ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses a number of attempts to move away from a narrowly economistic understanding of the education and development relationship, and from gross national product as the core measure of development. It shows that this came onto the global policy stage most dramatically with the emergence of the United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Reports and its construction of a Human Development Index. The chapter explains what each of functionings, freedom, agency and conversion factors means carefully but the reality is one of considerable variation in usage and some controversy, including between Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum. The attempts to strengthen Human Development and Capability Association with the elements in a more critical capabilities approach does go some way to answer wider criticisms, particularly from the philosophical and sociological directions. In the vocational education and training and development area in particular it has been achieving some policy traction, both with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation and some national governments.
