Accessibility and specialization in the work of Michael Young

Michael Young's work has had a significant influence over UK education in recent years, both at a school and policy level, although, as Young's contribution to this symposium notes, it has often been prone to misinterpretation. In this response, it will be argued that the work Young describes in his paper can be understood as part of a broader attempt to address three very real problems faced by teachers in their day to day practice: the problems of expertise, accessibility and motivation. Where the development of Young's thinking since the 1970s is often characterized as a 'turn', the continuity between his earlier and later work will be highlighted. In the latter part of the response, Young's use of the word 'specialized' will be analysed in order to highlight some of the conceptual confusion that remains around the process of specialization. It will be argued that the clearing up of such confusion is of crucial importance if Young's vision of all students having access to specialized knowledge is to be realized.