ABSTRACT
The last ten years have been a period of fundamental change in the post-16 curriculum. The main focus of this change in schools and Further Education (FE) colleges has been the introduction of General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs) as alternatives to GCSE and GCE Advanced (A)/Advanced Subsidiary (AS) level. Many teachers in schools, when faced with the challenge of introducing vocational courses, have commented that they felt as if they were moving into an entirely new and largely unfamiliar world and that the requirements of the National Curriculum, GCSE and A/AS level were straightforward in comparison with the quite different demands of vocationally orientated courses. However, vocational education in the 14-19 curriculum is gaining much ground and the massive increase in post-16 provision has meant that a significant number of teachers in schools have joined their colleagues in FE in developing the vocational curriculum.
