Pursuing Equity, Vocational Education and Training and Social Justice

Context: The paper seeks to problematise conceptualisations of VET and its relationship to social justice. VET occupies a liminal space between postsecondary and higher education. The paper explores debates that engage with understandings of equity, social justice, VET as well as the constituencies it addresses. Substantively the paper is set in the English context.

Approach: The paper is rooted in policy scholarship, with its methodology set in a critical engagement with the relevant literature, adopting an approach derived from critical theory. The paper examines the available national statistics and policy documents, as well as the discourses used in current research in the field.

Findings: The paper confirms that patterns of inequality have not substantially changed over the last 50 years in relation to VET and the disadvantaged groups it allegedly serves. In addition, it examines the limits and possibilities surrounding VET and its conceptualisations. VET is Janus-like, pointing in a number of different directions. Consequently, it is a site of struggle, as are constructions of equity, equality and meritocracy.

Conclusion: VET and its conceptualisation are sites of struggle. Although its progressive affordance are constrained by the hegemony of capitalist and employer interests, it can be bent to secure community and individual well-being. Importantly, VET is not all of a piece and is amenable to the play of politics.