Collaborative Approaches to 14-19 Provision - Communities and ...

14-19 PATHFINDERS: THE SECOND YEARthe balance needs to be different at different stages of learning and for different groups andthe extent to which it needs to respond to local labour markets and skills gaps. The issue ofcurricular breadth also raises important questions. Does it refer to subjects or vocationalareas or should it be defined more in experiential terms? Should there be concepts of breadthand balance in relation to pedagogies and forms of assessment? Differentiation is a furtherkey concept as the 14-16 curriculum moves away from the commonality of the nationalcurriculum towards a situation in which students have much more choice about what theylearn, how they learn and where they learn. How far should this process go? Are therecertain common elements which should be provided for all students? How and by whomshould these issues be decided? These are not new questions in curriculum but they arearising anew in the context of 14-19 reform and, we suggest, require careful attention in orderthat curriculum change proceeds on the basis of an explicit exploration of curricular aims andvalues (for more on this see Hayward et al., 2004; Pring, 1993; Pring, 2005).Information, advice, guidance and support546. It has been widely recognised that the much wider range of choice of curricula,institutions, learning styles, qualifications and progression pathways which the 14-19 reformagenda will open up for students places great premium on the provision of high qualityinformation, advice and guidance. Greater choice has the potential to generate increasedcommitment to learning among all students and thus reduce disaffection and disengagementand subsequent social exclusion. However, the capability to make choices is not equallydistributed among the student population and greater choice, if not well supported, has thepotential to increase disaffection and disengagement if student learning choices are not wellmatched to their needs and if the system is not flexible enough to accommodate changes ofdirection and developing learning careers and dispositions (Bloomer & Hodkinson, 1999;Bloomer & Hodkinson, 2000). Where students lack resources to make well-foundeddecisions there is a particular responsibility on schools, colleges, training providers,employers and Connexions to compensate for this lack of resources.547. The important role of information, advice and guidance in relation to the 14-19 reformagenda is well understood in the pathfinders. Several pathfinders have made the provision ofgood quality, impartial advice and guidance part of their student entitlement. There is general162