To Know MorE = To BE AT hoME In ThE worLD
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c H A n GInG JOb
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SEL F-d EVE LOP mEn T nE W JO b
nEW SKILL
LAn G UAG E L E A R n I n G
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In our lives there are countless situations when we need to practise new knowledge or skills. During our years in school we learn how to read and write as well as study a lot about the world around us, but we still keep facing new challenges when school is over. Although we learn the basics of one or more professions during our further studies, using this knowledge properly is something that we can only learn at an actual workplace. On top of that, in most positions, we have to solve problems we have not met before. Private life offers a lot to learn too. Making a home, raising the children, running a household, retaining our health or facing the challenges of aging require a lot of new knowledge. Learning itself improves one of our most important skills – the openness to the acquisition of new knowledge. After finishing school people usually start to learn again because of an external economic pressure. When losing a job, or having a devalued degree, or the knowledge we have becomes outdated, we have to change our career. This gap in our knowledge might lead us back into education again, but it is also possible to develop ourselves for different reasons. Job-related skills are not the only ones that are valuable assets. Learning means a lot more than gaining lexical knowledge at school. To know more means that we feel more at home in the world. With more comprehensive knowledge about yourself and the world we live in, it is easier to accept others as well as it is easier to get accepted. Our personal growth not only helps us become better equipped to deal with things in life and get along with people but it helps us develop an open mind that can contribute to a more livable society. Many times one learns without actually knowing about it. Books, intense free time activities, travelling, the
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abundance of information conveyed through print, broadcast and digital media, movies, theatre performances as well as job related experiences all contribute to our individual learning process. We are expected to develop new knowledge and skills in every situation we face, and by managing them we grow instantly. Similar to the example of a person who can understand and become fully involved in a culture when speaking its language, one can grasp and take pleasure in life more when empowered by diverse knowledge. Knowledge is power and an asset at the same time. By exposing yourself to something new and unexplored, your everyday life becomes more interesting and richer as well as you get used to changes. By feeling more competent your self-esteem grows, you get empowered to find your way in new circumstances and you reach your goals with a greater success. Learning can change one’s life in many ways, but one has to be aware of his/her learning goals in order to make the most out of the learning process. The person has to explore his/her learning possibilities as well as find and use the institutions and tools which support him/her to get and improve new skills and attitudes. A new approach is needed in the educational system, in which clearly identified learning goals have to be placed at the heart of training programmes. Instead of the dilemmas of which specific study book to use during teaching and concerns over the curricula, educators could focus more on the outcomes of the students’ learning process (i.e. what learners will know or be able to do as a result of a learning activity). Transparent requirements for trainings make it possible to evaluate knowledge itself no matter what the learning environment is.
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In recent years lifelong learning (LLL) has become a common phrase in Europe, which appears to be making a Copernican revolution in education. This new educational paradigm puts the process of learning and the student in focus, in contrast to the previous mainstream understanding, in which the teacher (as the agent of knowledge) and the school as an institute were central reference points. Learning helps to cope with challenges, to more easily adjust to change. At certain points in our lives it is worth stopping and thinking about what we have been through and how to continue. These decisive moments come in everyone’s lives. Whether it is a new position or a workplace, a new degree, a promotion or a demotion in our career or important events in private life, these are changes that happen to all of us. The difference is in the way we get aware of the role we play in these events, the lessons we have to learn and our ambitions that move us forward.
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cAn wE ThInK ABoUT oUr LEArnIng pATh?
MOVE FORWARD > BUT HOW? First, we have to clarify what we exactly want in our life. To change workplace, to get a new degree, to create better living conditions, maybe we look for some professional challenges or some meaningful alternatives to spend free time? We might ask ourselves: ‘Shall I learn in an institutionalized way or can I reach my goals by a self-designed individual learning path?’
WHAT FORM OF LEARNING SHALL I CHOOSE? The second step is planning. Mapping information, searching for training possibilities, summarising our existing knowledge and finally the structuring of all. It is crucial to find our own rhythm and method of learning, and to explore previously acquired knowledge to make next steps of education easier. It has to be reconsidered what we learned from
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our previous work experiences, or any self-education despite not having any official paper for those. Our learning aims and plans are highly personal tasks. We cannot delegate them, we cannot expect our family, friends or colleagues to make the decisions instead of us, but they can create a supportive background to make our choices easier.
