Promoting, Assessing, Recognizing and Certifying Lifelong Learning

Promoting, Assessing, Recognizing and Certifying Lifelong Learning

Lifelong Learning Book Series VOLUME 20 Series Editors David N. Aspin, Faculty of Education, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia Judith D. Chapman, Centre for Lifelong Learning, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Australia Editorial Board William L. Boyd, Department of Education Policy Studies, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA Karen Evans, Institute of Education, University of London, UK Malcolm Skilbeck, Drysdale, Victoria, Australia Yukiko Sawano, University of the Sacred Heart, Tokyo, Japan Kaoru Okamoto, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Tokyo, Japan Denis W. Ralph, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia Aims & Scope Lifelong Learning has become a central theme in education and community development. Both international and national agencies, governments and educational institutions have adopted the idea of lifelong learning as a major theme in the coming years. They realize that it is only by getting people committed to the idea of education both life-wide and lifelong that the goals of economic advancement, social emancipation and personal growth will be attained. The Lifelong Learning Book Series aims to keep scholars and professionals informed about and abreast of current developments and to advance research and scholarship in the domain of Lifelong Learning. It further aims to provide learning and teaching materials, serve as a forum for scholarly and professional debate and offer a rich fund of resources for researchers, policy-makers, scholars, professionals and practitioners in the field. The volumes in this international Series are multi-disciplinary in orientation, polymathic in origin, range and reach, and variegated in range and complexity. They are written by researchers, professionals and practitioners working widely across the international arena in lifelong learning and are orientated towards policy improvement and educational betterment throughout the life cycle. For further volumes: http://www.springer.com/series/6227

Timo Halttunen Mari Koivisto Stephen Billett Editors Promoting, Assessing, Recognizing and Certifying Lifelong Learning International Perspectives and Practices

Editors Timo Halttunen Brahea Centre University of Turku Turku, Finland Mari Koivisto Brahea Centre University of Turku Turku, Finland Stephen Billett Education and Professional Studies Griffith University Brisbane, QLD, Australia ISBN 978-94-017-8693-5 ISBN 978-94-017-8694-2 (ebook) DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8694-2 Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg New York London Library of Congress Control Number: 2014932165 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Exempted from this legal reservation are brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the Copyright Law of the Publisher s location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Permissions for use may be obtained through RightsLink at the Copyright Clearance Center. Violations are liable to prosecution under the respective Copyright Law. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)

This book is dedicated to Vincent Merle (1950 2013) who played a central role in the French government s approach to vocational education and, most noticeably, introduced and guided the implementation of the Validation of Acquired Experience. He was a man much respected and admired by colleagues in vocational education and government.

About the Editors Mr. Timo Halttunen is Development Manager at the University of Turku, Finland. He is the corresponding editor of this monograph. timo.halttunen@utu.fi Ms. Mari Koivisto is Education Coordinator at the University of Turku, Finland. mari.koivisto@utu.fi Dr. Stephen Billett is Professor of Adult and Vocational Education at Griffith University, Queensland, Australia. s.billett@griffith.edu.au vii

Preface This edited monograph addresses two central concerns in contemporary concerns about lifelong learning and lifelong education, and which are shared internationally. That is, firstly, the ways in which learning across life is directed towards and supportive of individuals participation in and the achievement of goals associated with their working lives. At this time, a key imperative for nations, communities, workplaces and individuals is the capacity to secure and sustain employability beyond schooling and initial occupational preparation. The kinds of constant change that occur in work, work requirements, the kinds of occupations that are available and the means of undertaking work necessarily require that individuals are able to continue to learn in ways that sustain their employability through all of these changes. Featured here are accounts from a range of countries that offer conceptualisations, processes and approaches directed towards securing workers lifelong learning. Secondly, concerns about the ways in which this ongoing learning can be assessed, recognised and certified are also of concern to a range of countries who are seeking to identify and implement or improve practices that are broadly referred to as the recognition of prior learning. There are often significant equity goals associated with these processes, which like concerns about lifelong education seek to redress shortcomings and disadvantages of individuals earlier education and work experiences. The perspectives here represent considerations of, approaches to and procedures for the effective recognition of individuals ongoing learning across adult life. These two sets of concerns are often correlated and, therefore, stand to be considered and advanced together. The contributions in this edited monograph bring insights from Australia, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States together in one volume. It is the diversity of these contributions that provides comprehension of how these two important issues can be understood and addressed more globally. Turku, Finland Turku, Finland Brisbane, QLD, Australia November 2013 Timo Halttunen Mari Koivisto Stephen Billett ix

Acknowledgements This monograph has been produced in the framework of the European Social Fund financed project Recognition of Prior Learning in Higher Education (Finland ). Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment xi

Contents Part I Promoting and Recognising Lifelong Learning: Key Concepts, Practices and Emerging and Perennial Problems 1 Promoting and Recognising Lifelong Learning: Introduction... 3 Timo Halttunen, Mari Koivisto, and Stephen Billett 2 Conceptualising Lifelong Learning in Contemporary Times... 19 Stephen Billett 3 New Skills for New Jobs: Work Agency as a Necessary Condition for Successful Lifelong Learning... 37 Christian Harteis and Michael Goller Part II Promoting Lifelong Learning for Economic, Social and Cultural Purposes 4 Evaluating Informal Learning in the Workplace... 59 Karen E. Watkins, Victoria J. Marsick, and Miren Fernández de Álava 5 Recognising Learning and Development in the Transaction of Personal Work Practices... 79 Raymond Smith 6 Understanding Work-Related Learning: The Role of Job Characteristics and the Use of Different Sources of Learning... 97 David Gijbels, Vincent Donche, Piet Van den Bossche, Ingrid Ilsbroux, and Eva Sammels 7 Experiential Learning: A New Higher Education Requiring New Pedagogic Skills... 109 Anita Walsh xiii

xiv Contents 8 How Expertise Is Created in Emerging Professional Fields... 131 Tuire Palonen, Henny P.A. Boshuizen, and Erno Lehtinen 9 Continuing Education and Training at Work... 151 Sarojni Choy, Raymond Smith, and Ann Kelly 10 Lifelong Learning Policies and Practices in Singapore: Tensions and Challenges... 173 Helen Bound, Magdalene Lin, and Peter Rushbrook Part III Recognising and Certifying Lifelong Learning: Policies and Practices 11 Professionalisation of Supervisors and RPL... 191 Timo Halttunen and Mari Koivisto 12 Securing Assessors Professionalism: Meeting Assessor Requirements for the Purpose of Performing High-Quality (RPL) Assessments... 213 Antoinette van Berkel 13 Problems and Possibilities in Recognition of Prior Learning: A Critical Social Theory Perspective... 235 Fredrik Sandberg 14 Changing RPL and HRD Discourses: Practitioner Perspectives... 249 Anne Murphy, Oran Doherty, and Kate Collins 15 French Approaches to Accreditation of Prior Learning: Practices and Research... 265 Vanessa Rémery and Vincent Merle 16 Recognising and Certifying Workers Knowledge: Policies, Frameworks and Practices in Prospect: Perspectives from Two Countries... 281 Stephen Billett, Helen Bound, and Magdalene Lin Index... 299