INNOVATIVE LEARNING TECHNIQUES/METHODS SUPPORTING LIFELONG LEARNING APPROACH

Opening Remarks by the session chair

Salih ÇELİK, Ministry of National Education of Turkey, Deputy Undersecretary

Mr. Çelik started his speech by pointing out the familiarity of Turkish culture with the notion of lifelong learning. He said that there is a saying in Turkey, "Even if the knowledge is in China, go there and get it".

He continued by saying that in today's world, knowledge acquired from formal education processes is not enough to keep with the demands of labour market, which is the starting point of lifelong learning. At the same time, individuals are looking for new opportunities to adjust to rapidly changing labour market demands.

In Turkey, the work towards establishing a lifelong learning system started during the EU accession process. A lifelong learning Strategy Paper was prepared in 2009 and it was now ready for revision With the impetus of the accession process, the DGLLL had been established in place of the old General Directorate for non-formal vocational education and apprenticeships and this new General Directorate has been given responsibility for the lifelong learning Strategy.

The Deputy Undersecretary went on to say that education was the only field where the EU did not require specific legislative arrangements to be made. Instead, funding for both member states and candidate states has been allocated on the basis of projects. In Turkey, the Ministry of National Education has official responsibility for preparing specifications for projects on education. Unfortunately, the preparation of the project specification and the bidding process take time so that there can be a long interval before the project is implemented and that the specification can be out of date by the time the project starts. Updating project specifications is also not an easy task and the official process to get approval for changes can be too long. These problems have affected this project. Nonetheless, the Ministry applies for these projects because they result in a transfer of knowledge and this is more important to Turkey than the money involved, because the Ministry already has a has a huge budget of 42 billion Turkish Liras.

Mr. Çelik concluded his opening statements by expressing his firm belief in the value of the Conference, which would also contribute significantly to the exchange of knowledge.

Learning Cities and Lifelong Learning

Jin Yang, Senior Programme Specialist from the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, Germany

Mr Yang gave a well-received account of the learning cities project, for which he is responsible.

In the field of learning societies, UNESCO works on two principles: that all agencies should become providers of education and that all citizens should be engaged in learning. Learners are also sources of learning. Communities are said to be educative institutions and learning takes place in the areas of public administration, industry, communications and transport as well as in schools and colleges and developing learning communities is a practical way of developing “learning societies” and “learning countries”. The city is a useful focus for this, since increasing numbers of people live in cities, but a “learning region” could also be a starting point.

Mr Yang said that UNESCO believes that advancing towards lifelong learning for all implies moving towards a learning society in which each person is a learner but also a source of learning and in which each individual will have the opportunity to learn what he or she wants when he or she wants. A learning society in a country can only be built province by province, city by city, community by community. In the European Lifelong Learning Initiative a learning community can be a city, town or region which mobilises all its resources in every sector to develop and enrich all its human potential for the fostering of personal growth, the maintenance of social cohesion, and the creation of prosperity.

Cities offer a favourable setting for this process for a number of reasons: cities generate jobs and income, cities can deliver education, health care and other services efficiently, and cities present opportunities for social mobilisation and women’s empowerment. Learning is critically important in a city’s efforts to attract and retain skilled and diverse workers Learning is crucial to improve the quality of life Cities with better-educated individuals have stronger economies and lower educational levels are associated, with unemployment and social exclusion In fact cities in a globalised world cannot afford not to become learning cities

Mr Yang said that learning cities have already become a considerable world-wide phenomenon and gave examples of learning cities in Canada, Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea and South Africa He told delegates that there are more than 1000 cities in the world have already become or are building learning cities.

The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning had developed proposals for a Global Learning Cities Network in response to a call from Member States to adopt a pragmatic and instrumental approach. The overall aim of the initiative is to mobilise cities and demonstrate how to use their resources effectively to foster lifelong learning for all, develop equality and social justice, maintain social cohesion, and create sustainable prosperity. The Network will advocate lifelong learning for all, facilitate research, promote policy dialogue, serve as a clearing-house for ideas on lifelong learning, and provide capacity development. It will also assess and award a ‘UNESCO Global Learning City’ brand to excellent learning cities. The necessary authorities had been secured, possible founding partners were being identified The first meeting of an International Consultative Committee would shortly be held in Beijing Three hundred international city representatives (mayors, chairs of city councils, directors of city education departments) and experts – including delegates from Turkey – and two hundred city representatives and experts from China would attend.

