The Provision of Vocational Education

Abstract

This chapter discusses what constitutes the provision of vocational education, how it is implemented and what is learnt from and through it is fundamentally shaped by decision-making of different kinds and by individuals and institutions positioned differently within and outside this field of education. To elaborate on this decision-making and its implications for a consideration of vocational education, this chapter utilises the three conceptions of curriculum introduced in the previous chapter: the intended, enacted and experienced curriculum. Through a discussion of the scope of each of these concepts and a consideration of decision-making that occurs within it, the curriculum processes underpinning vocational education and explanatory accounts of the provision of vocational education are advanced. So, having considered definitions and orientations of curriculum it is now appropriate to consider decision-making as a defining part of the curriculum process and also the provision of vocational education. These considerations are advanced through this chapter by considering in turn the intended, enacted and experienced curriculum.