ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the ways in which the realist-capability model outlined in the previous chapter is epistemologically and methodologically operationalized. It starts by discussing the importance of developing a capability list that identifies the capabilities that matter to VET students. The chapter then discusses the epistemological approach and the methodological challenges inherent in the realist-capability model. The chapter resolves these challenges by focusing on four different data types that move from concerns → to → life projects → to → practices. The four data types are (i) introspective data, (ii) retrospective data, (iii) circumspective data and (iv) prospective data. Drawing on these four different data types allows changes in life projects and the reasons for these changes (structural and/or agential) to be identified.