European Standards and Modern Key Competencies for Foreign Language Teaching and Testing

Jürgen KEICHER, General Director of TELC – (The European Language Certificates, Germany)

Mr Keicher informed delegates that TELC is a not-for-profit company, operating in twenty countries and dealing with quality assessment in language TELC stands for The European Language Certificates. It is a subsidiary of the German Adult Education Association supporting and a recognised not-for-profit organisation.

In Turkey, TELC works in cooperation with the Ministry of National Education, The company has established 30 exam centres in Turkey, including a number of Public Education Centres, and has trained over 300 Turkish assessors who hold 663 licences in seven language including German and Turkish between them.

The core of TELC’s work is the Common European Framework of Reference: Learning, Teaching, Assessment (CEFR)2 which was produced by the European Council in 2001. The CEFR serves as the basis for curricula, teaching materials and assessment, and ultimately for provides a basis for the mutual recognition of language qualifications. A Turkish translation is available which will help Turkey to join the European expert discussion, to participate in a quality network, and to gain recognition for Turkish qualifications in Europe.

Mr. Keicher went on to describe the CEFR. It defines six levels of language competence, including a basic, non-academic level. It uses positive can-do statements with a focus on practical communication to describe learner language and it sets goals which can make progress visible. It uses a communicative approach to teaching, providing structured curricula and the basis for teacher training.

In the section on assessment the CEFR is links tests to the CEFR and offers internationally valid certification by defining standards and ensuring fairness of assessment. Telc is a member of the Association for Language Testers in Europe, which has been set up to ensure quality and standards in language testing.

Questions From Delegates

Question 1

Turkey has problems of infrastructure arising from the movement of population into the cities. We have a lack of teachers in the country districts but we have 30,000 retired teachers living in our cities. These individuals could help to make sure that the young people were educated properly, but how can we get them back from the cities?

Question 2

In this learning cities project, will there be key success factors?

Question 3

In addition, will there be core indicators for all learning cities and specific indicators for each country?

Question 4

Will indicators be used to select cities for the title “learning city” or to monitor and evaluate their performance? What level of administration and funding will be required to operate the indicators for the scheme?

Question 5

Some estimates say that one out of seven of the world’s population is unemployed Should the learning cities be concentrating on basic skills?

Question 6

In Turkey many language teachers can’t speak the languages they teach and many students can’t structure sentences in the languages they have learned. What can we do about this?

EuropeanCommonSuggestionsFrameworkforLanguages:Learning,EducationandAssessment

Answers

Jin Yang (responding to questions 2, 3, 4 and 5)

Work on learning cities has been in progress for more than twenty years and is associated with UNESCO badging The cities which are part of the scheme are all volunteers and there are no fees involved. By joining the scheme the cities make a commitment and they become part of a community working to bring about improvements. There are seventy-two indicators, including life expectancy, gender equality, crime level, social support, employment rate, green space in the city, and an environmental impact analysis. They also include educational enrolment and dropout rates, existence of community learning centres and work with disadvantaged groups. There’s no “pass rate” and member states decide on which indicators to use. It is anticipated that the learning cities initiative will become an official UNESCO project in April 2013. After that responsible ministries in members states will be invited to choose candidate cities and a forum for mayors of the learning cities will be set up.

Jürgen Keicher (responding to question 6)

There is a phenomenon where communities take some time to accept the value which immigrants can bring and then more time to accept the importance and value of the mother tongue of the immigrants In Germany there is no acceptance of the value of Turkish citizens and gradually Turkish is being accepted as an important language TELC support the recognition of Turkish and teaching of Turkish.

Regarding the quality of language teaching in Turkey, TELC is working with the Ministry of National Education to bring about improvement and the CEFR should help with this. TELC has a particular interest in teacher training.

