Transcript Powerpoint

VALIDATION FOR EMPOWERMENT AND
PARTICIPATION IN THE LEARNING
SOCIETY: POTENTIAL OF THE UNESCO
GUIDELINES
Madhu Singh,
Unesco Institute for Lifelong Learning
1st VPL Biennale
“VPL as the motor
Of social and economic change”
9-11 April 2014
Rotterdam, the Netherlands
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Purpose
 Examine the progress made in Member States in terms of the 6
action points in the UNESCO Guidelines for the Recognition,
Validation and Accreditation (RVA) of the Outcomes of Nonformal and Informal Learning (UIL 2012).
 Provide key recommendations for education systems using the
core values stated in the UNESCO Guidelines;
 Highlight some features of empowerment, participation and the
learning society .
Discourses on empowerment
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Empowerment as a process of individualisation and
reflexive modernisation;
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break with traditional straightforward careers to
patchwork biographies and educational careers;
self-awareness;
identity building;
critical thinking.
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Empowerment as an important aspect of advice,
counselling and guidance work
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the Glass is always half-filled;
shift from deficit thinking to how people’s capabilities
can be valued in society (social recognition);
recognising strengths rather than the weaknesses of
people;
dialogue rather than expert-client relationship (learning
partnerships between learner, the working context and
the learning system);
forward-looking view on people’s life project;
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Empowerment as a part of work for reducing
discrimination against marginalised groups excluded
from society on the basis of their class, ethnic identity,
gender and disability.
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Giving people a voice;
Making people confront their own negative identity;
Importance given to self-management and selforganisation;
Recognising and valuing “otherness”;
Empowerment as a collective process.
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Empowerment as a normative frame
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Self-awareness, who we are, what our talents are?
Mobilising social capital and networks in non-formal
and informal settings in order to address arising
challenges;
Through self-awareness we become agents of society
(employability and deployability);
Learning results from participation in ‘communities of
practice’ i.e. active learning rather than passive
learning.
Rights-based approach (respect for diversity,
difference and otherness; right to equality of
opportunity; democratic citizenship and participation in
decision-making processes).
Learning Society
 If society involves all of one‘s life ... And all of society, then we must
go even further than the necessary overhaul of‚ educational systems
‘until we reach the stage of a learning society (UNESCO Learning
to be, 1972)
 Learning throughout life is a continuous process for each human
being of adding to and adapting his or her knowledge and skills, and
his or her judgement and capacities for action (UNESCO Delors
Report, 1996).
 The 4 pillars of learning: learning to be, to know, to do and to live
together (UNESCO Delors Report, 1996).
Learning in a learning society
 Raising awareness of the value of learning;
 Embedding lifelong learning in all domains;
 Increasing employability and deployability;
 Increasing our general capability as persons in
order to enhance our contribution and
participation in society.
 Validation for empowerment and
participation entails both regulatory
frameworks on the one hand and actions
at the level of institutions and learners.
 Empowerment is both an individual and a
collective process.
Six areas of action in the UNESCO
Guidelines (2012)
 Establishing RVA as a key component of a national lifelong learning
strategy;
 Developing RVA systems that are accessible to all;
 Making RVA integral to education and training systems;
 Creating a coordinated national structure involving all stakeholders;
 Building capacity of RVA personnel;
 Designing sustainable funding mechanisms;
Core principles
 Ensuring equity and inclusiveness in access to learning
opportunities;
 promoting the equal value of learning outcomes from formal, nonformal and informal learning;
 Ensuring the centrality of individuals in the RVA process;
 Improving flexibility and openness of formal education and training;
 Promoting quality assurance in the entire RVA process;
 Strengthening partnerships among all stakeholders (UIL, 2012, p.4).
Action area one: Establishing RVA as a key component
of a national lifelong learning strategy
 ‘develop a national lifelong learning strategy,
 facilitate the development of national references or
standards that integrate the outcomes of non-formal
and informal learning, and, based on the national
context,
 establish a national qualifications framework (NQF);
and
 develop equivalencies between the outcomes of
formal, non-formal and informal learning in the national
references, standards or NQFs through a shared
understanding of learning outcomes.’ (UIL, 2012, pp.
4-6).
 How are countries percieving and defining their
lifelong learning strategies and legislation?
