TY - JOUR
T1 - The impact of National Qualifications Frameworks:
T2 - by which yardstick do we measure dreams?
AU - Pilcher, Nick
AU - Fernie, Scott
AU - Smith, Karen
N1 - This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Education and Work on 16 December 2015. Under embargo. Embargo end date: 16June 2017. The version of record is available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13639080.2015.1122178
PY - 2017/1/2
Y1 - 2017/1/2
N2 - National Qualifications Frameworks (NQFs) are a global phenomenon. This is evidenced by their scale, coverage and intrinsic link with education policy across Europe and beyond. Research into their impact has encompassed a number of perspectives; theoretical, practical and evaluative. Yet, despite the existence of critical literature related to the development, design and impact of NQFs, little research has questioned the actual feasibility of researching the ‘impact’ of NQFs per se. The arguments in this paper position such research as both unfeasible and futile: a dream for which it is impossible to identify a suitable yardstick to measure. We base our argument around three broad themes: linguistics and semantics; homogeneity and; methodological complexity. Around these themes we aim to show why such research has proved problematic and, in doing so, contribute to the field as it explores the impact of NQFs in the future.
AB - National Qualifications Frameworks (NQFs) are a global phenomenon. This is evidenced by their scale, coverage and intrinsic link with education policy across Europe and beyond. Research into their impact has encompassed a number of perspectives; theoretical, practical and evaluative. Yet, despite the existence of critical literature related to the development, design and impact of NQFs, little research has questioned the actual feasibility of researching the ‘impact’ of NQFs per se. The arguments in this paper position such research as both unfeasible and futile: a dream for which it is impossible to identify a suitable yardstick to measure. We base our argument around three broad themes: linguistics and semantics; homogeneity and; methodological complexity. Around these themes we aim to show why such research has proved problematic and, in doing so, contribute to the field as it explores the impact of NQFs in the future.
KW - national qualifications framework
KW - impact
U2 - 10.1080/13639080.2015.1122178
DO - 10.1080/13639080.2015.1122178
M3 - Article
SN - 1469-9435
VL - 30
SP - 1
EP - 12
JO - Journal of Education and Work
JF - Journal of Education and Work
IS - 1
ER -