Remarks by Salih Çelik

Turkey wants to transform every city into a learning city.

We look forward to the day when Turkish is an elective language in all EU Member States.

Lifelong Learning and Entrepreneurship

Johannes LINDNER, Austria-Vienna Teacher Training Director Entrepreneurship Education for Educational Innovation, Austria

Mr. Lindner explained that the interpretation of entrepreneurship which he has introduced in Austrian education is broad in scope. It is not limited to entrepreneurs who start their own businesses or even to entrepreneurship in the workplace. It is more concerned with developing enterprising and responsible citizens capable of asking questions, developing ideas and taking action on the basis of these ideas – social entrepreneurship. Ideally the development of these characteristics should start in the family, but this does not always happen, so there is a school programme to tackle the situation Delivering this requires a new pedagogy and teachers with new skills.

Entrepreneurship is dealt with in different ways in different EU Member States Sometimes it is not part of the curriculum, sometimes it is part of the secondary curriculum, sometimes it is part of the curriculum in both primary and secondary Mr Lindner explained that in Austria it is introduced in secondary schools using a reference framework of entrepreneurial competences The framework has three levels and fifteen milestones

Students start on level 1 at ages 14 and 15 At this level, the emphasis is on business The young people have the opportunity to meet and interview an entrepreneur and then later they look at business models and develop their own ideas There is a national ideas competition which they can enter Then they must be involved in two projects based on their own ideas (each with a team of at least three people).

At level 2, the curriculum goes beyond business, looking at features such as creating value, coaching through buddy-systems, risk management and sustainability. The motto is “less risk, more fun” and the focus of the activities is on aspects such as developing creativity, self-awareness.

At level 3, the curriculum attempts to develop maturity, autonomy, personal responsibility and civic solidarity. There is a focus on debating and democratic decision-making.

There are modules for delivering entrepreneurship at all these levels.

Flexible Learning Pathways

Daniela ULICNA, Principal Consultant, GHK Consulting, Belgium

Ms Ulicna explained that her work had been on the transitions people have to make in their lives and that she had personal experience of using recognition of prior learning (RPL) She explored the issue of how the EU Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET) will support flexible learning pathways. She explained it by using four case studies to show that individuals might have different education needs at different stages of their lives and that ECVET can be instrumental to meet these needs.

The case studies were: Maria, who wanted to change her company after five or six years of service and wants RPL to minimise the training she needs to do to get new qualifications; Daniel who wanted to change his training programme and get recognition for the training he has completed so far; Peter, who wants to attend training while continuing to work; Jane, who has lost her job because her firm was closed and needs guidance on training for a new job. The education system should allow these people to make the transition they need as efficiently as possible. RPL is the essence of such smooth transition. It is a motivating factor for individual to stay in the education system; it helps training providers to offer attractive programmes; and it is also beneficial for the educational system in terms of efficiency and increasing the participation rate.

Ms Ulicna then explained the constituent components of flexible learning pathways These are, easy access to programmes, formal recognition of what has been achieved by learners, choices for learners, and differentiation of course profiles to meet the needs of individuals and businesses She saw the building blocks of a flexible system as credits based on units/modules, assessment and programme delivery, documentation of attainment, and clear and transparent recognition procedures.

She also gave examples of flexible learning system in different countries In Finland, for example, VET qualifications and programmes use credits and each student has to have an individualised learning plan. In French-speaking Belgium reform of VET is ongoing, with the objective of lowering a high drop-out rate by adopting a credit-based approach to qualifications which will mean that students don’t have to repeat years and teachers can ensure that students catch up. In the French system there is strong recognition of nonformal and informal learning and most learners achieve at least some units through RPL and can then take additional courses to get a full qualification In Germany, post-secondary VET training can be recognised for exemption in related higher education programmes And in the UK there are fully fledged credit and qualifications system in the different jurisdictions

