Features of best practice from country examples

Abstract

This chapter highlights the development of best practice in RVA and illustrates where this can occur, describing experiences ranging from countries with established practices of recognition to those which are still in the process of establishing systems of recognition. A key consideration given in this chapter is to the field of standards and methods of assessment. A variety of standards and methods are used in different sectors (education and training sectors, employment and enterprise sectors, non-governmental organisations and community-based learning voluntary sectors, etc.) within the countries examined in this study. Consideration is also given to how assessment methods meet the given standards and the type of learning outcomes and competences used by countries as reference points for the recognition of non-formal and informal learning. A second consideration concerns the delivery of recognition, particularly the role of education and training providers in recognition, as well as the professional development of trainers, assessors, advisors and counselors. A final field of enquiry concerns the theme of quality assurance – an issue which cuts across all of the previous topics. Here, we examine the arrangements put in place by countries to support the recognition of non-formal and informal learning by way of developing policy guidelines, quality criteria, coordinating delivery, and strengthening the credibility of the recognition process. Using country data several issues are also raised. For example, the issue of how quality is defined and who sets the criteria by which each term is understood. The question of difference between standards set by stakeholders in the education sector and those in industry, has also been raised. There are also questions about whether adults are taken into account in decisions about assessment standards. Some other issues dealt with in the chapter are questions of who is given the authority to determine quality. The chapter’s main purpose is not to offer a single model of recognition that is universally transferable, but rather to highlight successful aspects of different systems that can be usefully transmitted between countries.