Tinkering and Tailoring: The Reform of 14-19 Education in England

The last 30 years have witnessed ongoing calls for the reform of post-14 education, to make it more responsive to the needs of employers and the economy, and overcome the academic-vocational divide. This article maps out recent proposals and changes in 14-19 education to remind us that they are rooted in a complex past, and while they might appear to be a solution to current problems, they often give rise to other issues. The publication of the most recent White Paper "14-19 Education and Skills" marks no more than another episode in the development of this crucial phase and the failure to address wholesale reform simply adds to the complexities of the inherent incrementalism.