Innovative Instruments for the Accreditation of Vocational Learning Outcomes in Europe

Author(s):

Roland TutschnerMarja-Leena StenströmJustin Paul RamiKarin Luomi-MessererM'Hamed DifWolfgang Mueskens

Conference:

ECER 2008

Network:

2. Vocational Education and Training (VETNET)

Format:

Symposium

Session Information

02 SES 04A, Innovative Instruments for the Accreditation of Vocational Learning Outcomes in Europe

Symposium

Time:

2008-09-10

16:00-17:30

Room:

BE 014

Chair:

Roland Tutschner

Discussant:

Philipp Christian Grollmann

Contribution

According to the Lisbon strategy (2000) improving the quality and effectiveness of education and training are fundamental political objectives. In higher education these objectives are implemented by the Bologna process (introduction of Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, modularisation of programmes and establishment of the European Credit Transfer System) whilst in vocational education there is the Copenhagen process, which aims at the establishment of a European Qualifications Framework (EQF) for transparency, the creation of a European Credit Transfer System for Vocational Education and Training, and common principles for the validation of non-formal and informal learning. With regard to vocational education and training this leads to the question of how vocational learning outcomes (i. e. knowledge, skills and competences acqired in vocational training and other learning settings related to occupations and skilled work) can be accredited for further and higher education. The past years witnessed a number of initiatives in several European countries with the aim to develop instruments and procedures for the accreditation and validation of this type of prior learning. The goal of these instruments and procedures is to increase the transferability between the different sectors of education, to reduce the time amount for qualification and to improve international mobility. At the same time they shall allow for the development and accumulation of professional knowledge, skills and competences. These activities have attained different levels of development. In some countries there are already established and commonly accepted schemes of accreditation. One example is the French system of Validation of Acquired Experience (VAE), another example would be the FETAC/HETAC assessment procedures in Ireland. On the other hand there are countries where the development of accreditation systems is still at a relatively early stage. Examples are Germany, where the Federal Ministry of Education and Research initiated a cluster of pilot projects on “Learning Pathways from Vocational Education to Higher Education” (ANKOM initiative), and Austria, where the description of work-related competences and their acquisition with a view to the enhancement of competence profiles and the improvement of international comparability was addressed by the Vocational Qualification Transfer System (VQTS) project. A concept for the cross-border transfer of these and other innovative approaches is currently developed by the European CREDIVOC project. The aim of the symposium is to present innovative accreditation instruments and procedures from different European countries and to discuss their applicability and performance in terms of the objectives described above as well as their transferability to different educational systems and sectors. The first paper by M'Hamed Dif will describe the VAE model in France. The topic of the second paper by Karin Luomi-Messerer (Austria) will be the application of the VQTS model. The German paper by Wolfgang Müskens will present the Module Level Indicator as an instrument for the accreditation of formal qualifications from initial and continuing vocational education and training for higher education. The development of accreditation instruments and procedures in Finland will be described in a fourth paper by Marja-Leena Stenström. The last paper presented by Justin Rami and John Lalor will discuss the perspectives for the recognition of prior learning within the context of VET in Ireland.

Method

All papers are based on the methodology of the European transfer of innovation project “Transparency and Mobility through Accreditation of Vocational Learning Outcomes” (CREDIVOC). The basic idea of this transfer project is to identify good practice examples of accreditation procedures and instruments that could be adapted to other national systems of education and initial and continuing training programmes. On the basis of the existing instruments comprehensive criteria are developed so that the application of instruments to learning outcomes from different educational sectors and national systems becomes possible. The identification and evaluation of instruments and procedures in the partner countries is based on the methods of literature reviews, expert interviews and focus group meetings (panel discussions) with representatives from public bodies, enterprise associations and training institutions. The performance of instruments and procedures will be analysed according to the principles of SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis.

Expected Outcomes

The papers presented in the symposium are an intermediate step towards the production of a state-of-the-art report on the conditions for the accreditation of vocational learning outcomes in European countries. Therefore the papers will give a systematic overview of the existing instruments for the assessment of vocational competences, learning outcomes and levels in the countries in question. Furthermore they will include a presentation, comparison and evaluation of these instruments with a view their applicability for selected programmes of initial and continuing vocational education and training in different countries. The aim is to contribute to the further debate on the improvement of opportunities for the accreditation of vocational learning outcomes across national and sectoral boundaries.

References

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(1997): Histoire de l’éducation des adultes en France, L’Harmattan, Pari VQTS project website: www.vocationalqualification.net Wiggins, G. P. (1993). Assessing student performance: Exploring the purpose and limits of testing. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Author Information

Roland Tutschner

University of Bremen

ITB

Bremen

Marja-Leena Stenström

University of Jyväskylä

Institutute for Educational Research

Jyväskylä

Justin Paul Rami

Dublin City University

School of Education Studies

Dublin

Karin Luomi-Messerer

3s research laboratory

Vienna

M'Hamed Dif

University Louis Pasteur of Strasbourg

BETA/Céreq Alsace

Strasbourg

Wolfgang Mueskens

Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Germany

Faculty I

Oldenburg

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