ABSTRACT
The issues discussed in this chapter arise from three recent developments with implications that most countries are or will soon be facing. The first is the growing interest of governments in the idea of a national qualification framework based on outcomes defined according to a common set of criteria and including all types of qualification whether they are school or work based, general, vocational or professional in purpose. Furthermore, frameworks such as those proposed in New Zealand, Scotland and South Africa are designed to include all levels of qualification, from those certifying basic skills to postgraduate degrees. The origin of the idea of a qualification framework based on outcomes can be traced back to the NVQ framework introduced by the National Council for Vocational Qualifications (NCVQ) in the UK in 1987.2
As far as I am aware, this was the first attempt to establish a national qualifications framework that was based on outcomes and was independent of any specific learning programmes provided by educational institutions. Although the NVQ framework was restricted to including only vocational qualifications, Gilbert Jessup (Jessup, 1991), one of those involved in its design from the early days, saw the idea of an outcomesbased framework having a much wider potential. He envisaged that learning outcomes could be the basis for a comprehensive framework for all qualifications.
