An examination of the new vocationalism and its influence on college-university articulation policies in Ontario: 1962-2000

Abstract

This descriptive qualitative study examines how the ‘new vocationalism’ influenced the historical evolution of credit transfer policies between college and university institutions in Ontario. I used discourse analysis under the framework of interpretive policy analysis in order to critically analyze documents reflecting college-university articulation policies in Ontario, from 1962 to 2000. Interpretive policy analysis has been applied as a research method to provide: a) a chronological overview of the data, and b) an analysis of the new vocational discourse. Using a neo-Marxist lens, I investigate the larger political and economic influences that have shaped postsecondary policies under the ‘new vocationalism,’ including key concepts such as capitalism, hegemony, and alienation. I assert that articulation agreements - influenced by new vocational discourses - were deliberately implemented by the government of Ontario since the 1960s, in order to reorient post-secondary education to the marketplace and fulfill the needs of the ‘new knowledge economy.’