Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book is concerned with teasing out the nature of the challenge which vocational education poses for the promotion of greater gender equality in education and the labour market. It explains the significance of technical and vocational education initiative (TVEI) as a landmark policy in education. The book focuses on the curricular experiences of TVEI students in Masonfield, highlighting TVEI’s major emphasis on the promotion of non-traditional option choices and the kind of intervention strategies that were accordingly developed. It explores the interface between TVEI and the ‘world of work’. The book considers the actual post-school destinations of leavers from the pilot schools in the context of ethnographic studies of gendered transitions from school to work. It presents vocational concerns in a theoretical framework.