ABSTRACT
The problems which the ordinary kids are experiencing as they prepare to enter the labour market have been 'officially' blamed on the school's failure to prepare pupils for economic realities. The ordinary kids in the study left school before the new vocationalism had begun to alter classroom practices, and there is already evidence of considerable variations in the way programmes such as the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) will be organized in different schools. This chapter considers the political and classroom context of the new vocationalism which was defined as 'making the preparation for a place in the occupational structure the raison d'être of public education'. According to the Manpower Services Commission (MSC) the main purpose of TVEI is to make the school curriculum more relevant to the world of work, and it is intended to be available for all pupils who want to take part regardless of sex or educational attainment.
