The Paradox Of Scotland: Limited Credit Transfer In A Credit-based Lifelong Learning System

Author(s):

Cathy Howieson(presenting / submitting)David Raffe

Conference:

ECER 2012

Network:

02. Vocational Education and Training (VETNET)

Format:

Paper

Session Information

02 SES 05 A, VET And Lifelong Learning: Adult Learning, Hybrid Qualifications And Credit Transfer

Parallel Paper Session

Time:

2012-09-19

11:00-12:30

Room:

FCT - Aula 21

Chair:

Pekka Ilmari Kamarainen

Contribution

There is a growing international interest in the role of qualifications frameworks and credit systems in developing more transparent, flexible and efficient education and training systems, in promoting lifelong learning, in widening access and reducing social exclusion, and in improving labour mobility and promoting the development of a European employment market (CEDEFOP 2010). Within Europe this interest is especially associated with EQF and ECVET (the European Qualifications Framework and the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training). Scotland has a long history of credit arrangements in vocational education and training as well as in general education and a series of reforms has led to the Scottish and Credit Qualifications Framework (SCQF) and to a qualifications system which, at least on paper, provides considerable scope for learners to move flexibly through the system and in doing so to accumulate and, where appropriate, transfer credit. International commentators often present the Scottish system as one that emphasises flexibility, access and progression. The SCQF is regarded as one of the ‘success stories’ of national qualifications frameworks (Allais 2011) and frequently seen a rich source of experience from which other countries may draw lessons.

Against this background, the paper presents the conclusions of the Scottish component of a four-country study on credit systems led and funded by BIBB, the German Federal Institute for Vocational Training (Howieson et al 2012). The other countries are Denmark and the Netherlands as well as Germany itself. The paper focuses on Scotland in the context of a comparative study and uses ‘attributes of macrosocial units in explanatory statements’, Ragin’s (1987) criterion of comparative social science. It uses the analytical framework of political, institutional and epistemological barriers to a unified system deployed in earlier research (Raffe et al. 2007) drawing on the concepts of the ‘intrinsic logic’ of a qualifications system and the ‘institutional logic’ of its context (Raffe et al 1994).

The paper addressed three questions:

What is the nature and extent of credit transfer in lifelong learning in Scotland?
To what extent have European developments influenced policy and practice in Scotland
What are the factors that help explain the limited amount of credit transfer in practice in Scotland?

It examines the experience of credit transfer in practice across three main interfaces: between general (including prevocational) learning and ‘mainstream’ vocational education and training (VET); within VET; and between VET and university degrees. In doing so, the paper extends previous research which has generally considered opportunities for credit transfer rather than actual use or focused only on the third interface (VET to degree) with little attention to credit transfer from general education into vocational education and training or credit transfer within mainstream vocational education and training.

Method

The research involved a review of documentary evidence and existing research and email and telephone contacts with key experts and practitioners (15 approximately). This was followed by in-depth interviews with 27 key informants; the interviews were semi-structured based on an interview guide that covered the areas agreed with the other national teams in the project. The interviewees were selected to give coverage of a range of types of VET (eg college- and work-based) across a number of occupational sectors with a focus on construction, engineering and childcare, health and social care as sectors that appeared to be active in relation to credit. The interviews typically lasted between 1 and 1.5 hours. They were recorded (with permission) and shortly afterwards written up to produce a comprehensive account (including verbatim extracts). Subsequently each interview report was analysed and a thematic summary produced. An important element was the use of a common set of fictional case studies or ‘scenarios’; these provided a means for each national team to illustrate how credit operates in practice in his/her country. They allowed the study to ‘make real’ the credit system in each country and to do so in a way that enables cross- country comparison.

Expected Outcomes

The study found limited credit transfer across the first two interfaces; credit transfer is more frequent at the third interface (between VET and university) but it is variable and often problematic in operation. In practice credit transfer is an individualised process: responsibility lies with the individual to initiate the procedures and the outcome is dependent on the decisions of individual employers and learning providers. One explanation for this low incidence of credit transfer is that in a system designed on the principle of credit accumulation, flexibility and permeability can be achieved without the need for formal credit transfer. But the Scottish experience also indicates that a credit system on its own is unlikely to be sufficient to overcome the ‘institutional logic’ of the system, for example, institutional practices and the broader processes of educational and occupational selection may continue to inhibit the demand for credit transfer or the recognition of credit in practice. Furthermore there are several apparent epistemological boundaries across which credit transfer is difficult. European influences on Scottish policy and practice concerning credit were found to be marginal for a number of reasons, including the more immediate need to take account of developments elsewhere in the UK.

References

Allais, S. (2011) The impact and implementation of national qualifications frameworks: a comparison of 16 countries, Journal of Education and Work 24, 3-4, 223-258. CEDEFOP (2010) Changing qualifications. Luxembourg: European Union. Howieson, C. & D. Raffe with A. Kinsella (2012) Credit Systems for Lifelong Learning: Country Report for Scotland. Report to BIBB. Edinburgh: CES. Raffe, D., Croxford, C. Howieson, C. (1994) The third face of modules: gendered, British Journal of Education and Work, 7, 87-104. Raffe, D., Howieson, C and Tinklin, T. (2007) The impact of a unified curriculum and qualifications system, British Educational Research Journal, 33, 4, 479-508. Ragin, C. (1987) The Comparative Method. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Author Information

Cathy Howieson (presenting / submitting)

Centre for Educational Sociology, University of Edinburgh

Edinburgh

David Raffe

Centre for Educational Sociology, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Search the ECER Programme

Search for keywords and phrases in "Text Search"
Restrict in which part of the abstracts to search in "Where to search"
Search for authors and in the respective field.
For planning your conference attendance you may want to use the conference app, which will be issued some weeks before the conference
If you are a session chair, best look up your chairing duties in the conference system (Conftool) or the app.