In the second part of her presentation Ms Ulicna focused on ECVET. The general goals of ECVET are transitional mobility for all and lifelong learning for all. She summarised the positive aspects of ECVET, including clear learning objectives, building mobility into training pathways, supporting individualised approaches, putting emphasis on learning outcomes rather than curricula (which focuses on similarities and complementarities in knowledge, skills and competences, rather than on differences in teaching). ECVET processes help strengthen trust between systems (competent authorities), providers but also potentially within a country between providers and national authorities

She concluded that ECVET is a tool to reach more tangible goals and its use and implementation are not objectives in their own right. There is no harm in developing different approaches to the use of ECVET as long as the principles of learning outcomes, transparency, documentation and mutual recognition, including assessment and validation are respected. The early stages of working with ECVET require certain additional efforts. And support and guidance are needed, but these efforts pay off and become a lot easier as trainers and teachers become familiar with the tools and concepts. Certain aspects of ECVET, such as accumulating units, are difficult to apply in certain systems and some, such as the value of ECVET points, are often contested. However these difficulties should not outweigh the improvements that ECVET can make to transitions and mobility. The implementation of ECVET can be undertaken in parallel with other processes such as introducing learning outcomes, qualification frameworks, and the validation and recognition of non-formal and informal learning. These processes can be mutually reinforcing.

Ms. Ulicna ended her presentation with some examples from EU countries setting up ECVET. Finland has committed to full implementation of ECVET by 2013. The Finnish system already uses units and credit points, so the key issue is transnational recognition and credit transfer. Germany is setting up a national ECVET working group to identify how ECVET can be used for transnational mobility. The German system does not currently use units or credits and there is no intention to reform VET qualifications in this direction. In French-speaking Ms Ulicna ECVET is embedded in a broad national reform of VET and VET qualifications with the aim of introducing the accumulation and recognition of learning outcomes in a national context.

Remarks by Salih Çelik

Entrepreneurship training is not for everybody. There are some courses in Turkish secondary education, but entrepreneurship education also needs to be provided by universities. We support this kind of education, but it is even better if people can set their own businesses. For example the percentage of setting up their business is 27 percent in Tunisia because every university has its Institute of Entrepreneurship.

In Turkey a credit transfer system will be set up for vocational education, so ECVET is very important to us also.

Questions From Delegates

Question 1

In many countries with young populations and youth employment focused on entrepreneurship trainings, do they also provide guidance and counselling? At which stage do they provide entrepreneurship training? Do they have some mechanisms to encourage entrepreneurship?

Question 2

How do working people, retired persons and youth benefit from lifelong learning in your countries?

Question 3

How do you define an entrepreneur? Is it a person who set up her/his own work?

Question 4

Do you have apprenticeship training in your countries?

Answers

Johannes Lindner (responding to questions 1, 2 and 4)

There are two ways to define entrepreneurship. There is an economic definition and a social definition – the economic definition is the most commonly used. In both cases an entrepreneur is someone who does something new and this does not have to mean setting up a business. You can be entrepreneurial in a company or in a community. The percentage of people in Austria who have their own firms is as low as 9%. Greece has the highest rate in Europe which is 35%. This difference relates to the economic structure of the countries rather than a tendency towards entrepreneurship among the people. Having low numbers of business owners, does not mean that your society is not entrepreneurial and in Austria the number of unemployed people taking entrepreneurship training is much higher than the number starting their own companies.

The key competences document published by the European Parliament tells us that in order to be an entrepreneur, you need to activate ideas. This is something that can be learned and the learning needs to start at an early age. What I would call entrepreneurial education starts right from kindergarten in Austria. There is no competition between apprenticeship training and entrepreneurship training in Austria.

Daniela Ulicna (responding to question 2)

How companies benefit from lifelong learning depends on how lifelong learning is funded

There are some assessment centres from which employees can get recognition and a certificate. These certificates are not equal to the certificates provided by formal education of France.

Opening Remarks by the session chair

Associate Prof. Dr. Ömer AÇIKGÖZ, General Director of the Vocational Education and Training

Assoc. Prof. Açıkgöz started by affirming that the recognition of prior learning (RPL) was extremely important. In modern society we value formal education highly, but we are sceptical about non-formal education, but the lifelong learning approach appreciated and recognised knowledge and competence acquired from outside formal education. The main issue in lifelong learning was evolving around to find out which learning was formal, which non-formal or informal.

