ABSTRACT

The vocational and academic routes that make up the English education system have different purposes, for different stakeholders, with different outcomes; they can be complementary routes but are not analogous. Consequently, calls for parity of esteem belie the fundamental intention and importance of each. While these calls have persisted for over 70 years, parity between the two routes has not been achieved. This paper questions whether the term parity of esteem is useful or simply political rhetoric. It argues that parity of esteem is unachievable when one of the routes is regarded without much esteem at all, and that political rhetoric focussing on social mobility through education, specifically higher education as a means to achieving it, actively undermines the vocational route, making parity of the routes a political pipe dream.

摘要

构成英语教育体系的职业和学术路线有不同的目的，针对不同的利益相关者，产生不同的结果；它们可以是互补的路线，但不是类似的。因此，对尊重平等的呼吁掩盖了每个人的基本意图和重要性。虽然这些电话已经持续了 70 多年，但两条路线之间的平等并没有实现。本文质疑“尊重平等”一词是有用的还是仅仅是政治修辞。它认为，当其中一条路线被认为根本没有受到太多尊重时，尊重的均等是无法实现的，而侧重于通过教育，特别是高等教育作为实现这一目标的手段的社会流动性的政治言论，会积极破坏职业路线，使均等路线的一个政治白日梦。