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SUMMARY:Outcomes-based qualification design and vocational subject literac
 ies: When learning outcomes means learning isn’t always the outcome - Ro
 se Veitch (Kings College London)
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20251023T125000
DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20251023T135000
UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/b3005fd9-81d0-400c-9b4a-eadb8048c3f9/
DESCRIPTION:Learning outcomes-based qualifications were heralded as the me
 ans to raise vocational education and training standards\, and establish e
 quivalence with academic qualifications.  Characterised by explicitly spec
 ified performance statements and domain ‘mastery’\, outcomes-design ha
 s been adopted by many VET systems globally.  Yet critics find the model c
 onceptually deficient.  Condemnation relates to the relentless assessment 
 burden of the mastery characteristic (Ecclestone 2010\; Torrance et al. 20
 05)\, the vulnerability of outcomes to instrumental practices such as ‘c
 riteria chasing’ (Garland 1998)\, and concerns that the model distorts s
 ubject knowledge structures\, failing to treat curricula holistically (All
 ais 2014\; Wheelahan 2007\; Winch 2023). \n\nIn England’s VET policy lan
 dscape\, there seems to be some cognitive dissonance around outcomes.  The
  design template has been found wanting by influential policy reviews such
  as the Wolf Report (2011)\, and is now no longer mandated as a design req
 uirement for publicly funded qualifications.  Yet despite this fall from g
 race\, outcomes design persists\, particularly with the dominance of BTEC 
 qualifications at Levels 2 and 3.  In this state of cognitive dissonance\,
  empirical research is important. \n\nThis paper draws on provisional find
 ings from qualitative PhD research investigating how vocational subject li
 teracies are interpreted and taught by BTEC teachers.  Emergent findings s
 uggest that outcomes interacts with pernicious forms of accountability mea
 sures to produce deleterious effects.  It is argued that concerns raised d
 ecades ago are still relevant\, that instrumental ‘criteria chasing’ p
 ractices are still prevalent.  This research takes a two-pronged approach.
   First\, investigating instrumentalism from a sociocultural perspective\,
  it proposes that outcomes design correlates with a ‘content-delivery’
  pedagogical relation.  The research also investigates vocational subject 
 knowledge from an epistemological standpoint\, finding that outcomes hinde
 rs teachers’ ability to treat their subjects holistically. \n\nIt is hop
 ed that this research will contribute further empirical evidence relating 
 to outcomes-design\, but also to the broader conceptual point that atomist
 ic specification is antithetical to subject knowledge structures.\n\nTeams
  link: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/3998924894217?p=w17OxMRrSEkx7HdmUb
  \n\nAllais\, Stephanie. 2014. Selling out Education: National Qualificati
 ons Frameworks and the Neglect of Knowledge. Vol. 8. Rotterdam: Sense Publ
 ishers.\n\nEcclestone\, Katherine. 2010. Transforming Formative Assessment
  in Lifelong Learning. Maidenhead: Open University Press.\n\nGarland\, Pau
 l. 1998. "Assessment in GNVQs: Learning the Hard Way."  Research in Post-C
 ompulsory Education 3 (3):329-344. https://doi.org/10.1080/135967498002000
 40.\n\nTorrance\, Harry\, Helen Colley\, Dean Garratt\, Janis Jarvis\, Hea
 ther Piper\, Kathryn Ecclestone\, and David James. 2005. The Impact of Dif
 ferent Modes of Assessment on Achievement and Progress in the Learning and
  Skills Sector. London: Learning and Skills Research Centre.\n\nWheelahan\
 , Leesa. 2007. "How Competency‐Based Training Locks the Working Class ou
 t of Powerful Knowledge: A Modified Bernsteinian Analysis."  British Journ
 al of Sociology of Education 28 (5):637-651. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425
 690701505540.\n\nWinch\, Christopher. 2023. "Learning Outcomes: The Long G
 oodbye: Vocational Qualifications in the 21st Century."  European Educatio
 nal Research Journal 22 (1):20-38. https://doi.org/10.1177/147490412110436
 69.\n\nWolf\, Alison. 2011. Review of Vocational Education: The Wolf Repor
 t. London.\nSpeakers:\nRose Veitch (Kings College London)
LOCATION:15 Norham Gardens (Seminar Room E)\, 15 Norham Gardens OX2 6PY
TZID:Europe/London
URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/b3005fd9-81d0-400c-9b4a-eadb8048c3f9/
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DESCRIPTION:Talk:Outcomes-based qualification design and vocational subjec
 t literacies: When learning outcomes means learning isn’t always the out
 come - Rose Veitch (Kings College London)
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