No description available.

High unemployment and, more recently, global competition have led many countries to review their education and training provision with the aim of encouraging more students to take a positive decision to remain in education or training in the post-compulsory phase thus increasing national levels of participation and attainment. Central to the response in England has been the creation of a new range of qualifications General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs) which are seen as making vocational education more attractive through their distinctive approaches to teaching, learning and assessment. Government strategy has been to encourage the development of these qualifications aiming for parity of esteem with academic qualifications such as Advanced levels. GNVQs were seen as having the capacity to bridge the academic/vocational divide, to be equivalent to and an alternative national qualification to current academic and vocational qualifications and to provide an alternative progression route. This research focuses on the implementation of GNVQs at the institutional level and argues that the rhetoric contrasts sharply with reality. It draws on evidence from case studies as well as a national sample of colleges and schools. It shows that there were considerable variations in the reasons why GNVQs were introduced and how they were developed and offered. Key areas that have prevented the effective implementation of the qualifications are identified including the type of institution, their previous experience of vocational education, the particular awarding body, their experience of GNVQs and the vocational areas offered. GNVQs were perceived by their developers as being `liberating' for institutions and their staff. Whilst they have been positively received by some their complex and bureaucratic structures, and implementation of their elaborate assessment requirements are shown to present centres with considerable difficulty in meeting the requirements of 'good practice' identified by Government agencies.

Thesis (EdD)--Open University.

In 1997 the Management Charter Initiative (MCI) officially launched the new Management NVQs (National Vocational Qualifications), benchmarks which attempted to describe the work performed by British managers. This article is a review of those qualifications. It remembers some of the main problems associated with the original Management NVQs and, drawing on some of the best theoretical and empirical accounts of managerial work, argues that the new qualifications have failed to live up to the MCI¿s original promise, to assist the development and training of managers.

Yes / This article evaluates the British system of NVQs, focusing on their capacity to increase skill levels. It reviews the way NVQs were designed and argues that they are ill-equipped to encourage knowledge and skills, partly because they simply replicate the weaknesses which currently exist in the labour market and partly because of the focus on observed workplace behaviours. NVQs were intended to be 'employer-led' and the assumptions underpinning their design are unitarist. In contrast, the German apprenticeship system is developed and implemented by pluralist consortia and results in qualifications that are far better equipped to support skill levels.

British government introduced a new General National Vocational Qualification (GNVQ) as an alternative to the A-level qualification in response to a low skilled workforce. Although these qualifications are promoted as equivalent to the A-levels, vocational qualifications are considered second best, causing an academic/vocational divide. Some researchers have analyzed the internal and external nature of the qualifications. However, little empirical evidence directly compares the two. This study focused on analyzing the two equivalent qualifications represented in the national framework. / The study used common areas of the A-level Physical Education and the GNVQ Leisure and Tourism curriculum to construct an examination paper consisting of an equal number of A-level and GNVQ-style questions. Two groups of A-level and GNVQ students were randomly selected from Godalming Sixth Form College to take part in the examination, and the performance scores were analyzed. Findings suggest no significant difference in performance scores, t(28) = 0.08, p = 0.94, supporting the need for further research. These results may assist in closing the academic/vocational divide. In turn, this may lead to more opportunities in industry and in universities for those achieving the GNVQ. In order to achieve true parity of esteem between the qualifications, reform needs to focus on the internal structure of the qualifications by combining the two curricular into one course represented as one qualification rather than organising the separate qualifications in a hierarchical external framework that still promotes the academic/vocational divide within the framework.

No description available.

The Management NVQs were (according to their proponents) designed to provide a new mechanism for certifying workplace competence. Centred on descriptions of practice in the workplace they offered a qualifications route that could be accessed by all. This article draws on an in-depth study of the implementation of NVQs in three private sector organisations. It argues that, in practice, this competence-based format is highly problematic. Candidates are required to work towards criteria that may not match their roles and responsibilities, developmental work is systemically discouraged and work is routinised. The article concludes by arguing that these flaws are structural ones which may be expected to continue as long as NVQs continue to attempt to distil the essence of occupations into `standards¿.

