Rhythms of Vocational Education: A Lefebvrian Perspective

Sambrook, Neil (2025) Rhythms of Vocational Education: A Lefebvrian Perspective. Doctoral thesis, Birmingham City University.

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Abstract

This thesis explores how historic spatial and temporal influences have shaped both vocational education and vocational teachers in a Further Education College in England. It tenders an under-researched individual reflexivity, explored through a novel repurposing of Henri Lefebvre’s tri-dimensional spatial dialectic, that challenges previous literature. Vocational education has been forged through a complex interplay of historical influences, policy initiatives, and reform. Repeated attempts to achieve parity of esteem with academic education or to enhance productivity in response to global competition have left the sector struggling with a contradictory sense of purpose. At the centre of these cyclical policy shifts are vocational teachers, who face a culture of continuous measurement and bureaucracy that clashes with altruistic intentions to impart practical knowledge and skills to future generations.

Literature suggests that vocational teachers identify more strongly with their prior occupation than with their role as a teacher, despite being fully qualified in both disciplines. This thesis, however, challenges this narrative, adapting Lefebvre’s tri-dimensional spatial dialectic from The Production of Space away from a geographically rooted methodology centred on space, to one that centres on the self. Through this lens, it argues that vocational teachers no longer consider an overwhelming allegiance to their former occupations. Instead, the evolution of further education—shaped by policy shifts including the extension of compulsory education to age 18, the introduction of the study programme, the impact of austerity, and the disruption of the global pandemic—has redefined their professional identities. Vocational teachers displayed a transcendence beyond the dual professional inference, emerging as reflexive individuals, with the ability to navigate and adapt to incessant reform, escalating bureaucratic and managerial pressures, and the increasing complexity of student needs. It is this reflexivity that flows through the dialectic, demonstrating how vocational educators continuously reshape their professional selves, offering a compelling counter-narrative to established assumptions.

The study employed a combination of semi-structured go-along interviews with teachers in their everyday vocational settings, supplemented by an observation in an automotive workshop to enhance and contextualise their contributions. The findings were grouped and themed using reflexive thematic analysis, then examined through Lefebvre’s rhythmic characteristics and the adaptation of his spatial dialectic. The findings highlight the need for more inclusive and well-planned reforms, with greater involvement from vocational practitioners, addressing shifting student behaviours, reducing administrative burdens, and enhancing support for continuing professional development

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Dates:	Date Event 28 January 2025 Accepted
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Further education, vocational education, henri lefebvre, Rhythmanalysis, production of space, critique of everyday life, spatial dialectic, tri-dimensional dialectic, production of self, teacher identity, rhythm, space and time, space, construction, hairdresser, plumber, electrician, chef, engineer, history of vocational education, reflexive individual, technical education, post-16 education
Subjects:	CAH15 - social sciences > CAH15-01 - sociology, social policy and anthropology > CAH15-01-03 - social policy CAH22 - education and teaching > CAH22-01 - education and teaching > CAH22-01-01 - education CAH22 - education and teaching > CAH22-01 - education and teaching > CAH22-01-02 - teacher training
Divisions:	Doctoral Research College > Doctoral Theses Collection Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences > College of Education and Social Work
Depositing User:	Louise Muldowney
Date Deposited:	07 Feb 2025 12:01
Last Modified:	07 Feb 2025 12:01
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/16128

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