Reach for the stars: personal curriculum interests versus ability & career prospects

Recently, Dr Nicola Fox, newly appointed NASA's chief scientist, described the pivotal moment in her life when, after excitedly talking about her PhD research at a conference, she was approached by a NASA scientist and invited to do a postdoc at the agency. She then said, "Whatever you're interested in, whatever your heart tells you you're interested in, that's what you should do." Her passion for space and science had guided her, despite all the obstacles faced by a girl from Hitchin, to becoming the first woman appointed to the prestigious role at NASA.  

When it comes to course choice decision-making post-16, the alternative to following our interests and being guided by what excites, amazes and inspires us, is typically that we are constrained by an evaluation of our ability or an assessment of future prospects. Both of these, while understandable, are often highly problematic & limiting; neither generate the kind of intrinsic, soul connecting motivation that contributes to deep learning and engages our resilience positively. Instead, they lead us to depend on data or advice that at best is partial or outdated, or at worst biassed or incorrect. 

Ability & knowledge can grow

Whatever score or grade we may have achieved in exams, it doesn't mean our ability is limited to this performance. There are multiple examples of renowned experts in different fields who failed in related subjects while at school. For example, Sir Peter Mansfield, Nobel prize winner in Medicine for his pioneering work on MRI scanning, failed the 11+ and had to take A-Levels at evening classes. What this illustrates is that what counts more is a willingness and a desire to improve, to overcome areas we found challenging in our knowledge or acquisition of skills. This is not to say the evaluations of ability, exams and assessments don’t have an important role to play in the provision of education. But when they are relied upon to shape the ambitions and guide course decision-making of young people, there can be unintended consequences. They contribute to a performative attitude to learning. Teachers may hear hints of this when introducing a new topic to a class; they’re asked “Will this be in the exam?” If engagement with the curriculum is only seen by students as valuable in relation to exam grades, our education system is in trouble. 

It doesn't help that most educational establishments are geared to look for the quickest & easiest way to achieve results for learners;  these look best in performance data and league tables. Sadly, this pressure leads many institutions to push young people onto courses they have no interest in, just because these are seen as providing more guaranteed qualification outcomes. Some universities are even inclined to devalue the power of interest. They look only at GCSE performance at 16 as an indicator of academic potential, discounting the worth of qualifications attained through re-sits. As well as ignoring the multiple contextual reasons that a person's performance may have been poor at 16, this approach fails to recognise the significance of second attempts as an indication of commitment, itself a fundamental element of learning. 

Where there are limited resources, it’s important that the combination of effort and ability are recognised. No institution, especially a publicly funded one, could afford to provide someone multiple opportunities to demonstrate their ability and commitment to study. The learner will have to weigh up their desires to continue with a particular educational pathway against costs, whether their own or via the taxpayer. Learning most things, especially knowledge and skills central to school, college and university courses, requires some form of progression, evaluated by assessments. However, there are many stages within the education system where learners could leave having made successful progress, at whatever level that may be. This could still have value to them as a marker of their interests and be in the public domain as an indication of level of attainment. Essentially, no young person should have to leave school feeling a failure. No examination or assessment can indicate that a person will never achieve in that area of learning. For some, the time and further study required may be too great a burden, for others, their interests may evolve and motivation wane. However, everyone should leave education knowing that what they were studying was valuable, that the knowledge and skills they were introduced to are the most important things they are gifted through formal education.

The issue here is a shift in culture. First, schools should be places where the curriculum is celebrated, enjoyed, valued. The distinctive societal quality of a school is its ability to teach children about the knowledge and skills of the curriculum, thus expanding their world and understanding beyond what the majority could encounter in home or community contexts (Young, 2007). The way they do this, the positive attitudes they foster towards curriculum content, is what we should equally worry about as a society, as much as qualification attainment. Yes, children need to gain qualifications, but the idea that all of the qualities of school education can be effectively evaluated via analysis of learner assessment performance is false. There have been many studies drawing on data collected by the OECD related to PISA showing that intrinsic interest in Maths, for example, accounts for a significant amount of the difference in attainment by students and affects long-term career decision-making, especially for girls (Fung et al., 2018; OECD, 2004). Perception of the value of knowledge as an intrinsic good matters. 

Furthermore, there are significant benefits to allowing greater scope for students’ interests. These can be seen in the value of the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), gained by students in sixth form. Evidence suggests these qualifications, wholly structured around the students’ interests and independent engagement with curriculum related knowledge, increases progression and success at university, reduces drop-out and has a positive benefit on the attainment of other post-16 courses (Gill, 2022).

