ABSTRACT
There has been a growing debate as to whether the new work requires a different workforce more orientated around ‘emotion work’ or ‘aesthetic labour’ which requires a different sort of training that is shifting towards a concern with ‘emotional literacy’ and ‘emotional intelligence’ (Mortiboys 2005). The obsessive concern with young people’s self-esteem is well known and there is a growing concern with ‘emotional well-being’ and even
‘happiness’ as educational goals. There are sociological explanations as to why this has happened. The argument is that there is a general loss of confidence in the possibility of human progress that has led to a downplaying of the intellectual in favour of the emotional (Furedi 2004, Hayes 2006). In PCE the humanistic aspect of training is now dominant but has taken on a specific aspect which ignores the normal content of humanistic approaches, a liberal education or real skills involving the training of judgement, whether or not in the distorted form of Competence Based Education and Training, and concentrates instead on ways of approaching the inner emotional life (Hayes 2003a; 2003b; 2003c; 2004).
