Curriculum design for the post-industrial society: The facilitation of individually negotiated higher education in work based learning shell frameworks in the United Kingdom

During the past twenty years there has been increasing demand for more flexible forms of higher education, especially for adult learners. Adults have strong preferences for vocational learning, tailored to their professional context. Universities, organised along lines designed to meet the needs of an industrial society have been largely unable to adapt to the consequences of increased role specialisation in the post-industrial labour market. This chapter reviews developments in accredited universities in the United Kingdom where the development of ‘shell frameworks’, based upon the requirements of learners rather than subject discipline, has enabled some adults to fulfil their learning requirements and gain formally accredited qualifications. In the absence of research in this area a detailed case study familiar to the author is presented and an agenda for further research outlined