Very damaging effects are attributed to the deep divide between academic and vocational post-compulsory education which has marked the English education system. It has been blamed for keeping one side too narrowly academic and the other too narrowly practical. Even worse, a persistent belief that real education post-16 is properly reserved for an academically-minded minority has kept participation rates well below those of most comparable countries, thereby producing an under-educated and under-skilled workforce. This text looks in detail at the contrasts in the provision traditionally made...

In this fully revised and extended edition, Tony Edwards and David Westgate continue to examine methods of investigation for use in classrooms and ways in which researchers and teachers may advance their knowledge of classroom talk. They have taken the opportunity to add material on oracy and the importance of spoken language in the curriculum.

In this fully revised and extended edition, Tony Edwards and David Westgate continue to examine methods of investigation for use in classrooms and ways in which researchers and teachers may advance their knowledge of classroom talk. They have taken the opportunity to add material on oracy and the importance of spoken language in the curriculum.; All research evidence and bibliographic material has been revised and updated. This book should continue to be an important text for a new generation of students and researchers in language and linguistics, social science and education studies.