Problems with national qualifications frameworks in practice : the English case

National (and European) qualifications frameworks which map qualifications in a similar way according to the specification of learning outcomes and then assign them a unique position within a hierarchical system of levels have proved very attractive to policy makers. They offer the prospect of improving transparency between qualifications and aiding mobility, but as with all policies the acid test is how the policy is implemented in practice. As many countries now consider how to implement a National Qualifications Framework (NQF), it is perhaps instructive to look at the reasons for the policy failure of an NQF based exclusively on learning outcomes in England. The major lesson to be learned is that a focus on competence, mapping qualifications, levels and outcomes can become a distraction from the much harder goal of improving the quality of teaching and learning. Shifting attention to a developmental approach to the development of expertise may be more effective by highlighting the importance of processes of learning and the need to support the development of expansive learning environments in education, training and employment. Recognising that the development of an NQF has an important but limited part to play in this process, and that a "rough guide" to equivalence will often be sufficient in mapping potential progression pathways, may be a useful starting point for this shift