Beyond the Skills Gap: How the Vocationalist Framing of Higher Education Undermines Student, Employer, and Societal Interests

Autor/in	Hora, Matthew T.
Titel	Beyond the Skills Gap: How the Vocationalist Framing of Higher Education Undermines Student, Employer, and Societal Interests
Quelle	In: Liberal Education, 104 (2018) 2 PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0024-1822
Schlagwörter	Higher Education; Job Skills; Education Work Relationship; Achievement Gap; Knowledge Economy; Skilled Occupations; Skilled Workers; Classroom Environment; Personnel Selection; Social Discrimination; General Education; Vocational Education; Politics of Education; College Outcomes Assessment; Educational Indicators; Educational Benefits; Wisconsin + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Produktive Fertigkeit; Knowledge society; Economy; Wissensgesellschaft; Wirtschaft; Fachangestellter; Facharbeiter; Klassenklima; Unterrichtsklima; Personalauswahl; Personalentscheidung; Soziale Benachteiligung; Soziale Schließung; Allgemein bildendes Schulwesen; Allgemeinbildung; Ausbildung; Berufsbildung; Educational policy; Bildungspolitik; Educational indicato; Bildungsindikator; Bildungsertrag
Abstract	Soon after the Great Recession of 2008 hit this manufacturing stalwart of the upper Midwest, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker began proclaiming that the skills gap--the idea that plenty of well-paying jobs existed, but the educational system was failing to provide employers with skilled workers--was the primary cause of high unemployment and a stagnant state economy. The national media helped to perpetuate the narrative, with CNBC even claiming that "The Skills Gap in the US [is] Killing Millions of Jobs." But after a three-year empirical study of how educators and employers in Wisconsin conceptualized essential workplace skills, Matthew Hora, and his colleagues found that the skills-gap discourse--peddled by politicians and pundits from both sides of the aisle--was unfounded. The research found that the skills gap was a potent and enduring idea that was being used to advance an ideology where college students were seen more as "bundles of skills" to peddle in the labor market than as young people aspiring to master a craft or contribute to society. Ultimately, the group of researchers concluded that in the fervor to discredit and diminish higher education in general and liberal education in particular, skills-gap advocates were undermining the long-term interests of the constituency they purported to serve--employers--as well as the futures of students and society itself. The research further indicated that the skills-gap frame is inaccurate and incomplete. It misdiagnoses the nature of valued skills, ignores the critical role of teaching, and glosses over problematic aspects of employers' hiring practices. (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	Association of American Colleges and Universities. 1818 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009. Tel: 800-297-3775; Tel: 202-387-3760; Fax: 202-265-9532; e-mail: pub_desk@aacu.org; Web site: http://www.aacu.org/publications/index.cfm
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01