As the General Directorate of Vocational Trainings and a member of group responsible for the preparation of the Turkish Qualifications Framework (TQF), he knew that there was a problem in understanding of qualifications in Turkey It is difficult to describe what a qualification is Nonetheless good progress is being made with the TQF and it will be finalised in a few months.

Mr. Açıkgöz went on to say that it is very common experience in Turkey that we fully trust a mechanic to repair our cars, but we would be hesitant when it comes to giving him a diploma The Turkish solution is to give him a pre-mastership or mastership document, but this has limited value For example, it won’t let him proceed into formal education and that is neither right nor fair

RPL will be difficult to set up and implement, but it is essential to lifelong learning. We need a holistic approach. We need to define knowledge and skills to make them measurable, but not to evaluate them separately.

Lifelong Learning and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) in Denmark

Annemarie HOLSBO, Centre for Policy and Business Analysis, Denmark

Ms. Holsbo started by reminding delegates that Denmark has a high rate of participation in education and training, including adult education, continuing vocational education and training and on-the-job competence development Many adults also participate in liberal adult education activities in their leisure time The Danish system is designed to ensure that it is usually possible for people to progress to new learning.

Adult vocational training in Denmark is intended to maintain and improve individuals’ skills to meet labour market needs, to contribute to solving problems created by any restructuring of the labour market, and give individuals the opportunity to achieve recognised competences The target groups for adult training are unskilled, low-skilled and skilled workers in private and public enterprises, unemployed people, and immigrants and refugees, who may follow ordinary or specially developed courses.

A national framework for adult vocational training is set by the Danish Ministry of Children and Education, the National Council for Adult Vocational Education and Training Programmes and a series of Continuing Training and Education Committees. At local level, representatives from employer and employee organisations participate in the governing boards of the institutions that provide adult vocational training. Together with the

Continuing Training and Education Committees, these boards are responsible for priority setting, development, organisation and quality assurance of adult vocational training programmes.

Ms Holsbo demonstrated how this worked in the construction sector, where the Danish Technological Institute and the Continuing Training and Education Committee for the Construction Industry are responding to the need for new practices. They are developing new profiles for skilled and unskilled workers and training teachers to deliver the standards of this profile. When they are trained, the teachers will develop the courses which the adults will follow.

In October 2012, the Danish Ministry of Children and Education initiated a campaign with the slogan, Find your gold! From what you can - to what you want! This was intended to create better opportunities for individuals to have their knowledge, skills and competences assessed and recognised within the adult education and continuing training system regardless of where and when they acquired them. Two approaches to RPL have been adopted: an approach which helps the individual to establish his/her general capabilities and an approach focused on recognised profiles and competences.

The RPL project started in September 2012: it is focused on the construction sector and the farming sector, where there are many experienced, but unqualified workers and the requirements of their work is changing and becoming more complex The Continuing Training and Education Committees for the two sectors are the project owners The project will be challenging because unskilled workers tend not to remember school as a very happy time of their lives and choose to work rather than study The intention is to develop a route with stepping stones consisting of adult vocational training courses that will eventually lead to participants gaining recognition as skilled workers The training will be free of charge and the workers will receive their normal salary while following it. A combination of public financing and funding from a special competence fund established by the social partners will be used.

Recognition of prior learning (RPL) in the Netherlands

Anne VENEMA, Knowledge Centre for RPL, the Netherlands

Ms. Venema started her presentation by saying that she had involved in the working group responsible for preparing the Dutch Qualification Framework. She then gave information on the process by which the Dutch Qualification Framework had been adopted and RPL had become established. It had taken ten years, from consultation on its structure and purpose to the establishment of a national quality plan and a register of RPL organisations.

RPL in the Netherlands started in the nineteen-nineties without national regulations and became very diverse as a result. The Dutch Knowledge Centre on RPL was set up in 2000 and set about responding to the request of the social partners for structure and quality The centre produced a model for quality assurance in 2004 and the Dutch Cabinet & Social Partners decided on a covenant - ‘A quality code for RPL’ - to be signed by national stakeholders as the means of implementing it. This happened on 2006. All RPL organisations must adhere to this code.

