Towards a credit system for vocational education and training in Europe implications for higher educ

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Towards a credit system for vocational education
and training in Europe implications for higher
education Edwin Mernagh National Qualifications
Authority of Ireland 28 January 2004
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Copenhagen ProcessCredit Transfer Objective

• investigate how transparency, comparability,
  transferability and recognition of competences
  and/or qualifications, between different
  countries and at different levels, could be
  promoted by developing reference levels, common
  principles for certification, and common
  measures, including a credit transfer system for
  vocational education and training.
• (Council resolution, 12/11/2002)

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Technical Working Group

• First met 5 November 2002
• Has met five times
• Also works through Virtual Community set up by
  CEDEFOP
• Document exchange
• On-line discussion, including chat-room
• Teleconferencing
• Research projects
• Progress report October 2003

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Membership

• 12 countries, including Ireland
• Social partners
• Supported by European institutions
• Consultants University of Kassel

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Tasks

• To investigate, taking into account the European
  Credit Transfer System, options for the
  development of a system of credit transfer for
  vocational education and training at European
  level.
• In parallel to this work, to investigate the role
  and character of
• common reference levels for competences and
  qualifications
• common principles for certification.

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Group objective

• Develop a European Credit System for Vocational
  Education and Training (ECVET)
• ECVET is to facilitate
• transfer of recognition for learning
• Between national VET systems
• Between non-formal/informal and formal
• accumulation
• professional mobility and mobility within VET,
  through
• transparency of learning processes and outcomes
• Improving the description of the complete
  qualification

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October 2003 Reportissues

• definition of qualification
• Reference levels? Zones of mutual trust?
• Frameworks? A European meta-framework?
• assessment / measurement of credit
• Notional learning time?
• The problem of learning density
• unitisation and modularisation
• Confusion of meanings
• certification
• Acceptance of certification procedures
• Linked to issue of Quality

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Key conceptzones of mutual trust

• A key concept in the work of the Group
• Identified in the work of Teichler and Le
  Mouillour, University of Kassel (Centre for
  Research on Higher Education and Work)
• Zones of acceptance, accommodating differences
  between national systems
• Zones of trust need to be in two dimensions
• Vertical between levels of learning
• Horizontal between fields of learning

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Strategy

• Short term small-scale investigation of zones of
  mutual trust, links between credit and outcomes,
  definition of levels
• Intermediate an operating scheme for ECVET
• a basic model
• could be the basis of agreement between
  cooperation partners
• Study launched September 2003 (University of
  Kassel)
• Long-term European credit and qualifications
  meta-framework

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A meta-framework

• a typology of knowledge, skills/tasks and
  competences,
• within, or linked to
• a coherent European credits and qualifications
  meta-framework
• requirements
• to develop zones of mutual trust
• will need to avoid too much detail
• study launched September 2003 (Qualifications and
  Curriculum Authority, UK)

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Credit in VET and in Higher Education Issues

• Definition of VET
• Inclusion of Further Education?
• HE/VET differentiation varies between countries
• Some overlap between VET and HE in many countries
• In most countries, certain elements of VET can
  adapt to ECTS as a credit system
• In every country, some elements of VET need an
  approach to credit that differ from ECTS

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Credit agendas inCopenhagen and Bologna

• initiatives in VET can learn from the Bologna and
  ECTS experiences and build on them
• acknowledgement of ECTS as
• an exemplar a reference-point for the
  development of a European Credit System for VET
• a fixed point Credit System for VET need to be
  compatible with ECTS

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Relevance for Ireland

• Confluence of meta-framework strategy with
  developments in Ireland
• National Framework of Qualifications
• Levels referent
• Outcomes-based knowledge, skill and competence
• Single awarding body for Further Education and
  Training (FETAC)
• Opportunity to ensure that any credit system
  developing for FET in Ireland is in tune with
  developments in Europe
• Similar debate about credit arrangements in
  Ireland and Europe
• No single system of credit
• Differing understandings of terminology
• Units and modules
• Acceptability of notional learning time/effort ?

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Further Information

• Credit Transfer in VET Virtual Community
• http//cedefop.communityzero.com/credittransfer