Building for the future? A comparative study of the learning experiences of three sets of learners on the Diploma in Construction and the Built Environment

摘要

This study set out to map the learning path taken by a group of learners popularly known as ‗NEET‘s (Not in Education, Employment or Training) on the first year of a Level One course. It charted their experiences through their own eyes and recorded their own perceptions and aspirations throughout their progress on the programme. Three sets of learners, numbering 36, were selected from the East London area in the UK at three different post-16 centres: a mainstream Further Education College, a private training provider and a ‗virtual‘ Pupil Referral Unit (PRU). The programme which they undertook was the then relatively new vocational Diploma in Construction and the Built Environment which had been launched in the UK as part of a new raft of post - 14 vocational qualifications partially been designed to meet the learning needs of disengaged learners. Nearly all of the learners succeeded in passing the first year of the programme. The study highlighted the significance of individualised pedagogy and the right vocational curriculum offer for these types of learners. Although the Diploma no longer exists, the study showed how the Diploma‘s approaches to applied and theoretical vocational learning offered distinct opportunities for learning to less motivated learners. It suggested that a focus on practical and generic learning in a real world context could provide opportunities for more innovative and holistic approaches to teaching and learning