The Social Work Student: Towards an Ideal Type

Abstract

This article analyses the changes which have occurred in the assessment of Management Development programmes and courses for educationalists.

The changes in the approaches to the design, development and assessment of these programmes and courses are analysed within a framework of epis‐temological issues and underpinning ideology. The shift towards a ‘new model of education and training’, with its emphasis on more specific knowledge and skill, is reviewed critically.

There is a consideration of wider implications such as the notion of assessment as part of political control. This involves an exploration of the extent to which the changes in assessment have a political dimension.

The analysis is based not only on a consideration of the literature, but also on small‐scale research which involves detailed interviews with a wide range of Management Development providers in Kent.

It is concluded that the change in the approach to assessment, with the greater emphasis on more technical forms of knowledge, is a means of ensuring that the functions of education correspond to the needs of industry. These developments are seen as part of a subtle process designed to increase the influence of industrialists at the expense of educationalists.