The RPL process in the Netherlands follows a number of recognised stages and can take three months to complete. A candidate who wants to prove that he or she has the competences for a certain job has to collect the evidence that the acquired competences match the qualification in a portfolio Qualified assessors examine the portfolio and also use assessment instruments such as workplace observation tests and criterion-based interviews The assessor will validate the competences against the learning outcomes of a qualification and a report called a ‘certificate of experience’ is produced This is not a qualification.

RPL procedures are undertaken by approximately eighty registered private providers and there are seven registration bodies recognised by the government to operate in relation to specific vocational standards. The role taken by the government is to stimulate the market, finance the unemployed who need RPL, and regulate the use of RPL in formal education.

The essence of RPL is the belief and trust that people can gain knowledge, skills and competences by means other than through school and that this is as worthy as learning through formal education. This is important because most of what we learn is learned spontaneously – through social interaction, through deliberate use of text and other media resources, and at work.

Ms Venema said that RPL in Denmark is focused on employment and is seen as having clear value for both the employers and the employees For employees, RPL is a motivating factor. It is related with personal development. It will not only increase self-esteem but also increase the employability of a person. Lastly, it can shorten the duration of education programmes leading to nationally recognised qualifications For employers, the value of RPL is linked with upgrading of employees, flexibility of the workforce, improving human resource management, increasing the loyalty of workers towards the organisation and making them more ready to learn new skills, and increased motivation and productivity.

Almost 18,000 realised RPL procedures had been completed to date and RPL is included in over ninety collective labour agreements. Sector funds for professional education often provide funding for a procedure with a registered provider. In the Netherlands private sector and public sector both have RPL responsibilities, for example private sector organisations can register as service providers and the private sector has a role in the further development of infrastructure and the RPL Code.

Ms. Venema described the essence of RPL as "the belief and trust that people can gain knowledge, skills and competences by means other than through school and that this learning is as worthy as learning through formal education". For most of us, formal learning constitutes only 10 percent of what we learn, and the remaining 90 percent comes from informal learning.

She concluded by posing a series of questions which need to be addressed in implementing RPL These relate to areas such as the purpose, the legal status, how to quality assure, the link between quantity and quality and how best to fund RPL In answer to this last point she said that the average cost of RPL in the Netherlands is something between €800 and €1600. There are fiscal measures for both employer and employee to benefit from the RPL system. For professional education sector funds are available as well. There are also government and other funds for unemployed people to benefit from the system.

Question 1

Guidance and counselling are of the utmost importance for RPL. What is your opinion about the system where RPL is well advanced but guidance and counselling are not as advanced as RPL?

Question 2

What is the difference between Holland and Denmark in terms of RPL?

Question 3

What happens after the six weeks training in Denmark? Is there a need for certification to open a workplace? How is prior learning being validated in Denmark? How easy is the transition from non-formal education to universities? Would it be possible for a high-skilled headworker in pharmacy to become a pharmacist?

Question 4

Does the EU support RPL mechanisms?

Question 5

Are assessments and evaluations available for all levels?

Answers

Annemarie Holsbo (responding to questions 1, 2, 3 and 5)

Guidance and counselling is very important and is provided at all stages of RPL

It would not be easy to become a pharmacist by RPL.

Denmark and Holland have different systems for RPL. After 6 week of training in Denmark one can get a certificate and go on to complete other stages of RPL.

Anne Venema (responding to questions 1, 2 and 3)

It is a prerequisite for all registered RPL providers to provide guidance and counselling in the Netherlands

There are no individual assessors in the Netherlands, institutions including private companies are the RPL providers and they do it in line with the standards based on learning outcomes

Decisions on the transition from non-formal to formal learning for individual learners are made by individual schools and universities.