This article explores the use made of humour in three different private sector organisations. It draws on observations of managers working towards a management qualification and, from the jokes they exchange, it argues that studying humour may offer insights into sentiments not easily articulated in `serious¿ conversation. Humour¿s ambiguity enables contentious statements to be made without fear of recrimination. Equally, constructing jokes by juxtaposing two different frames of reference provides a glimpse of alternative (and shared) perceptions of `reality¿. This sensitivity to complexity makes humour a particularly appropriate vehicle for conveying ambitions, subversions, triumphs and failures and this article considers some of the `serious¿ messages underlying the jokes.

本論文旨在探討英美圖書館專業人員認可與檢定制度以及比較兩者之異同。主要研究目的為：1.敘述英美圖書館專業人員之定義；2.描述英美圖書館專業人員認可之途徑；3.探討英國圖書資訊學教育認可制度及圖書館專業人員檢定制度之意涵、歷史、現況與標準；4.探討美國圖書資訊學教育認可制度及圖書館專業人員檢定制度之意涵、歷史、現況與標準；5.比較英美圖書資訊學教育認可制度及圖書館專業人員檢定制度之異同。 本研究以英美兩國之圖書館專業人員之意義、圖書資訊學教育之認可制度以及圖書館專業人員之檢定制度為主題，研究範圍與限制為：1.本研究以英美圖書館專業人員之定義、認可途徑、認可制度與認可標準為主，其餘主題皆不在本研究範圍內；2.美國圖書館與資訊服務教育與人力資源利用政策所指專業人員有圖書館員與專家人員，本論文僅限於圖書館員之探討；3.本論文研究認可途徑係以英美兩國圖書資訊學教育機構認可制度與圖書館專業人員撿定制度為主，執照制度以本論文相關與必要者為度。 本論文採用文獻分析法與比較研究法，比較研究法為本論文主要採用之研究方法，其步驟有四：資料收集與描述、解釋、併排與比較。首先就英美兩國圖書館專業人員之意義、圖書資訊學教育之認可制度及圖書館專業人員之檢定制度描述，包含兩國圖書館專業人員之定義與層級、認可與檢定之意義、發展歷史、管理機構、原則、標準、程序做說明。 其次，將描述所獲得之資料加以併排，分成三部份，第一部份將兩國圖書館專業人員意義資料予以併排陳現，包括：圖書館專業人員之意義、層級、專業取得途徑、及專業授予組織等。第二部份是英美圖書資訊學教育認可制度之併排，包括：認可之意涵、認可制度之發展與認可機構、認可標準與程序等。第三部份是英美圖書館專業人員檢定制度之併排，包括：檢定之意涵、檢定制度之發展歷史與檢定機構、檢定標準與程序等。 最後，進行比較，將前述併排資料分為三部份進行解釋與比較：英美圖書館專業人員之意義、英美圖書資訊學教育之認可制度、英美圖書館專業人員之檢定制度，分別比較其相同或相異，並解釋差異之原因。 根據比較結果，證明英國圖書館專業人員之檢定制度係以國家職業資格體系為主，體系完善且全國統一；美國圖書資訊學教育之認可制度行之有年，制度、標準及程序為英國圖書資訊學教育認可制度仿效之對象，兩國之經驗皆可提供我國做為參考。最後，本論文對我國圖書館專業人員認可與檢定制度提出建議如下：1.建立圖書館專業人員層級：建議仿效美國圖書館學會圖書館人員制度，區分為資深圖書館員與圖書館員兩級，且釐訂圖書館專業人員之意涵；2.建立我國圖書資訊學教育認可制度：建議由我國圖書館專業學會推動我國圖書資訊學教育認可制度，首先應對圖書資訊學之界定與應包括之內涵與領域，建立共識，且研擬圖書資訊學核心專業課程或基礎課程，以及各校認可制度之推行與標準之建立，以提昇專業訓練，並建立社會認同；3．訂定圖書資訊學教育之認可標準：建議師法美國圖書館學會訂定之「圖書館與資訊研究碩士學程認可標準」，以學士為要求資格，採六大要件擬訂，包括任務及目的、課程、教師、學生、管理及經費支援、硬體資源及設備等；4.建立圖書資訊師制度：建議師法英國資訊與圖書館服務之國家職業資格制度，訂定不同層級之資格要求與檢定，藉由職業晉升途徑取得圖書館專業人員資格，惟需配合相關考試機關或行政單位之考量，制定完善之配套措施。