exception to this is the aforementioned Pullen and Startup (1979) who surveyed the views and opinions of over 600 students taking liberal studies in eight FE colleges across various parts of England and Wales, at a time of significant change for LS/GS but when identifiable forms of liberal studies were still intact.…”

“…The nature of the FE curriculum has altered substantially over time as childcare, leisure and tourism, and health and social care programmes have largely replaced engineering and construction in the staple diet of most colleges. Largely, this reflects the changing nature of employment in the UK, although there has also been a shift away from vocational education and training based largely on principled, conceptual knowledge towards a curriculum underpinned by more generic conceptions of learning rooted in contemporary discourses of employability (Simmons, 2015). This, in turn, can be connected to Bernstein's (2000) notion of 'trainability' whereby the learner is required to continuously accrue various so-called transferable skills which it is assumed will equip them to engage and re-engage with the constantly changing demands of employers and the labour market more generally.…”

‘It wasn’t the Wilt experience’ (at least for some): vocational students’ historical experiences of liberal studies

“…Ostensibly seems quite reasonable: most employment requires at least basic literacy and numeracy skills, and the ability to use words and numbers effectively is obviously useful across a range of social and cultural settings. However, as Simmons (2015) points out, such learners are also largely excluded from broader forms of social and cultural learning which, in Bernsteinian terms, can be limiting both socially and intellectually. Yet this was not always the case.…”

“…deals, in part, with staff and student experiences of liberal studies. More lately, there has been some historical research on liberal studies in FE, relating mainly to the policy terrain (see Bailey and Unwin 2008) and to the recollections of former LS/GS teachers (see Simmons 2015;Simmons 2016), although there is some work on the historical experiences of former liberal studies students (see Simmons 2019). There is nevertheless a paucity of published research on this topic, especially given the number of those who experienced liberal studies in FE.…”