Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T12:21:21.759Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Role and Use of Vocational Qualifications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 March 2020

Michael Eraut
Michael Eraut*
Affiliation:
Professor of Education, University of Sussex
*
e-mail [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Most vocational qualifications have been gazumped by general educational qualifications that have higher selection value, and their relative esteem is self-perpetuating. The use value of vocational qualifications depends on (1) the appropriateness of, and interconnection between, their work-related and work-based components, and (2) further work-based learning after qualification to ensure that the acquired knowledge and skills can be used in the particular circumstances and conditions of the current workplace. The NVQ experience has confirmed that detailed national specifications cannot match the diversity of workplace learning needs, so a more flexible approach is needed. Qualification policy should be based on evidence of fitness for purpose, rather than political troubleshooting or wishful thinking; and backed by a programme of incisive research.

Type
Research Article
Information
National Institute Economic Review , Volume 178 , October 2001 , pp. 88 - 98
Copyright
Copyright © 2001 National Institute of Economic and Social Research

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Cooper, B. and Dunne, M. (2000), Assessing Children's Mathematical Knowledge: social class sex and problem solving, Buckingham, Open University Press.Google Scholar
Dreyfus, H. L. and Dreyfus, S.E. (1986), Mind over Machine: The Power of Human Intuition and Expertise in the Era of the Computer, Oxford, Blackwells.Google Scholar
Eraut, M. (1994), Developing Professional Knowledge and Competence, London, Falmer Press.Google Scholar
Eraut, M. (2000a), ‘Non-formal learning and tacit knowledge in professional work’, British Journal of Educational Psychology, 70, pp. 113–136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eraut, M. (2000b), ‘Deconstructing apprenticeship’, Conference of EU COST group, Oxford, November.Google Scholar
Eraut, M., Alderton, J., Boylan, A. and Wraight, A. (1995), Learning to Use Scientific Knowledge in Education and Practice Settings, London, English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting.Google Scholar
Eraut, M., Alderton, J., Cole, G. and Senker, P. (1998), Development of Knowledge and Skills in Employment, Research Report 5, University of Sussex, Institute of Education.Google Scholar
Eraut, M., Alderton, J., Cole, G. and Senker, P. (1999), ‘The impact of the manager on learning in the workplace’, in Coffield, F. (ed.), Speaking Truth to Power: Research and Policy on Lifelong Learning, Bristol, Policy Press.Google Scholar
Eraut, M., Steadman, S., Trill, J. and Parkes, J. (1996), The Assessment of NVQs, Research Report 4, University of Sussex Institute of Education.Google Scholar
Eraut, M., Steadman, S. and James, J. (2001), Evaluation of Higher Level S/NVQs, Research Report, University of Sussex Institute of Education.Google Scholar
Keep, E. (2000), ‘The uses of vocational qualifications by employers and government in England’, Presentation to Conference on ‘The Certification of Vocational Qualifications in France and the United Kingdom’, Marseilles, CEREQ.Google Scholar
Parboteeah, S. (2001), ‘The effect of using knowledge maps as a mediating artefact in pre-registration nurse education’, D.Phil. Thesis, University of Sussex.Google Scholar
Scribner, S. (1986), ‘Thinking in action: some characteristics of practical thought’, in Sternberg, R.J. and Wagner, R.K. (eds), Practical Intelligence, Nature and Origins of Competence in the Everyday World, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Trill, J. (2001), ‘The application of performance standards in construction: factors affecting their use’, D.Phil Thesis, University of Sussex.Google Scholar
Wolf, A. (1995), Competence-Based Assessment, Buckingham, Open University Press.Google Scholar
Wolf, A. et al. (1997), GNVQs 1993-97: A National Survey Report, final report of a joint project, LondonFEDA.Google Scholar