The Roles of Chemistry in Vocational Education

One striking common feature of the chapters in this section is the lack of sound research in almost all the areas that are addressed. Apart from several evaluative studies of some context-based approaches to teaching chemistry, discussed in Chapter 8, it appears that there is currently hardly any research in the informal chemical education and in the role of chemistry in vocational education. Given the problematic status of chemical education in all these areas, mentioned above, one can only conclude that the development of new designs for chemical curricula, in close relation to research activities, should be given the highest priority by policy makers, (associations of) teachers and educators, and educational researchers. 

Peter Fensham is Emeritus Professor of Science Education at Monash University. After his BSc and MSc in Australia he undertook doctoral studies in physical chemistry at Bristol. Then, as a Nuffield Sociological Scholar, he studied social psychology at Cambridge. He returned to Chemistry for a decade and in 1967 was appointed by Monash University to the first chair in science education in Australia. His research interest over the years has been in social advantage and disadvantage in education and, in particular, how this manifests itself in science. He is known for his work on Science for All, and hence, the role of science and chemistry in vocational education was an intriguing one to investigate. 

There are several other professions in which chemistry plays a role astronauts, biologists, construction workers, dentists, electricians, farmers to name but a few, and many others are somehow confronted with chemical processes or chemical products as part of their job. In their chemistry lessons in general education, students could explore the role of these processes and products in some selected cases as part of their orientation on possible future careers other than in chemistry. Again, we should not intend to develop a comprehensive curriculum, a representative curriculum will suffice. Moreover, specific features of teaching chemistry in the context of vocational education will be discussed in Chapter 6. 

The term, Chemistry , commonly means a body of conceptual knowledge. In association with the educational word, Curriculum , it implies that this knowledge is to be taught and leamt in its own right, whatever subsequent use it may be put to. This conception of learning to know chemistry applies in university education and in general and liberal education at the school level. It is quite different from the conception of learning chemistry to be able to do that applies to, and underpins chemistry s role in vocational education. 

This widespread interest in senior school chemistry as an important prepart of so many university professional courses raises interesting issues about the implicit vocational role that chemistry in the senior levels of schoohng is playing and the restriction it places on the pathways into these professions. It also questions whether chemistry in schooling is contributing as well as it should to liberal education. 

In this chapter we set out characteristics of vocational education that distinguish it from the general education of schooling and the academic education in universities. These characteristics, in turn, require the disciplinary field of chemistry to be drawn on differently when it is a source of the knowledge and skills that various vocational occupations require. Examples of how chemical knowledge is included in several vocational curricula will illustrate the characteristics of vocational education and chemistry s role in it. 

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