STRATEGIC LANDMARKS FOR NON-FORMAL AND INFORMAL EDUCATION IN THE DEFENCE SECTOR

Transcription

1 Military Art and Science 127 STRATEGIC LANDMARKS FOR NON-FORMAL AND INFORMAL EDUCATION IN THE DEFENCE SECTOR Adelina CÎRNEANU Carol I National Defence University, Bucharest, Romania ABSTRACT The validation of learning outcomes in non-formal and informal contexts represents an essential component of the current transformations of the European model of education and training. Romania's status as a member of the European Union and the North - Atlantic Alliance requires aligning to the value system of these organizations, including in the field of military education. Military personnel, through the activities in which it engages, trains and develops knowledge, skills and abilities in non-formal and informal contexts, which are not subject to validation. The paper presents the main strategic guidelines and proposals on the recognition of nonformal and informal learning in the defence sector in order to correlate the policies of the Ministry of National Defence with the national and euro Atlantic ones. KEYWORDS: lifelong learning, professional competences, education and training, non-formal and informal education, validation of learning outcomes 1. Concerns at European and national level regarding non-formal and informal education Since the beginning of XXI century, lifelong learning has been central on the agenda of European cooperation policy in education and training. The discourse on lifelong learning is important for two major perspectives: the first regarding the stages of education and training and the second highlighting the three complementary types of education: formal, non-formal and informal. European countries support the idea that lifelong learning should be the common development direction that must ensure the transition to a society based on knowledge and innovation. They consider non-formal and informal education a key factor in the context of lifelong learning, demonstrating commitment and action in order to strengthen its relevance. The validation of learning outcomes acquired outside the formal education system is an essential component of the current transformation of the European model of education and training. Over time,

2 128 Military Art and Science the European institutions have taken a number of initiatives and have provided Member States with a series of tools to support progress in this area. Lifelong learning was considered a priority component of the Lisbon Agenda, whose main objective was to make Europe the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world. The Memorandum on lifelong learning, adopted in 2000, highlighted the importance of ensuring lifelong learning in terms of encouraging innovation in teaching and studying as well as harnessing of the learning outcomes achieved in the following three contexts of education: formal, non-formal and informal. The declaration of the European Ministers in Training and Vocational Education and of the European Commission of November 30th 2002 known as the Copenhagen process has highlighted the need to develop cooperation of the EU Member States in order to implement national systems for the validation of nonformal and informal learning. In 2004, the Council adopted the common European principles for identification and validation of non-formal and informal learning, on which the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) has published three years later the European guidelines for, offering policy makers and practitioners in the field a tool for developing and implementing validation procedures. To provide a clearer picture of current practices for the validation of learning outcomes achieved in other ways than formal ones, Cedefop has published, since 2004, several editions of the European inventory of validation of non-formal and informal learning, designed to present the diversity of experiences of the European states regarding validation and guidelines for the stakeholders of this process. The European Parliament and Council Decision 2004 established a single community framework for the transparency of qualifications and competence, namely Europass, a European portfolio designed to facilitate communication, recording and presentation of the skills and qualifications of EU citizens in all Member States. Since 2007, the Program of lifelong learning established by the Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2006, has funded a number of pilot projects which allowed the development of the processes and the validation tools in particular areas or specific contexts, especially for adult education and training. An important step for the validation of non-formal and informal learning was the adoption in 2008 by the European Parliament and the Council of the Recommendation on the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning. European Qualifications Framework (EQF) created a new dynamic in the European lifelong learning. For Member States, this is a reference tool for classifying and describing qualifications according to a set of criteria for specific levels of education and training. EQF defines eight levels of qualifications, including qualifications obtained during initial and continuing education and training. EQF supports both learner and providers of education and training. This ensures transparency and it facilitates the transfer of qualifications between countries, systems and institutions, thereby increasing mobility on the European labour market. From 2012, all new qualifications should bear a clear reference to the appropriate EQF level. The European Quality Assurance Reference Framework, established through the Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2009, aims to support the implementation of common principles for identification and. Following these efforts, the European ministers for vocational education and

