Validation processes set to gain from 21st-century innovations – Challenges in certification still hampering learners

an article by Pia Heikkilä published in ELM MAGAZINE 1/2019


Even though most of the actors in the field call for some sort of validation, there is no simple one-size-fits-all solution in sight.

Today learning happens everywhere and adults who learn in daily non-formal situations and environments need to be able to prove their skills to outsiders.

In recognition of competences, the line between non-formal and formal education is becoming blurred as education today entails many different areas of life.

But many different formats of informal learning – from certified experiences, courses that boost competences to hobby-based learning or even a skill acquired through experiences rather than the traditional education path – are often not recognised by employees, institutions or even public bodies.

In the modern labour market and world of education, many institutions lack a cohesive approach. Experts in the field argue that there is a need for a greater consistency in the use of validation methodologies because it is vital for an individual’s career progression.

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Bridging volunteering and the labour market: a proposal of a soft skills matrix

an article by Raquel Rego (University of Lisbon, Portugal), Joana Zózimo (Egas Moniz Cooperative of Higher Education, Portugal), Maria Correia João (Coimbra Center Group of Schools, Portugal) and Ana Ross (Institute for University Solidarity and Cooperation, Portugal) published in Voluntary Sector Review Volume 7 Number 1 (March 2016)

Abstract

In this paper, we argue that volunteering is an enabling environment for informal learning, and accordingly enhances employability. But, for volunteering to have an effective impact, there needs to be a bridge between volunteering and the labour market. In this sense, based on an empirical study, we present a soft skills matrix that enables the recognition of skills generated by volunteering.

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Recognition of skills gained outside school or university is still a challenging road to take, report revealed

via Social Europe e-newsletter

Member States still have a long way to go to ensure that knowledge, skills and competences that people have acquired outside school or university are recognised, valued and accepted despite some good progress since 2010, according to a report released on 20 November 2014.

The 2014 European Inventory on Validation of Non-formal and Informal Learning, which covered 33 European countries (EU Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey), showed that a better design and implementation of effective tools to recognise those skills is needed so they can better contribute to tackling current bottlenecks within the EU labour market.

The sharp increase of structural unemployment in the EU has showed the existence of a massive skills mismatch within the EU labour market. To tackle structural bottlenecks in national labour markets, better skilled and knowledgeable workers are essential.

People gain knowledge and skills throughout their lives, often outside the formal education and training system. They should be able to demonstrate what they have learned. Yet information about how to identify, document, assess and certify such learning is, in most countries, not easily accessible.

Some of the major challenges identified by the report include:

• The low level of awareness regarding the possibilities and potential value of validation, especially amongst the general public.
• The social and labour market acceptance of validation, whilst growing, remains in many countries lower than the acceptance of formal education.
• The level of bureaucracy and costs involved in validation are still a significant barrier to its implementation in most countries.
• Few countries have comprehensive systems in place. Most systems are collections of initiatives, projects and procedures and there is a lack of coordination between stakeholders and across sectors. This creates challenges regarding scalability, and the possibility to adopt a long-term and general approach to validation.

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Employers’ views of learning and training for an ageing workforce

an article by Vanessa Beck (University of Leicester, UK) published in Management Learning Volume 45 Number 2 (April 2014)

Abstract

This article questions how employers view and evaluate the role of learning and training for older workers in light of the increasing number of older workers in the labour market. Learning and training opportunities could be utilised to respond to the ‘extending working lives’ agenda, but interviews with employers suggest that this is not being done.

A small number of human resource professionals, managing directors and owners were interviewed to determine what learning opportunities were offered to their older workers and how these workers’ experience could be utilised better. Respondents implicitly accepted that there were few learning opportunities for older workers and suggested that they expected this group of workers to take on additional roles in making learning and experience available to younger colleagues.

Dichotomies in employers’ views emerged in that they differentiated between groups of workers and their need for skills, experience and the ‘right’ attitudes.

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Reexamining Theories of Adult Learning and Adult Development Through the Lenses of Public Pedagogy

an article by Jennifer A. Sandlin (Arizona State University, Tempe, USA), Robin Redmon Wright (Penn State Harrisburg, Middletown, USA) and Carolyn Clark (Texas A&M University, College Station, USA) published in Adult Education Quarterly Volume 63 Number 1 (February 2013)

Abstract

The authors examine the modernist underpinnings of traditional adult learning and development theories and evaluate elements of those theories through more contemporary lenses.

Drawing on recent literature focused on “public pedagogy,” the authors argue that much learning takes place outside of formal educational institutions.

They look beyond modernist narratives of adult development and consider the possible implications for critical adult learning occurring in and through contemporary fragmented, digital, media-saturated culture.

