A-Level Food: The Gap That Remains--A Research Project on the Impact of Removing Post 16 A-Level Examinations for Home Economics and Food Technology in Schools in England in 2016

Y

17

Family and Consumer Sciences; Foreign Countries; Teacher Attitudes; Employment; Food Service; Employment Qualifications; Dietetics; Hospitality Occupations; Graduate Students; Employment Opportunities; Exit Examinations; Nutrition; Educational Change; Computer Software; Cooking Instruction; Secondary School Teachers; Secondary School Students

1360-1431

This research project examines the impact of removing post 16 A-level examinations for Home Economics and Food Technology in schools in England from 2016. This research explores teachers' experiences from 2016-2020, specifically their views on the progression pathway for those students who wish to pursue further study and employment opportunities in the food sector and other relevant occupations. Schools offer non-A-level courses less frequently as there is uncertainty around course equivalence, and this has resulted in an overall reduction in the numbers studying post 16 food courses. Level 3 qualifications are now focused solely on the hospitality and catering sector with only one applied general qualification. Opportunities for broader areas of study that encompass food science, nutrition and dietetics and food technology have been removed. This has meant that now fewer students access broader career pathways and interests crucially at a time when the UK requires vast numbers of highly skilled postgraduate recruits for the food sector. Teachers made a strong case for why a new A-level course should be developed.

As Provided

2022

EJ1323600