  We present a general framework in which we can accurately describe the
non-equilibrium dynamics of trapped atomic gases. This is achieved by deriving
a single Fokker-Planck equation for the gas. In this way we are able to discuss
not only the dynamics of an interacting gas above and below the critical
temperature at which the gas becomes superfluid, but also during the phase
transition itself. The last topic cannot be studied on the basis of the usual
mean-field theory and was the main motivation for our work. To show, however,
that the Fokker-Planck equation is not only of interest for recent experiments
on the dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensation, we also indicate how it can, for
instance, be applied to the study of the collective modes of a condensed Bose
gas.
