The
Workshop is now open for online and in-class
Teaching and Learning, Business/Management and Research
curriculum and learning contents subscriptions,
and available to International Business Schools,
Universities, Management Development and Training
Centres and their Students and Staff throughout
the world.
Pre-university
Foundation Courses such as shown here and the
British Foundation
degrees are considered a part of vocation education which
has been defined as follows:
Vocational
Education (or Vocational
Education and Training (VET) - now called Career and
Technical Education (CTE)) prepares learners for careers
or professions that
are traditionally non-academic and
directly related to a specific trade, occupation or vocation,
hence the term, in which the learner participates. It is
sometimes referred to as technical education,
as the learner directly specialises in a particular narrow
technique of using technology.
Vocational education might be contrasted with education
in a usually broader scientific field,
which might concentrate on theory and
abstract conceptual knowledge,
characteristic of tertiary
education.Vocational education is in most cases a form
of secondary or post-secondary
education. In some cases, vocational education can contribute
towards a tertiary education at a university as
academic credit however, it is rarely considered in its own
form to fall under the traditional definition of a higher
education.
Up until the end of the twentieth century, vocational education
focused on specific trades such as for example, an automobile mechanic or welder,
and was therefore associated with the activities of lower social
classes. As a consequence, it attracted a level of stigma.
Vocational education is related to the age-old apprenticeship system
of learning.
However, as the labour market becomes more specialised and
economies are demanding more skills, governments and businesses
are increasingly investing in the future of vocational education
through publicly funded training organisations and subsidised apprenticeship or
traineeship initiatives for businesses. At the post-secondary
level vocational education is typically provided by an institute
of technology, or by a local community
college.
Foundation degrees are intended to give a foundation in a subject, thus the name, that enables the holder to go on to employment in that field. They have been designed in partnership with employers and Further education colleges (FEC's). The latter were seen to be more 'in touch' with vocationally oriented students, and the needs of industry, while Higher Education Institutions (HEI's) offerered the rigour of quality control to the partnership.
One of a number of important differences between the Foundation Degree and the Higher National Diploma (HND) is that it stands as a degree, and as such has a common value of 240 Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS) points in the UK Higher Education System. By contrast, the HND could be recognised for entry to a degree course at as little as no credits, and as much as 240 credits, depending on the receiving institution.
A further important difference is that Foundation Degrees, as originally conceived, were to give students with substantial industry experience the opportunity to frame what they knew against appropriate academic perspectives, and were to be accessible by students 'in work'. This reflects a strategic shift towards lifelong learning, in support of the Blair governments commitment to expand the number of Degree award holders in the UK. The Foundation degree has also been suggested to serve other agendas, including bringing HEI's and particularly Universities into contact with the communities and industries which they serve, and redressing the so called 'academic drift' of the former polytechnics.
Foundation Degrees have been 'locally grown' by HEI/FEC/industry partnerships following guidelines laid down by Foundation Degree Forward. The partnerships have been able to offer a range of formats, including full-time, part-time, distance learning etc. One of the conditions attached to the recognition/validation of a Foundation Degree is that it must lead, in turn to a full Degree Award, sometimes called a 'Top Up degree'.
