A Bermuda Triangle? A Case Study of the Disappearance of Competence‐based Vocational Training Policy in the Context of Practice

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Abstract
This paper reports some findings from an ESRC funded project on the implementation of National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) and competence‐based vocational training. The theoretical perspective is informed by interactionist traditions within the sociology of education which bear witness to the importance of ethnographic work on policy implementation in order to explore social contexts and meanings at this level. The paper is focused on an initial phase in the implementation of NVQs in the context of youth training and special needs provision, during which the official commitment to provision for NVQs was largely displaced by other priorities of more immediate concern to those involved. The actors'situation is traced out in detail and linked with local circumstances and wider social influences on the provision of vocational training. The study provides a basis for critical consideration of a) the degree of ‘match’ between practitioners ‘problems and policy‐makers’ solutions and b) NVQ policy‐making and implementation as a means of social change.

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