Less equal than others: a study of GNVQ provision in six secondary schools

Abstract

While most research into General National Vocational Qualifications' (GNVQs) status has taken progression to Higher Education (HE) or employment as its main criterion, in this article the author suggests that an equally useful approach may be to investigate attitudes towards GNVQs within schools. From the evidence gathered from six schools, it is argued that the rapid expansion of GNVQ provision may owe more to market forces than to value judgements about benefit to pupils; that this has created a mutual damnation model in which GNVQ's low status deters high ability pupils; and that action taken within schools, in terms of equal resourcing and management support, is more effective than rhetoric in raising GNVQS' status. In conclusion it is suggested that a re-examination of the language used in the discourse about parity might reimbue the word with meaning, and give a clearer indication of whether and how such status might be achieved.