3 Military Art and Science 129 training, the European social partners and the European Commission, which reunited in Bruges in December 2010 to review the priorities of the Copenhagen process for , have stated that Member States should start to develop, by the end of 2015, national procedures for the recognition and learning, supported by national qualifications frameworks. International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO in November 2011, includes programs of formal and non-formal learning based on recognized qualifications, but does not include learning programs in informal, occasional or random contexts, nor qualifications that are not recognized. In November 2011 the European Council adopted a Resolution on a renewed European agenda for adult learning, through which the implementation of systems for validation of non-formal and informal learning has become one of its priorities in In the Recommendation on the learning in December 2012, the Council invited UE member states to validate all forms of learning, in order to allow citizens to use this learning for career advancement and continuing education and training. They shall establish, not later than 2018, related systems validation, and national qualifications frameworks in accordance with the European qualification framework, which gives the complete or partial qualifications based on formal or informal learning. The strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training - ET 2020, the sequence of ET 2010, has four main objectives, with emphasis on the importance of lifelong learning, improving the quality and efficiency of education and training. In this respect, it is desirable that by 2020 an average of at least 15 % of adults participates in permanent education. An important role in the validation of non-formal and informal learning belongs to systems that offer credits based on learning outcomes: European credit transfer system for higher education and the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training. The importance given to non-formal and informal education is reflected in the Europe 2020 strategy, which explicitly calls for promoting the recognition of nonformal and informal learning. In the current context of rethinking education at European level, the recognition of non-formal and informal learning makes a vital contribution to the EU s objective to achieve a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth set by the Europe 2020 strategy. The validation of non-formal and informal learning is organized differently in the Member States of the European Union, with major differences in stages of policy development in the field. The updated European Inventory on validation of nonformal and informal learning, conducted by CEDEFOP in 2010, divides the member states into four categories as regarding the implementation of national systems of validation. Romania was placed in the category of countries with a medium-high level. Romania has a system for validation of non-formal and informal learning based on a series of laws and decrees adopted since This system supports and facilitates achieving European goals in education, making explicit reference to the importance of recognizing skills acquired in formal, non-formal and informal learning. Nationally, GO no. 129/2000 on adult training and Education Law no. 1/2011 promotes the principles of lifelong learning, defined as the totality of learning activities of each person throughout their lives in formal, non-formal and informal contexts, for training or skills development from multiple perspectives: personal, civic, social or occupational at all levels of education and training at which a person finds itself in a certain moment.

4 130 Military Art and Science 2. The Need for Recognition of Non-Formal and Informal Learning Outcomes in the Defence Sector As part of the national and European system, military education must always be permanently aligned to the national and European standards through linking policies on education and training. Adjusting Romanian military education in order to be compatible with the national and Euro- Atlantic education systems is the main objective of Army Transformation Strategy. This requires appropriate changes in the formal education system by including in the programming of the military organization of current developments in the field. The transformations of the international security environment made military activity to become increasingly more complex. With these changes have increased the chances of occurrence of incidental education, most skills, abilities and knowledge being acquired into unintended learning contexts, with multiple sources of influence and by different means. Military personnel, through the activities it engages, develops skills outside the military education system. During the participation at missions in military operations theatres or in multinational structures established for the management of current operations of international organizations, regional cooperation initiatives and alliances to which Romania is a party, military personnel is forming and developing specific skills. Learning outcomes gained during these missions are not validated for career development, for transfer of skills in the labour market from Romania or from one country to another member of the Euro- Atlantic structures, and does not increase motivation to learn. Also, Army staff develops, during the working time in the positions they hold or in the activities they perform, professional skills that are specific to occupations in the civilian environment which, if not validated, cannot be valued for reintegration into the labour market. At the end of most training programs is handed out a certificate which is recognized only in the Ministry of Defence. Non-formal and informal education contributes to the development and diversification of the military skills and allows them to become proficient in an ever changing, globalized environment. The military organization should support, guide and evaluate the learning efforts of the personnel. Likewise, it should facilitate learning experiences and provide opportunities for the harnessing of the acquired skills. This approach explicitly claims to increase flexibility and openness of the military organization by recognizing all forms of learning and their outcomes in order to focus on performance and development of highly qualified human resources. The national institutional framework is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the implementation of practices for the education in the defence sector. In order to implement institutional mechanisms for the learning it is necessary a change in the way the military organization harnesses education in all its aspects, especially when it comes to learning outcomes. The role of non-formal and informal education is still downplayed at the military institution level. They continue to be poorly understood or accepted as types of education that lead to results, insure skills and can be validated. But learning is not tied to a specific time and space; it is a continuous process of formal, non-formal and informal learning. All three forms of education coexist, any formal education process including, intentionally or not, nonformal or informal elements. The idea that is the foundation of all forms of education in the defence sector is to make visible the qualities of the military personnel, regardless of the context in which the learning occurred. Without

