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Striving for excellence at work may not be seen as "cool" by young people in our culture. But giving these young people firsthand experiences of excellence in their education and training does appear to raise their performance. This is the message coming from UK Skills - a charity that runs national and international skills competitions and the National Training Awards - and the Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA).
To test this out, researchers set out to explore the factors that nurture young people's talent and enable every one of them to exceed beyond their expectations. They defined a curriculum for excellence that is eminently feasible within the normally available resources. Within this curriculum they found many ways of incorporating and demonstrating excellence, including special events, competitions and the use of winners and experts as role models.
The findings, based on action research in seven colleges, show that a curriculum for excellence can act as a catalyst for young people and encourage them to persevere and achieve higher goals. A clear message is that setting high standards for all can have positive effects on young people's technical skills, motivation and confidence. The impetus for the research stemmed from concerns about the dearth of top-class skills in certain areas of Britain's workforce, plus the belief that NVQs (National Vocational Qualifications) alone were not able to produce a world-class workforce.
A feature of current vocational learning, the report says, is that it focuses on the achievement of mere competence rather than excellence. Although the government's Skills Strategy (launched in July 2003) sets out a national plan for enhancing Britain's supply of high-level skills, little work has been to done to show how improvements can be made at a micro level by teachers and trainers working directly with adults and young people.
The seven colleges that took part in the project were each charged with the task of creating a curriculum and teaching approach that would foster excellence, instead of just competence, in different vocational sectors. These sectors covered refrigeration and air conditioning, construction, hospitality and catering, and computer aided engineering.
Earlier research by UK Skills and LSDA had identified a close correlation between success in skills competitions and the possession of five key attributes:
- strong motivation and a competitive spirit;
- an ability to plan and organise work effectively;
- a consistent awareness of high standards;
- resilience and the ability to work under pressure;
- good social and communication skills.
Strategies for developing these attributes were embedded into the curriculum of each of the colleges. These included recording students' progress through digital and video cameras, visiting high-quality workplaces such as Michelin Star restaurants, encouraging students to take greater pride in their appearance, and introducing competitive elements into projects.
All seven colleges conducted surveys at the beginning and end of the project to measure learners' development. At the Building Crafts College success rates in key skills almost doubled, reaching 84%, Middlesbrough College had anticipated a significant drop in retention rates, their fears did not materialise, with many of the learners motivated to not only stay on the course, but also achieve grades in excess of the college's initial predictions.
Key lessons
- Teachers and learners need to set high standards and expectations in order to encourage success.
- Creating a curriculum that fosters excellence does not require massive resources or elaborate techniques.
- Learners need to experience excellence by coming into contact with role models - top-class professionals, technicians and craftspeople.
- Competitions provide experience of working under pressure and within set constraints, which encourages better performance. Sharing emerging expertise is a powerful tool and 'peer promotion' has proved to be very effective.
Maria Hughes, research manager at LSDA, says:
“Creating a skilled workforce means encouraging mastery and excellence, not just competence. This means focusing not just on developing technical ability but also communication skills and professionalism. It is noticeable that by encouraging competition, young people's confidence increased and their skills improved. Developing communication skills and a professional approach is just as important as improving technical expertise”.
Graeme Hall, Acting Chief Executive of UK Skills commented: "At UK Skills we believe strongly in encouraging people to strive for Excellence in their education and training. This research proved that a curriculum for excellence can act as a catalyst for young people, encouraging them to persevere and achieve higher goals. The young people in our study responded well to high standards and clearly grew both technically and personally. I hope that others will learn from this research. There is a clear message here for providers that by raising the standard of the input and the expectations of the learners, much better results may be achieved".
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