A review and analysis of assessment objectives of academic and vocational qualifications in English further education, with particular reference to creativity

Author: Ogunleye, James

Source: Journal of Education and Work, Volume 19, Number 1, Number 1/February 2006 , pp. 95-104(10)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

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Abstract:

Thirty-six per cent of 18–19-year-old sixth-form and further education college leavers in the UK currently go on to university. A majority of the remaining 64% apparently go into work or work-related training. Yet, for this latter group, as with the former, 16–19 education was supposed by the Department for Education and Employment to equip them with the skills applicable in the workplace, where a student's ability to apply skills and knowledge in a variety of contexts—i.e. creativity—is as important as having a qualification. Creative skills, according to the Construction Industry Training Board, are key requisite skills in the workplace and also key to job and business success. This paper examines the extent to which assessment objectives in the 16–19 education curriculum in England require students to demonstrate creative skills in their work, be it class assessment or external examinations. It finds that all but two subject specifications and syllabuses (in one discipline) explicitly state creativity as an assessment objective, although a few other subject specifications (in other disciplines) required candidates to demonstrate some creative skills in their work.

Keywords: Assessment; Qualification; Curriculum; Creativity; Knowledge; Further Education

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13639080500522853

Affiliations: 1: University of Greenwich, London, UK

Publication date: 2006-02-01

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