Fostering and strengthening a learner’s interests in a subject should be high in the priorities of teachers. This can include helping students appreciate the wider range of applications of knowledge in society, including in different careers. However, interests are complex and multifaceted, they are connected to personal values, histories and perceptions of self. The more a curriculum gives space to connect these to curriculum content, the greater success it will have in fulfilling both the knowledge-related purpose of school and the more holistic social and personal development purposes. Again, assessment for qualification purposes has a valuable role here, but the aim must be to help learners see this as one component, a bridge between classroom experience and progression into other forms of socially valuable activity, including work. 

Courses for careers or curriculum leading to careers

When curriculum interests are not central to the experience of education and thus post-16 course decision-making processes, not only does self-perception of ability (shaped by qualifications) dominate thinking, potential links between qualifications and career prospects become influential. This is a problem. First, few professions are restrictive in the qualifications they require students to have attained, especially below degree level. Students who show signs of a genuine interest in the kinds of subjects that do fit such professions should receive guidance. But for the majority of students, success in their chosen subjects is more likely to open the right career doors for them than whether they had an A-Level in this subject or that. Second, predicting future careers tends to involve two kinds of calculation, one relates to the demand for employees in a particular industry or profession, the other is the benefits of different kinds of work, often in relation to salary. Asking young people to base their course decision-making on either of these calculations is unhelpful. As we have frequently seen, it only takes business to claim they are having difficulty recruiting, for them to soon say applicants far outstrip need. Also, employers want individuals who can bring a rich variety of interests to their work, who have learned to cultivate their interests, despite the demands and at times tedium of formal learning. The highly calculating, extrinsically motivated employee often lets the company down (Curran, 2016). 

Finally, there is actually little evidence that qualifications that would appear to be valuable, in fact, help students entering into employment (Roberts, 2019). The workplace is constantly changing and even vocational qualifications can only provide a partial introduction to specific careers. It is very risky to ask young people to predict whether they would like to be a specific kind of worker, from a chef to an civil servant, a nurse or a welder, and then recommend GCSE, T-Levels or A-Levels based on this, when their experiences of these jobs may be extremely limited. A better way to approach the issue is to encourage the pursuit of interests and allow opportunity in class for reflection on the range of real world applications of knowledge or skills. 

Quality career guidance is important. Many young people need their horizons broadened. It’s extremely helpful for them to hear real testimonies from people working in different professions and understand, where necessary, if specific qualifications will be required. But the starting point for introducing them to different careers should be from the curriculum. You can see what I mean here easily if you do an internet search for: What jobs use algebra? What professions require a knowledge of demographics? You will be surprised by the range of jobs where specific curriculum knowledge can be valuable. 

A culture change is needed

For over a decade, I’ve been wrestling with these tensions. I realised that not only did young people have insufficient support reflecting on their curriculum interests, especially in relation to course decision-making, but that there was also very little data available to demonstrate the importance of these interests. Solving these issues is what contributed to me developing the Options tool. A simple to use application that helps students think about which post-16 courses they would really enjoy or be interested in studying. The valuable data produced begins to help us understand the importance of these interests to engagement, commitment and progression. But the mission of Options is even bigger than this, we hope that the tool and data it generates will be a catalyst for the kind of culture shift suggested above. One that causes schools, colleges and universities to think and care more deeply about the curriculum they are providing; a cultural change that encourages and helps teachers to value even more the knowledge and skills they are introducing to learners; and, a change that helps children move up into adult work more confident and committed to lifelong learning.  

 

References

BBC Radio 4 (2023). Interview with Dr Nicola Fox. 6th March 2023. Today programme. Accessed https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0f6qzbp 1.4.23 (available for 1 year). 
Curran, D. (2016). Risk, power, and inequality in the 21st century. Springer.
Fung, F., Tan, C. Y., & Chen, G. (2018). Student engagement and mathematics achievement: Unravelling main and interactive effects. Psychology in the Schools, 55(7), 815-831.
Gill, T. (2022). Are Students Who Take the Extended Project Qualification Better Prepared for Higher Education? Research Report. Cambridge University Press & Assessment..
OECD (2004). Learning for tomorrow’s world: First results from PISA 2003.
Roberts, K. (2019). Routes through Education into Employment as England Enters the 2020s. European Journal of Educational Management, 2(1), 1-11.
Young, M. (2007). Bringing knowledge back in: From social constructivism to social realism in the sociology of education. Routledge.