Abstract
The paper explores the imbalance between the ethnography of further education and the policy‐orientated literature. Bates (1991) describes this as being the discrepancy between rich sociological analysis and the economics of training. The paper redraws this imbalance into one between the optimism of policy literature and the pessimism of ethnography. This pessimism has its roots in theories of reproduction and even the most recent work fails to escape this. Post‐fordists' notions support the optimism of policy literature; it is unlikely that the promise of a high trust/high skill society can be delivered within a capitalist society. It is argued that the insights of reproduction theory should be married to the concerns of policy literature with a view to developing critical and transformative practices.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 241-256 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Vocational Aspect of Education |
| Volume | 46 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 1994 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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The ethnography of further education and the policy‐orientated literature : Contrasts. / Avis, James.
In: Vocational Aspect of Education, Vol. 46, No. 3, 01.01.1994, p. 241-256.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - The ethnography of further education and the policy‐orientated literature
T2 - Contrasts
AU - Avis, James
PY - 1994/1/1
Y1 - 1994/1/1
N2 - The paper explores the imbalance between the ethnography of further education and the policy‐orientated literature. Bates (1991) describes this as being the discrepancy between rich sociological analysis and the economics of training. The paper redraws this imbalance into one between the optimism of policy literature and the pessimism of ethnography. This pessimism has its roots in theories of reproduction and even the most recent work fails to escape this. Post‐fordists' notions support the optimism of policy literature; it is unlikely that the promise of a high trust/high skill society can be delivered within a capitalist society. It is argued that the insights of reproduction theory should be married to the concerns of policy literature with a view to developing critical and transformative practices.
AB - The paper explores the imbalance between the ethnography of further education and the policy‐orientated literature. Bates (1991) describes this as being the discrepancy between rich sociological analysis and the economics of training. The paper redraws this imbalance into one between the optimism of policy literature and the pessimism of ethnography. This pessimism has its roots in theories of reproduction and even the most recent work fails to escape this. Post‐fordists' notions support the optimism of policy literature; it is unlikely that the promise of a high trust/high skill society can be delivered within a capitalist society. It is argued that the insights of reproduction theory should be married to the concerns of policy literature with a view to developing critical and transformative practices.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84937315740&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/0305787940460303
DO - 10.1080/0305787940460303
M3 - Article
VL - 46
SP - 241
EP - 256
JO - Journal of Vocational Education and Training
JF - Journal of Vocational Education and Training
SN - 1363-6820
IS - 3
ER -