What will T levels change? The portrayal of technical and vocational education in England: tensions in policy, and a conundrum for lecturers

ABSTRACT United Kingdom (UK) government reform for technical and vocational education (TVET) is underway. A goal of which is to address a perceived status issue. Literature identifies an interpretation which perceives TVET as less challenging or for the less academically able. This thesis used practitioner-based enquiry to explore lecturer perceptions, contextualised by UK government’s TVET documentation analysis of the last 35 years. The research uncovered tensions in policy as a result of significant policy churn in TVET and presented a conundrum for those lecturers interviewed in terms of their professional identity and relationship with local employers. Constant policy change has bought issues of performativity and managerialism into the sector as it deals with the twists and turns of government. Causing lecturers interviewed to feel disconnection from their profession of origin resulting in a pervading sense of devaluing the vocational aspects of their sense of self. Together with the increased pressure to develop generic teaching skills, rather than specialist vocational pedagogy, it is argued, will only perpetuate the portrayal of TVET as lower status. The findings were bought together to argue that the constant policy churn has resulted in a lack of trust and legitimacy for TVET, offering one possible explanation for the portrayal and the status issue that new T-level qualifications are designed to address.