Ömer AÇIKGÖZ

In Turkey, each vocation will be defined by the VQA in cooperation with sector representatives and it is very important that social partners will be part of any decisionmaking. RPL will be provided by voc-test centres accredited by VQA. The Turkish system depend on diploma and diploma is considered as a proof the skills and competence.

Quality Assurance in Lifelong Learning with an emphasis on RPL

Prof. Dr. Norman Sharp, Chair of the Icelandic Quality Board for Higher Education, Country?

Professor Sharp started by recalling how he had first become involved in RPL for adult learners He had instituted a six-year part-time evening degree in social sciences and came to realise there was a big demand for learning which was being frustrated by the lack of flexibility in the education system in Scotland at that time. Since then things had improved a lot and RPL is part of that change.

He said that RPL is a revolutionary idea and will be a huge force for good. It is a process by which learning that has taken place in contexts such as the workplace and through lifeexperiences can be recognised and it can be used for both personal development and career development.

Like other educational processes, RPL needs to be quality assured and the quality assurance needs to be based on clear purposes and principles Otherwise, it will tend to change in response to external requirements which may not be central to RPL and this kind of change can lead to unintended negative consequences.

Professor Sharp explained that the quality assurance frameworks in Scotland, Luxembourg and Iceland are focused on a few key principles that also accord with the European Standards and Guidelines for quality assurance in higher education These include the following:

 Providers should own the quality and the standards

 Enhancement of quality is in the interest of the providers.

 Learners must be centrally involved in planning their own learning: they should be able to build appropriate learning experiences to suit their stage in life

 There must be also be national and international benchmarking of quality but these may have to take on new perspectives

Conventional educational structures tend to be built on the basis of closed loops – with a single standard entry point and, commonly, a single exit point. This is very different from the learning needs of the population. People undertake a wide range of learning experiences with varying degrees of success at different stages of their lives, with twists, turns and culde-sacs all shaped by prevailing personal, family, social and employment circumstances Lack of flexibility can discourage participation in lifelong learning, but RPL can overcome these restrictions and barriers by providing credit or allowing exemptions which make it easier to access the next stage of learning.

Mr. Sharp said that assessment also needs to be more related to needs of the learner It is often focused on how closely RPL matches conventional assessment tools for conventional learning outcomes and this can miss the actual achievements and capabilities of learners Work is needed to identify other reliable and valid approaches to assessment in RPL However, it is also important to learners that there is consistency in the judgements of different institutions undertaking RPL Again new approaches may be needed such as using the level descriptors of national qualification frameworks, and reaching national agreements with employers and professions to recognise different kinds of learning outcome.

Mr. Sharp concluded with an account of work he had been involved in with low-paid, employees in Glasgow with low or no qualifications. These were mainly women who were paid by the municipality to visit old and disabled people and help them with washing, cleaning, cooking and so on – in English they are called “home helps” Mr. Sharp became aware that the municipality spent almost nothing on training for these women, although the human resource manager for the municipality admitted that the women made a very big contribution to the community Professor Sharp had offered to run courses for the women at his university The courses were very popular with the women, although to begin with they didn’t believe that they could learn much – they thought they were stupid. Professor Sharp and his colleagues built up the women’s confidence in themselves and used RPL to find out what they could already do and help them to build on it. The women turned out to be good learners and in the end some of them went on to do Master's Degrees. RPL was a very important part of their success.

Infrastructure in Turkey for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Prof. Dr. Oğuz BORAT, Dean of the İstanbul Commerce University, Faculty of Engineering, Turkey

Prof. Dr. Borat started his presentation by listing the institutions currently involved in RPL in Turkey. They are TÜRKAK, the Vocational Qualifications Authority (VQA), the Ministry of National Education and the Higher Education Council.

TÜRKAK is an authorised certification body responsible for accreditation of national and international organisations that perform laboratory work, certification and examination of services. TÜRKAK is responsible for ensuring that these organisations perform their duties in line with national and international standards. It is also responsible for ensuring that their products, services, systems, personnel and laboratory documents are nationally and internationally recognised.

The VQA was established in 2006 in line with the EU standards. VQA is responsible for preparing the Turkish Qualification Framework (TQF), establishing and executing National Qualification Standards, setting up National Occupational Standards, accrediting Voc-Test centres and educational institutions.

