The dynamics of qualifications:

defining and renewing occupational and educational standards

via elearningeuropa.info

It is unfortunate (for me at least since I am hopeless at producing a decent précis) that there is no succinct abstract for this very useful document (PDF 84pp). I have, therefore, reproduced the Executive Summary for you which I think absolves you from reading the whole thing unless you are very “into” qualification standards.

Executive summary

Qualification standards are a powerful coordination mechanism for improving the match between demand and provision of education, training and learning. Accordingly, the comparative study of the 32 VET qualification systems of the countries participating in Education and training 2010 reveals much reform activity concerning the definition and renewal of occupational and educational standards, with consequences for the role and profile of qualifications.

Qualification standards are the result of interactions between the worlds of work (embodied by social partners, professional associations, employments services, etc) and of education (training providers, teachers, awarding bodies, education ministries, etc.). This interaction can be described as a feedback-loop, with different users of qualifications communicating either directly in the process of defining standards, or indirectly through the collection of information on employer expectations and the publication of learning requirements. The form taken by the feedback-loop in each country differs, but common challenges and trends can be identified.

Qualification standards, defined as norms and specifications regulating the award of qualifications, take various forms depending on the countries or the education segment. Approximately two thirds of the countries examined in this study have developed, or are in the process of developing, occupational standards. These standards, with their systematic occupation descriptions, are expected to simplify keeping qualifications up to date and relevant to the needs of the labour market while providing information to learners on the job profile targeted by the qualification. The forms and characteristics of occupational standards depend on how they fulfil this bridging function between the worlds of work and education. In one group of countries, occupational standards take the form of or a more or less elaborate but comprehensive classification system providing categories for monitoring the labour market. In a second group, occupational standards are designed as benchmarks for measuring occupational performance, in either a work or an educational context. In a third group, occupational standards describe the occupation targeted by a qualification and are developed in an integrated process with educational standards.

Educational standards can be distinguished from occupational standards because they follow a pedagogical logic, of progressive accumulation of knowledge and skills, and not the logic of a systematic description of occupational tasks, functions and associated competences. The variety of educational standards across Europe is as important as it is for occupational standards. Differences can be noted in the objects of standardisation (duration of study programmes, contents of teaching, teaching methods, etc.) and the degree of detail, with countries granting varying autonomy to local authorities, training providers and teachers to design and undertake curricula and learning programmes.

Qualifications are situated at the interface between the worlds of work and of education: they are awarded as the result of a learning process to be used on the labour market. Accordingly, the award of a qualification can be based on regulation of the learning process or on labour market requirements. In most countries, qualification standards address both aspects. Occupational and educational standards are integrated and linked together to make the relationship between employment requirements and learning more evident. In the second largest group of countries, qualifications are based solely on educational standards, either because reforms introducing occupational standards have not yet been fully implemented, or because other coordination mechanisms are used to ensure a strong link between competence-based qualifications and the labour market. This is the case in Germany or the Scandinavian countries, where social partners involvement in defining qualifications and providing training offers powerful coordination between VET and the labour market. Finally, in a few countries following the British NVQ model, qualifications are based solely on occupational standards, a feature that makes them particularly open to validation of non-formal and informal learning.

Comparison of qualification standards across Europe further reveals a general shift towards the use of outcome-based standards, independent from the type (occupational or educational) qualifications are based on. Learning outcomes are generally seen as facilitating the link between employment and education; they are formulated in terms of competences, a concept shared by both systems. In addition, learning outcomes have an important role to play in international mobility (credit systems and qualification framework) as well as lifelong learning and validation of various learning experiences. The majority of countries have adopted outcome-oriented standards or is in the process of doing so, even though the regulation of learning inputs (duration, contents, learning arrangements, etc.) still plays an important role in most qualification systems. However, despite these common developments and some formal similarities in formulating of skills, knowledge and attitude standards, a detailed comparison of outcome-oriented standards shows persisting differences which can be traced back to different understandings of ‘competence’ and different goals ascribed to vocational education and training.
The use of work analysis methods and the involvement of stakeholders in defining standards are crucial elements of a well functioning feedback-loop to ensure the relevance of qualification standards to the needs of employers and other users.

No single method is dominant in the countries under scrutiny, but common principles were identified in various European projects developing qualification standards. Based on analysis of tasks and activities, these projects focus, for instance, on developing common competence standards which are then translated into national training programmes, according to the principle of subsidiarity. It is worth noting that European cooperation on developing standards still happens solely on a case-by-case basis, although some projects have created transferable tools and platforms for sharing experiences.

Stakeholders are increasingly involved in developing national qualification standards across Europe. Participation is institutionalised even in countries with weak traditions of social partnership and attention is paid to a balanced representation of both employers and employees. Whereas patterns of involvement may differ greatly depending on national contexts and traditions, some common challenges can be identified. The lack of capacity of employers to articulate their expectations and needs, especially in emerging professions, is a first challenge faced particularly by countries with weak social partners. Even where stakeholders have a long tradition of self-organisation and involvement, institutional arrangements must be carefully designed to provide the participation opportunities for structurally weak actors such as SMEs and for professions not fitting into traditional sector categories. Finally, a challenge for every country is finding a way to balance conflicting interests of stakeholders; these conflicts originate from the multiplicity of social and economic functions of qualifications as instruments for fostering social inclusion, improving productivity, regulating tariffs and salaries, selecting employees, encouraging mobility, etc.

In the context of the Lisbon strategy and the establishment of a European education area, qualification standards are one important policy instrument for steering and reforming VET systems. Besides common trends such as the broad shift towards outcome-based approaches and the involvement of stakeholders in defining and renewing qualification standards, analysis of national systems reveals a continuing variety of approaches and systems. Qualification standards should, therefore, be further examined with other dimensions of the VET system, to identify whether the dynamics of qualifications are really converging.

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