BTEC HNC in Public Administration: Perceptions of BTEC's Influence on Career and Job Performance
| Date | 01 September 1990 |
| DOI | 10.1177/014473949001000204 |
| Published date | 01 September 1990 |
| Author | Kester Isaac-Henry |
Teaching
Public
Administration:
Autumn
1990
vol.X
no.2
pp.35-47
BTEC
HNC
IN
PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION:
PERCEPTIONS
OF
BTEC'S
INFLUENCE
ON
CAREER
AND
JOB
PERFORMANCE
KESTER ISAAC-HENRY
Institute
of
Public
Policy
and
Management
Department
of
Management,
Birmingham
Polytechnic
In
1979
the
Birmingham
Polytechnic
enrolled
its
first
intake
of
officers
on
the
Business
Education
Council's
(BEC)
Higher
National
Certificate
in
Public
Administration.
BEC
heralded
a
new
philosophy
in
business
studies
(public
administration)
education.
It
was
a
philosophy
which
insisted
that
courses
provide
a
firm
educational
foundation
in
the
area
of
study,
be
intellectuality
challenging
and
ensure
the
development
of
work
related
skills
which
students
needed
effectively
to
perform
the
tasks
and
duties
associated
with
their
careers.
BEC
and
TEC
were
merged
in
1983
to
form
BTEC.
The
earlier
BEC
philosophy
was
incor-
porated
in
the
new
body
although
some
of
the
concepts
have
since
been
further
developed
and
refined'!
Given
the
new
philosophy
of
BTEC
and
the
fact
that
it
is
now
ten
years
since
the
HNC
came
on
stream,
the
time
seems
appropriate
to
make
some
evaluation
of
BTEC.
This
article
is
based
on
the
findings
of
a
research
project
undertaken
to
evaluate
the
career
progress
of
the
first
three
cohorts
of
public
sector
officers
(mainly
local
government
officers
from
the
City
of
Birmingham)
who
obtained
their
Certificates
between
1981
and
1983.2
The
objectives
were
to
ascertain
the
perception
of
officers
on
the
influence
of
BTEC
on
their
careers
as
they
have
developed
in
the
six,
seven
and
eight
years
after
obtaining
their
HNC
certificates.
In
particular
to
ascertain
the
views
of
these
past
students
on
the
teaching/learning
philosophy
of
BTEC
and
the
influence
BTEC
has
had
on
their
career
progress
and
job
performance.
In
the
process
of
undertaking
the
research
a
questionnaire
was
sent
to
170
former
students
which
elicited
110
replies.
This
was
followed
by
70
formal
interviews
65
with
former
students
and
5
with
personnel
officers.
TEACHING/LEARNING STRATEGIES
AND
THE BTEC STUDENT
BTEC's
major
objective
for
its
courses
was
that
they
should
prepare
students
to
meet
their
own
vocational
needs
as
well
as
the
needs
of
their
employers.
Emphasis
was
placed
on
the
acquisition
of
skills,
commitment
to
an
inter-disciplinary
approach
to
teaching
and
learning
as
well
as
to
certain
core
themes
of·
people,
money,
numeracy
and
technology.
BTEC
demanded
a
teaching/learning
strategy
which
did
not
put
the
'traditional'
lecture
centre
stage.
It
proposed
exercises
encompassing
skills
and
knowledge
across
modules
with
a
strong
emphasis
on
student
centred
learning.
BTEC
was
(and
is)
concerned
not
only
with
what
was
learned
but
also
how
it
was
learned.
35
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