Typical empowering features of legislation are:
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the right given to every individual to apply for VPL;
Targeting of specific groups;
Involvement of stakeholders from the world of work
(including volunteering work) and the world of
education in the development of legal arrangements;
Communicating to the wider world the value of VPL;
Specific laws to enlighten users about the vision of
processes such as guidance and counselling etc.
How are countries using NQFs to widen
participation in RVA?
 Gaining qualifications is not bound by a place of learning;
 Opening up to a broader group of users;
 promoting progression within the NQFs on the basis of
competences and learning outcomes;
 Ensuring parity of esteem through transparent quality assurance
processes
 NQFs a tool to mainsteam RVA within countries’ education and
training systems.
 The focus of NQFs is not only on access to skills, but most
importantly on improving the quality of assessment and
certification procedures for recognising outcomes from all forms
of learning and skills. If neglected, certificates become noncredible .
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How are countries defining the purposes of
VPL? Integrative or fragmented?
 Education: promoting participation in education
and access to qualifications;
 Social: social inclusion and democratic
citizenship; (target special groups)
 Economic: workforce development and
participation in the labour market;
 Personal empowerment (both external and
internal dimensions).
 The multiplicity of forms of recognition across
sectors, and addressing a broad range of
purposes, is a prerequisite for the realisation of
lifelong learning within an integrative
perspective.
 Beyond the bounds of external dimensions of
personal development, RVA contributes to
internal dimensions of self-esteem, confidence
and self-directed learning management.
 Unfortunately, countries frequently focus on
particular aspects of RVA as discrete fields or
prioritise a single particular aspect.
Action Area Two: Developing RVA systems that are
accessible to all
 ‘develop procedures that identify, document, assess, validate and
accredit learning outcomes, giving due consideration to those from
experiential learning, self-directed learning and other forms of
learning outside of formal education and training institutions;
 make use of both formative assessment (which draws more
attention to identification, and documentation of learning progress
and gives feedback to learners) and summative assessment (which
aims explicitly to validate and recognise learning outcomes, leading
to qualification);
 offer information, guidance and counselling services to clarify RVA
procedures so that individuals become more aware of their own
competences and more motivated to learn further and to have their
learning outcomes recognized.’ (UIL, 2012, p. 5).
How are countries developing RVA systems that are
accessible to all?
 Learners need to understand the rationale for their RVA;
 It is considered to be fair to the individual and the
organisation to tie assessments to specific learning or
performance-based outcomes;
 Countries are turning to simpler devices in the use of
portfolios;
 Language can be an impediment to the successful
completion of portfolios;
 Describing steps and stages than can recognised by all
stakeholders;
 Countries need to be clear about how recognition is to
be employed for specific educational and broader policy
goals;
 Countries must be clear about the linkages between
formative and summative assessment;
 Making explicit key outcomes of formative assessment is
important.
Action Area Three: Making RVA integral to education and training
systems
 “develop a mechanism for the formal education and training system
that pays more attention to the quality of learning outcomes;
 create awareness and acceptance in formal education and training
systems of the learning outcomes gained in non-traditional settings;
 use RVA to build bridges between the different education and
training sectors and to promote the integration of the outcomes of
formal, non-formal and informal learning;
 and develop approaches to increase interaction between
educational institutions, enterprises and voluntary organisations to
translate learning outcomes from working and life experiences into
credits and/or qualifications”. ‘(UIL, 2012, p. 5).
How are countries making RVA an accepted feature of educational
reforms?
 Structural integration of business sector with education and training
sector is a key factor influencing RVA implementation
 RVA is being used in some countries as a pedagogical device to
create bridges between work-related and academic knowledge.
 By taking account of experiential learning RVA is limiting the
negative social and economic impacts of dropping out of school, or
otherwise ‘failing’ within the formal education sector
 Linking workplaces and educational institutions is helping
participation of workers currently not connected to the training
institution;
How are countries making RVA an accepted feature of educational
reforms?
 Considering socio-cultural goals going beyond economic
considerations and skills needs of the adult population;
 Merging of general and vocational adult learning;
 Countering perception that theoretical knowledge will be
compromised through RVA;
 Introducing educational modules that can be relevant to job
seekers;
 Strengthening curricula and training structures that subscribe to
more participative and learner-centred learning.
