Abstract:

Autonomy is viewed as a cornerstone of academia, yet academics are increasingly feeling that their autonomy is threatened. Potential threats continue to emerge. An example in England was the 2015 apprenticeship policy reform. The reform raised vocational education to the level of bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and so-called degree apprenticeships started to be offered in many English universities from September 2017. For would-be graduates, they offer a fully funded, vocational route to graduation. This provides an alternative to the more traditional, self-funded, academically focused route and supports the widening participation goals of Higher Education.

Using a case study at an English university, this research investigates whether academics perceive their autonomy has been impacted by the introduction of degree apprenticeships. Semi-structured interviews lasting circa one hour were undertaken with academics who had varying lengths of service and apprenticeship involvement. Academics were asked about their experiences in both apprenticeship and non-apprenticeship teaching. The interviews were transcribed and coded using the autonomy dimension of Legitimation Code Theory, an analysis toolkit which provides visualisations of autonomy.

The research results provide rich insights into the experiences of academics delivering on degree apprenticeships. The analysis suggests that the academics perceived that their autonomy in non-apprenticeship delivery had changed from them having almost complete autonomy (particularly for those with longer service) to receiving increasing levels of direction from university management. However, for apprenticeship delivery, owing to the pervasive involvement of employers and oversight by external regulatory bodies, academics perceived that their level of autonomy had suffered a much greater reduction. The extent and velocity of this change is concerning especially as it appears to be as accompanied by a continuing shift in power away from universities. Although these results are from a particular case study, the requirements for apprenticeship delivery in England are policy driven meaning the changes identified may be more widespread. The outcomes from the research will be of interest to academics and universities involved in (or considering) delivery of degree apprenticeship programmes or other vocational programmes.

Keywords:

Apprenticeship, Legitimation Code Theory, Autonomy, Education Reform, Workplace Learning, Vocational Education.