Session Information
99 ERC SES 07 L, Research in Higher Education
Paper Session
Contribution
This paper explores why, despite inclusion in national strategy and position papers, the practice of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) remains at low levels in Irish higher education.
The study focuses, in particular, on the recognition of informal and non-formal learning and seeks to elucidate the elements which have most influence on practice. In Irish higher education, RPL can include formal, informal, and non-formal learning. The recognition process seeks to validate the learning in the context of a specified destination award from level one to ten on the national framework of qualifications (European Commission; Cedefop; ICF International, 2014, p. 3). The research conducted focused on exploring academics understanding of RPL, its position within their institutional context, and identifying opportunities and perceived challenges to practice and implementation.
The study addresses a knowledge gap in Irish RPL literature regarding the reasons for diminished support and practice of RPL despite evident backing in national published sources and initiatives. The study is focused on exploring the beliefs of academics in relation to why implementation of RPL remains low. It also seeks to determine if there is a correlation between staff beliefs and RPL in practice with the intention of informing future systems and structures for RPL within higher education.
Method
The research study adopts a constructivist grounded theory (Charmaz, 2006) and interpretative approach to examine the reasons for limited practice of RPL, with a particular focus on informal and non-formal learning in higher education. The qualitative research study gathered empirical data through 31 semi-structured interviews conducted over two years, 2019 and 2020. The data includes the views of 17 senior academic and 14 academic staff from 11 higher education institutions. Purposive sampling was initially employed to identify potential participants within the study, snowball sampling was subsequently used, as participants identified colleagues with experience of RPL in practice who had an interest in contributing to the research.
Expected Outcomes
The findings demonstrate the diversity of the views of academic staff regarding RPL in practice in higher education. There are a number of barriers in current national and institutional settings that have impact on practice. Three dominant causal effects arose from the study, namely, culture, resources, and motivation (national, institutional and individual staff). These factors emerged as exerting most influence on the practice and implementation of RPL in Irish higher education. Responsibility for the implementation of RPL also emerged as a challenge from the research. A framework to address these factors is proposed as a mechanism to ensure greater engagement with RPL at three levels: national, institutional, and individual staff. This study of the practice and implementation of RPL in Irish higher education is significant, as it makes a unique contribution to identifying the factors influencing the implementation of RPL and the findings have implications for policy, practice, and future research of RPL. The study has relevance at a European and international level in the development of validation practice and policy. It also has relevance to national, European and international development of lifelong learning and adult education.
References
Cedefop, 2023. European guidelines for validating non-formal and informal learning, Luxembourg: Publications Office Cedefop reference series No 124. Charmaz, K., 2006. Constructing Grounded Theory:Practical guide through qualitative analysis. London: Sage Publications Inc.. Charmaz, K., 2014. Constructing Grounded Theory. Introducing Qualitative Methods series. 2nd ed. London: Sage. European Commission; Cedefop; ICF International, 2014. European Inventory on validation of non-formal and informal learning 2014 : country report Ireland, Brussels: European Commission. OECD, 2021. The recognition of prior learning in adult basic education. [Online] Available at: https://www.oecd.org/els/emp/skills-and-work/adult-learning/Prior_learning.pdf [Accessed 21 December 2022]. UNESCO, 2023. International trends of lifelong learning in higher education. Germany: UNESCO.
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