How are countries making RVA an accepted feature of educational
reforms?
 Developing teaching methods that link formal, non-formal and
informal;
 Raising the status of vocationally and occupationally based
qualifications;
 Acknowledging the potential of informal learning to strengthen the
status of vocationally relevant qualifications.
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Action Area Four: Creating a coordinated national structure
involving all stakeholders
 ‘ensure all stakeholders have clearly-defined roles and responsibilities in
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developing a coherent and coordinated national structure to:
oversee the design, implementation and quality assurance of the RVA
system;
establish mechanisms to adopt credible and quality RVA procedures,
standards and instruments, as well as awarding qualifications;
facilitate RVA implementation by putting in place effective administrative
processes for receiving applications, organising assessment and providing
feedback on outcomes, recording results, awarding qualifications and
designing appeal processes;
and make efforts to build the RVA infrastructure at local level so that it is
available where people live, work and learn, and make RVA a part of
existing institutions in communities.’ (UIL, 2012, p. 5-6).
How are countries communicating opportunities presented by RVA to
stakeholders?
 The contribution of RVA to educational, economic, social and
individual development are intertwined and the real challenge in
practice is for RVA to align with the needs of different sectors and
stakeholders ;
 Providing registered training providers with the support to undertake
RPL;
 Sometimes training providers are unable to classify knowledge
acquired through formal,non-formal and informal learning
adequately;
 Development of material to promote RVA to stakeholders, including
sector-specific business cases.
Action Area Five. Building the capacities of RVA personnel
 ‘ensure appropriate qualifications, skills and competences of RVA
personnel,
 allowing them to manage and conduct the assessment and
validation processes in their specific socio-economic contexts; and
 establish a system for the training of RVA personnel,
 and facilitate networks for mutual learning at local and national
levels, and across countries, to enhance their competences and to
develop best practice.’ (UIL, 2012, p. 6)
How are countries ensuring competent RVA personnel so that
RVA is equitable, culturally inclusive, fair, flexible, valid and
reliable, and provide for resonable adjustment?
 Action research on developing assessors’ capacities aiming at
helping assessors to see their own strengths;
 Having in place facilities for the registration of assessors and
counsellors;
 The identification of facilitators and assessors presents a challenge
in itself as these positions are frequently filled on a part-time basis.
Action Area Six: Designing sustainable funding mechanisms
 ‘provide sufficient financial resources to build the basic infrastructure
of the RVA system.
 develop sustainable cost-sharing mechanisms involving multistakeholder partnerships i.e. public, private, community, as well as
individual learners.
 Public funds and private contributions to education institutions, as
well as training levies from enterprises, should also be used to fund
the implementation of RVA;
 make special provision for access to RVA arrangements at a
reduced rate or free of charge for vulnerable groups and individuals;
and conduct cost-benefit analyses to develop evidence on the
benefits of RVA for individuals, enterprises, education institutions
and for society as a whole.’ (UIL, 2012, p. 6).
How are countries responding to challenges of financing RVA?
 RVA is not a cheap procedure and a considerable number of staff is
necessary, making up-scaling a challenging undertaking.
 Countries recommend that RVA costs should be kept to a minimum
as recognition benefits not only the individual but also society in
general. Recognition needs to be seen as an investment and a right
that requires accessible recognition arrangements.
Recommendations based on core principles
 equity and inclusiveness in access to learning
opportunities;
 equal value of learning outcomes from formal, nonformal and informal learning;
 centrality of individuals in the RVA process;
 flexibility and openness of formal education and training;
 quality assurance in the entire RVA process;
 Strengthening partnerships among all stakeholders (UIL,
2012, p.4).
Recommendations based on core principles
 RVA is first and foremost about making diverse forms of learning
opportunities accessible to all.
 Given a certain definition of a set of skills, knowledge and competences, the
type of setting where they are acquired does not matter;
 Non-formal eduation should find ways to improve its quality;
 RVA should be used to show how best an individual’s existing competences
can be deployed and strengthened and which learning environment and
form of learning is best suited to a particular individual.
 Personalised learning denotes new pedagogies that incorporate RVA
 Shift to learning outcomes has implications for teaching and learning quality
 RVA occurs through close collaboration between individual, community,
workplace and providers.
Thank You
Madhu Singh
[email protected]