Technical Education and State Formation in Nineteenth-Century England and France

Abstract

Modern economists generally see human skills as the key factor in economic competitiveness (Porter, 1990). Vocational education has consequently been a high priority for policy-makers, particularly in Britain where provision is seen to lag behind that of other competitor nations (Green and Steedman, 1993). This situation has given rise to intense public debate about the causes of underachievement among young people in post-compulsory education and training. Current discussions focus on the narrow and over-specialized nature of academic study, the relative unpopularity and low status of alternative vocational tracks, and on the fragmented and incoherent nature of the post-compulsory system as a whole (National Commission on Education, 1993). In addition to multiple institutional distinctions in the sector, and the fragmented and dispersed nature of control over these institutions and over the qualifications system, there is a deep and damaging divide between ‘academic’ and ‘vocational’ learning. This is often believed to impede access and achievement among students and to perpetuate the low status of the vocational routes which the government wishes to enhance (Ball, 1991; IPPR, 1991).