The Reform of Vocational Education and Training in Scotland

The moves towards competency-based education and training during the 1980s were accompanied by radical and rapid changes in policies, institutions, and programmes.We examine these focusing on developments in Scotland.We argue that it is also necessary to understand the social and political climate which has mediated reforms and their implementation.We point to major differences between Scotland on the one hand and England and Wales on the other.In Scotland's case the developments of the 1980s make possible a cautious optimism for the 1990s.