WHAT HELP CAN I USE? When it comes to a point when neither our own information, nor the involvement of contacts of family or friends can help us, it is useful to know about other supports. The European Union and Hungary improve tools that help people in collecting information and decision-making concerning one’s career and individual learning path. These tools can help individuals find their way in the labour market and in the vast number of training opportunities. The most important tools include:
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ort s a lot of eff e ath require ty of training p c r n e a re id ca u r u G e L if e lo n g urself or managing yo ay there is a wide vari l choice. For d yo fu Learning by es it costs a lot too. To rtant to make a care g and what o in m p rn ti a im ny le is a h it m so lp an d re wit ices can he on available our goals a and educati to make clear what Lifelong guidance serv eb resources e w e. this we hav nt knowledge we hav brochures and online luation tools n e va kind of curr ss. Printed informatio lso, there are self-e ills, interests, A ce us in this pro ailable to support us. ages assess current sk en suggest ll av a f ily uals o e results th are eas help individ ethods they have. Th one can find training at th le b la avai gh gm ch, so ent. Althou the workin riences mat values and those skills and expe based on this assessm in Hungary, w s n n qualificatio lop a job seeking pla idance are relatively fe er guidance e re u offers or dev pacities of personal g ty wide network of ca possibility to ca e un t th n co e e a rr e av cu h at e e cr th t to nce ry importan long guida rm aim is to the long te ividual needs. It is ve hen in need of life counselling d p w u in tailored to trained professional ine [distance] or gro ucation and ed n-l approach a prefer one-to-one, o g in self-assessment, u in yo ch r a e co th r e e h p (w ro d receive p service), an . n o ti ra Euro pass -inv ent ory career explo EUROPASS creates a Improved some years ago, the widely used highlight their duals indivi help that ents docum 5 of portfolio t as well as in marke r labou the in d experience and expertise gaine tool allows This . ation educ l orma non-f and al formal, inform and qualiskills their of tory inven citizens to make a detailed facilitating thus e, Europ in d rstoo unde easily and y fications clearl ge helps people mobility of both learners and workers. This packa to attend an ing plann are they her whet s, ience exper present their or getting job, a for g lookin e, education or training programm d. abroa experience
VALI DATI ON: Reco gnit ion of Prio r Lear ning out com es Hungarian regulations allow adult education institutes to give recognition to relevant knowledge and skills gained from experience other than through the course offerings of the home institute. Know ledge assessment has to be ensured by all accredited adult training institutes. A special validation model is under development in the Hungarian higher educ ation system in line with models already in operation in other European count ries. For information on specific institute policies and guidelines on validation please go to individual websites.
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QUA LIFIC ATIO NS FRAM EWO RK ledge in the If someone is planning to use his/her know e abroad, rienc expe work have to s labour market and want work that frame ence refer on comm a have to al it is cruci individuals helps education institutions, employers and se education diver EU’s the s acros ons ficati quali are comp s it possible for and training systems. This framework make nt of a degree conte the d rstan unde to anies comp hiring country. The er anoth from provided by an employee ) has been (EQF k ewor Fram ions ificat Qual ean Europ ent degrees differ the make to n, developed for this reaso fications FrameQuali nal natio arian Hung The e. arabl comp ent. The framework is a tool that is still under developm ons, allowing ficati quali of levels eight cover will work European with ared comp be to levels of achievement ons will be ficati quali all e, futur near the In s. alent equiv ranked in this national framework.
credit transf er system s As learning is becoming a highly self-designed/-directed process for more and more people, there is a need for a variety of measures to recognize a student’s prior knowledge and experiences. Prior learning assessment and validation of your knowledge by certificates, authentication by international standards are needed because of increasing international mobility, changing technical environment as well as the fact that both learners and workers tend to go for study visits or sign work contracts outside their country. In response to the needs arising from mobility, the European credit Transfer and Accumulation System (EcTS) got launched in high education while the European credit System for Vocational Education and Training (EcVET) is being developed in vocational education. both systems are designed to document and assess the knowledge and skills gained abroad and help their recognition in the local education system. currently there have been some pilot projects running in vocational schools to put these standards into practice.
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USEFUL SITES
(some are only available in Hungarian)
Europass: http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/en/home
Portal on Learning Opportunities throughout the European Space www.ec.europa.eu/ploteus
European Job Mobility Portal www.ec.europa.eu/eures
European Lifelong Guidance Policy Network – ELGPN http://ktl.jyu.fi/ktl/elgpn
Euroguidance www.euroguidance.net
European Credit Transfer System – ECTS http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-policy/ doc48_en.htm
European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training – ECVET www.ecvet-team.eu
European Qualifications Framework http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-policy/ doc44_en.htm
http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/publications/5059.aspx Project manager: Eszter SZEGEDI Experts: Eva TÓT, Tibor Bors BORBÉLY-PECZE Design: Kata VILIMI
copyright/impressum Tempus public foundation A Lónyay u. 31., Budapest, H-1093 PO Box H-1438 Budapest 70, Pf. 508. T (+36 1) 237 1300 F (+36 1) 239 1329 W www.tka.hu / E nglish For further information please contact Tempus Public Foundation at info@tpf.hu. This publication was funded by the Hungarian Ministry of National Resources and the European Commission within the framework of Raising Awareness of Lifelong learning strategies – E&T2020 in Hungary project. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Commission or the Hungarian Ministry of National Resources.
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The publication was co-funded by the European Commission.
Printed by Komáromi Nyomda és Kiadó Kft., 2012
Recognition of prior learning: validation of non formal and informal learning
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