Imagination and Pedagogy: Reclaiming the Educational in Further Education

Students leaving school at 16 years of age, and who move into general Further Education (FE) to commence vocational training, very often have the least successful academic qualifications of their cohort and except where they have not yet achieved a pass in GCSE English and maths, and continue with these subjects, they have effectively completed their formal education, whilst others in their cohort continue in formal education in school, in a specialist branch of FE or in an apprenticeship. Those in general FE therefore, compared with their peers, are educationally disadvantaged. This research argues that this limits their opportunities, but that there are ways in which this state of affairs can, and should be, countered. The measures suggested to effect this are rooted in what I call an extension of vocational training through the use of imagination. This is used as a means of enhancing the existing educational value of that training (as propounded by Christopher Winch in 1995), and of providing these students with a greater range of personal attributes and breadth of outlook than is currently at their disposal. If implemented, this would stand them in good stead for their future personal, civic, and occupational lives. The educational philosophy on which the arguments are based is founded on the work of the American philosopher and educational theorist, John Dewey whose work, I argue, is still relevant today. Imagination is posited as a positive form of thinking which enables extensions to be made to many cognitive processes. I develop this line of argument through attention to the concept of ‘categories’ as elaborated by the American cognitive scientist, Douglas Hofstadter. Bringing the work of these two scholars together, I argue, furnishes a comprehensive platform for the extension of the students’ knowledge and understanding. This thesis will argue that such an innovation amounts to what I identify as a ‘Pedagogy of the Imagination’. The responsibility will initially fall to the tutor to implement this, but practice over time will make students increasingly independent of external prompts, broaden their view of any situation, and form beneficial life-long habits which will cumulatively enhance the value of their education.