To achieve these goals, VQA has set up a commission, in which social partners are represented, to prepare the TQF. The commission’s work includes identifying levels, level descriptions and learning outcomes (knowledge, skills and competence). The NQF will also cover the principles and procedures for the quality assurance of qualifications. A regulation signed by the Cabinet is needed for the identification of institutions and organisations to provide the quality assurance of qualification other than vocational and technical qualifications. A regulation is also needed for the implementation of horizontal and vertical transfers between different qualifications An NQF template has been developed is not yet finalised. Categories of qualifications are identified in the template as follows: major qualifications, unit qualifications, special purpose qualifications and supplemental qualifications.

Mr. Borat continued by describing the activities of the Ministry of National Education, which has been behind many projects in this field. The Ministry of National Education is the main provider of open education including vocational open education high schools. In these schools there is no age limit, and learners can complete courses in their own time. They can pass courses by accumulating credits. A regulation on vocational and technical education states that "assessment of competence obtained in any setting and ensuring coherence of documents, considering and assessing extra-curricular activities in education and training is integral part of education".

He went on to focus on the activities of the Higher Education Council. Law No 2547 makes Faculty Administrative Boards responsible for admissions, deciding on equivalency of courses and other matters regarding education and examination.

The Higher Education Council is responsible for establishing a basis for the acceptance of talented/gifted students. The senates of higher education institutions are given particular responsibility in granting equivalency of course credits obtained from national and international education institutions and for recognising prior qualifications for the completion of programmes. Furthermore, universities have established Bologna Coordination Boards which are responsible for identifying learning outcomes and assessment methods, and awarding credit values to education programmes and courses.

Mr.Borat explained RPL in the relation to lifelong learning. Any interested individual can apply for RPL and education and certification bodies will cooperate in the process of RPL. Job and career guidance counsellor and education and guidance counsellor will provide consecutive services. RPL processes aim to define and provide visibility to knowledge skills and competences obtained in non-formal and informal learning.

In practice, he said, the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security serve as criteria and standard-setting institutions and the provincial directorates of these two Ministries are operational bodies. When individuals apply to provincial İŞKUR, they should get vocational guidance and counselling and the Ministry of National Education in the provinces should supply e-portfolios If individuals need to have supplementary training they should be able to get this from public schools and after that they should be able to get recognition of prior learning and obtain a qualification through an RPL test or a qualification examination. RPL processes should be in line with the quality standards of qualifications in the NQF.

Mr. Borat continued by saying that measuring and assessment should depend upon performance criteria developed to assess learning outcomes and every individual should be able to see these criteria and know that they are consistent and fair.

The institutional structures for RPL should be easily accessible, communicable, transparent and fair. The RPL processes should also be supported by physical infrastructure and human resources. Individuals should be able to see and obtain in writing an account of these processes and practices. Easy access to guidance and counselling services is equally important

Questions From Delegates

Question 1

As part of the Bologna process, universities have already decided on vocational qualifications Is VQA aware of this fact?

Question 2

How will Scotland deal with the youth unemployment problem under the lifelong learning programme?

Answers

Norman Sharp (responding to question 2)

It is not easy to answer the question of growing youth unemployment. There are some financial restrictions on graduate training making them more orientated to vocational training.

Oğuz Borat (responding to question 1)

The VQA has decided on qualifications on the basis of requests from industrial sectors. For example, the geographic information systems sector is a newly developing field in Turkey. If requests come from the education sector, then relevant qualification will be developed by VQA. Formal and non-formal education provided by various providers, including municipalities, and initiatives such as the UMEM project for unemployed youth will be handled through the TQF.

Ömer AÇIKGÖZ (responding to question 1)

The VQA has a difficult task to accomplish in defining all the different qualifications and qualification levels coming from all kinds of learning. Transition from non-formal education to formal education should be transparent. Necessary tools need to be developed to obtain and maintain transparency. Through this, we will be able to abolish restrictive hierarchies among learning profiles, which is an important aim.