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Online people tagging: Social (mobile) network(ing) services and work-based learning

an article by John Cook (London Metropolitan University) and Norbert Pachler (Institute of Education, University of London) published in British Journal of Educational Technology Volume 43 Issue 5 (September 2012)

Abstract

Social and mobile technologies offer users unprecedented opportunities for communicating, interacting, sharing, meaning-making, content and context generation. And, these affordances are in constant flux driven by a powerful interplay between technological innovation and emerging cultural practices.

Significantly, also, they are starting to transcend the everyday lifeworlds of users and permeate the workplace and its practices. However, given the emergent nature of this area, the literature on the use of social and mobile technologies in workplace practices is still small.

Indeed, social media are increasingly being accessed via mobile devices.

Our main focus, therefore, here is on the question of what, if any, potential there is for the use of social media in informal, professional, work-based learning.

The paper provides a critical overview of key issues from the literature on work-based learning, face-to-face and technology-supported, as well as social (mobile) networking services, with particular attention being paid to people tagging.

It then introduces an initial typology of informal workplace learning in order to provide a frame for understanding social (mobile) network(ing) services in work-based learning.

Finally, a case study (taken from the literature) of People Tagging tool use in digital social networks in the European Commission-funded MATURE project is used to illustrate aspects of our typology.

Practitioner Notes

• The importance of social networks and associated technologies in everyday life and commerce.
• Some conceptualisations of learning through and at work exist, but they tend to be based on the empirical study of professionals and graduate employees.
• The concept of tagging in relation to digital resources is well established.
• A consideration of the use of social networks in learning in informal and work-based context.
• An exploration of some of the affordances of social media for work-located learning.
• A widening of the concept of tagging to the classification of knowledge embodied in users and their social networks.
• A typology of factors in social network(ing) services and work-based learning.
• An analysis of a case study of people tagging in relation to the typology of factors.
• A conceptualisation of aspects of technology-enhanced and enabled learning through and at work.
• An understanding of the potential of social media for work-located learning.
• A realisation of some of the potential of the use of social media in informal, professional work-based learning.

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Designing social media for informal learning and knowledge maturing in the digital workplace

an article by A. Ravenscroft (CASS School of Education and Communities, University of East London), A. Schmidt (Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Germany) and J. Cook and C. Bradley (Learning Technology Research Institute (LTRI), London Metropolitan University) published in Journal of Computer Assisted Learning Volume 28 Issue 3 (June 2012)

Abstract

This paper presents an original approach to designing social media that support informal learning in the digital workplace. It adapts design-based research to take into account the embeddedness of interactions within digitally mediated work-based contexts.

The approach is demonstrated through the design, implementation, and evaluation of software tools supporting a particular type of informal learning called knowledge maturing.

The paper introduces and presents the rationale for, and concept of, knowledge maturing; presents a new design methodology for developing social media that support informal learning and knowledge maturing; focuses on one prototype, for ‘people tagging for organisational development’, that was produced by the methodology (and concisely describes two others); presents the formative evaluation of the highlighted prototype; and finally, discusses the implications and insights arising from this work.

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Twitter as a teaching practice to enhance active and informal learning in higher education: …

The case of sustainable tweets

an article by Eva Kassens-Noor (Michigan State University, USA) published in Active Learning in Higher Education Volumer 13 Number 1 (March 2012)

Abstract

With the rise of Web 2.0, a multitude of new possibilities on how to use these online technologies for active learning has intrigued researchers. While most instructors have used Twitter for in-class discussions, this study explores the teaching practice of Twitter as an active, informal, outside-of-class learning tool.

Through a comparative experiment in a small classroom setting, this study asks whether the use of Twitter aids students in learning of a particular subject matter. And if so, in which learning contexts Twitter offers advantages over more traditional teaching methods.

This exploratory study showed potential opportunities and pitfalls that Twitter could bring to the e-learning community in higher education.

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Who actually offers opportunities for non-formal learning?

Companies provide the largest part of non formal learning activities in almost all countries (where final data are available).

Link to the full article and to further information via elearningeuropa.info

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Social Software as a Tool for Informal Learning

via elearningeuropa.info

A paper by Nina Kahnwald (Research associate , Technical University in Dresden)

Abstract

This paper offers an overview of empirical findings, concepts and definitions of informal learning. Initially, diverse dimensions and contested fields of informal learning will be interrogated. In the second section, the meaning of informal learning in the context of Web 2.0 and social software will be portrayed. Finally, the concept of personal learning environments will be examined in terms of contradictions and inaccuracies in relationship to the afore interrogated basic concepts of informal learning.

Introduction
Informal learning is often referred to in connection to ICT, Web 2.0 and Social Software. However, rarely is the concept of informal learning deliberated within the context of use. The following contribution attempts to uncover essential dimensions and areas of conflict of informal learning, thereby offering an analysis of contemporary discussions surrounding Social Software and Personal Learning Environments.

Read the full article here

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