5 Military Art and Science 131 recognition, knowledge, skills and relevant competences remain unused. The recognition of non-formal and informal learning outcomes is an investment in human resources for defence. Validation of knowledge, skills and abilities acquired in other ways than formal contributes to professionalization and increases motivation to participate in lifelong learning. Validation indicates the learning outcomes achieved by an individual to a standard agreed. The National Qualification Framework is defined through the concept of learning outcomes. Learning outcomes are expressed in terms of knowledge, skills and abilities. In this way, the qualification covers a wide range of learning outcomes from theoretical knowledge, cognitive and practical skills to social competences. Focusing on learning outcomes rather than on input elements, such as the length of study, it means that important is what an individual knows, understands and can do at the end of the learning process. The central issue is no longer the process of learning, but the result. Learning outcomes-based approach simplifies the way that it will be determined whether learning outcomes achieved in non-formal and informal contexts are equivalent on form of content and relevance to formal qualifications. In this way it is created a kind of common currency that enables their recognition in formal military education or on the labour market. The description of qualifications in terms of learning outcomes equals non-formal and informal learning to formal education. The main advantage of focusing on results is that the best way of accessing learning can be decided by the learner. This approach allows choosing the most effective and appropriate learning opportunities according to the needs, thus becoming truly centred on the learner. In this way, the individual is responsible for their own learning pathways. By recognizing skills and competences acquired by an individual, regardless of the context in which they were acquired, validation of non-formal and informal learning is a tool which supports lifelong learning. 3. Conclusions There is currently great concern, both on national and international level, regarding non-formal and informal education in order to provide people the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned outside formal education and training. Alongside formal education, non-formal and informal education constitute an alternative core for adults. Building on their specificity, both should exist and develop complementary to formal education. Formal education should embrace, support and recognize the importance of informal and non-formal. Non-formal and informal education in the defence sector, although discussed and practiced, still lacks the recognition it deserves. Those using this type of education principles know and can demonstrate the benefits of complementing the formal education, but it is not placed in a context planned and managed as such in the Ministry of Defence. In the defence sector it is necessary to develop a system of vocational education and training both modern and effective, at the level of Euro-Atlantic requirements, which provides the military personnel the opportunity for recognition of competences acquired in non-formal and informal learning contexts and which supports their personal and professional development.

6 132 Military Art and Science Aknowledgement: This work was possible with the financial support of the Sectoral Operational Programme for Human Resources Development , co-financed by the European Social Fund, under the project number POSDRU/159/1.5/S/ with the title Transnational network of integrated management of intelligent doctoral and postdoctoral research in the fields of Military Science, Security and Intelligence, Public order and National Security Continuous formation programme for elite researchers «SmartSPODAS». BIBLIOGRAPHY Cîrneanu, A. Ensure quality of assessment and certification process of non-formal and informal learning outcomes in the defence sector. Scientific Research Paper no. 1, Bucharest: Carol I National Defence University, EU Council Recommendation on the learning, 20 December 2012, Official Journal of the European Union. National Education Law no. 1/2011, OJ no. 18/2011. Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning, 23 April 2008, Official Journal of the European Union. Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of a European Quality Assurance Reference Framework for Vocational Education and Training, 18 June 2009, Official Journal of the European Union.