TOOLS FOR VALUING LEARNING FROM DIFFERENT LEARNING CONTEXTS – the aspect of post-secondary VET and SCPHE

Zdenka Steblovnik Župan

EURASHE – European Association of Institutions in Professional HE

Wood Technology School Maribor, Higher Professional College

CEDEFOP, Thessaloniki, 27.- 28.11.2014

How do credit systems support the valuing of learning,

and how can they be transferred from one institution to

another?

What methods can be used for assessment that are

adequate to acknowledge the different contexts of

learning?

Example of SCPHE in Slovenia:

• 6/1. NQF

• 5 – EQF (SCHPE)

Legal (regulation) basis:

1. REGULATIONS on recognition of previously acquired knowledge ( Ur. l. RS 20/2010 ) 2. COMMON STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES for procedures of recognition of previously acquired knowledge in SCPHE (produced within project IMPLETUM in co-operation with Center for VET of RS, Confirmed by the SCPHE Programmes Acreditation Comitee, 2010) 3. GUIDANCE for adjustment of part-time study in SCPHE (produced within project IMPLETUM, confirmed by Center for VET of RS, 2010)

1. REGULATIONS on recognition of previously acquired

knowledge

Defines: • Criteria for recognition • Grounds, on which the unformal knowledge can be recognized

– charters, certificates, products, copyrighted works) • Credit valuing (in case of recognizing the completed academic

requirements) • Who implements the recognition procedures (e.g. study

comitee at the institution) • How is the assessment of knowledge organized, if it s the part of

the process • …

Article 6. (criteria in the recognition procedure)

In the process of recognition the following criteria are to be considered: • assessment of acheived competences and skills must

be based on the educational goals of the study program;

• relevant competences and skills must be properly documented and defined at appropriate level of complexity;

• achieved competences and skills are recognized regardless of when and where acquired.

Schools (HPC) have to set out detailed criteria for the procedure of recognition of prior learning on the basis of guidelines and standards.

Article 9. (costs of the procedure)

School may not charge students the costs of the recognition of prior learning proceedures.

2. COMMON GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS for the recognition of prior learning procedures in Higher Professional Education

- Emphasis on the equivalence of standards of knowledge (competences)

Article 3. EQUIVALENCE OF STANDARDS OF KNOWLEDGE

SCHP College recognizes students‘ previously acquired knowledge, if

they can prove that the content and complexity of their knowledge

fully meets the fundamental objectives, naimely generic and subject

or module specific competences, specified within the study program

performed by the college, regardless of where and how the student

obtained them.

In assessing the equivalence of knowledge not only the volume of

prior learning (eg. number of hours of each course) are being compared

but the input of work, informative and formative objectives, and most of

all the obtained knowledge.

Matching in the naming of subjects or modules is also unimportant.

• Determination of the competences - base for the valuing and recognition of informally obtained knowledge as well

Item 10

RECOGNITION OF KNOWLEDGE IN INFORMAL PROGRAMS OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Student may apply for recognition of the knowledge acquired in the programs of informal education & training. In this case, SCHP College compares the knowledge acquired in informal education & training to their HPE study program.

• METHODS OF EVALUATION (examination) OF PRIOR LEARNING (e.g. through work, by valuation of products or services)

• Many options – depending on the program and individual cases! - at the

choice of the College !!!

3. GUIDANCE for adjustment of part-time study in SCPHE

Relation to recognition of informal and occasional learning: • A part of the process and the basis for establishing the

adjustments is introductory interview with a part-time student following the eventual procedures of recognition of prior learning. (individual aproach)

A CULTURE OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION AS A PRE-CONDITION OF SUCCESSFUL AND QUALITY RECOGNITION PROCEDURES

• AUTONOMUS ACCOUNTABILITY OF SCHOOL AND FLEXIBILITY OF PROCEDURES AND APPROACHES

•Presence of SCL approaches

•Adequate understanding and accepting the concept of competences,

•openess, broad mindset of the staff,

•perception of the relative importance of knowledge (and the need for

LLL),

•Perception of the own (teacher s) role,

•General co-operational culture of the institution, …

…. ?

• Procedures of recognition depend a great deal on the college (using some standards, guidelines, instructions,…)

• Well established, organized and adequately flexibile

recognition procedures may become a significant competitive advantage of the college

• Diversity: increasing number of un-traditional (LLL) and international

students (mobility being encourriged and supported)

• Explosion of information: individual can get information and

knowledge in a variety of ways + the life (usefulness) of the

information gets shorter.

• Flexibilization of the labour market – frequent change of

emplozments, positions, professions – need for transformational

learning

• SCL (student centered learning): priority in the current stage of BP

…. ?

STRENGTHS - OPPORTUNITIES WEAKNESSES - THREATS

•Distrust in the work of others

•Individual treatment is time-consuming

•often dependency on personal attitudes and beliefs

•Still present mindset that LLL should always be "up" and not in the same or even lower level

•systematic work on the creation of appropriate institutional culture and climate

•opportunities for continuing professional development and mobility of the staff

•awareness of the importance of management

•Finding innovative solutions, and how the precedents can be helpful

SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS: exchange of experience between schools, especially those which implement the same programs, web data base (platform) of recognition „case-studies“, …

“If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change.“

At SCHP Colleges in Slo we are faced with:

• the most unconventional students

• very different purposes of valuing and recognition

• different levels and contexts of learning we value and recognize

CHALLENGES?

Thank you for the attention!