Mireille Pouget PASCAL International Observatory Associate

1. The recognition of non-formal and informal learning, citizenship, and universities: an alchemist’s dream? Mireille Pouget PASCAL International Observatory Associate

2. Through a voyage… 1 Validation • The muddle of terminology • The paradoxes & tensions • The individual versus the collective 2 Citizenship • Capacity building • Validation and citizenship 3 Universities • Validation and universities • Validation, citizenship and universities 4 Discussion & conclusion

3. A muddle or a puzzle? • Accreditation • Assessment or evaluation • Recognition • Prior learning • Experiential prior learning • Validation • Non-formal learning • Informal learning • Valuing learning • Formative & summative assessment

4. AP(E)L Accreditation OR Assessment of Prior (Experiential) Learning • RPL Recognition of Prior Learning (Scotland) more generic • VAE Validation des Acquis de l’Expérience (France) • Validation of non-formal and informal learning (VNF-IFL)

5. Validation • Giving value • Self recognition • Social recognition • Leading to certification?

6. Cedefop - OECD definitions Valuing learning the process of promoting participation in and outcomes of (formal, informal or non-formal) learning, in order to raise awareness of its intrinsic worth and to reward learning (2007)

7. What is learning?

8. Validation of Non-Formal and Informal Learning Anything Not taught formally or learned unintentionally (IL) Or taught but not certificated (NFL) Civic society World of work or Work-Based Learning (WBL)

9. At the heart of the alchemy is the process of Validation against Standards National Qualification Framework Qualifications Certificates Modules- units

10. Tools of validation • Approach: reflective learning & writing • Portfolios • Extended CV • Work-based Learning (WBL) • critical incident analysis – problem solving APEL–RPL modules • In France: essential role of the adviser or accompagnateur / trice

11. Validate what?

12. People’s life?

14. People’s life experience not linear Complex

15. The tensionsomething happens… • Transformation of experience • An object that can be understood • Give value or credit • Codification of experience • fit in with qualification frameworks, outcomes

16. The black box

17. « The guided individual approach which consists to go from the past to the present, from action to knowledge, from competences to skills and knowledge, representing therefore the alchemy of a personal history, which, perhaps fortunately, can never be the object of satisfactory rigorous measurement » (Ollagnier 2003, p. 72)

18. The impossible dreamor the ordering of experience • Portfolio is a work of representations • of reconstruction of the candidates’ own world • Made of heterogeneous social networks, meeting across time and space • To be constructed to fit in with a formal structure

19. Experience is • reconfigured • decontextualised • formalised

20. No quick recipe a process of transposition transformation translation Representations What is judged? What is assessed?

21. The adviser We are really translators, at a certain time, interpreters (of the academic world) …. « [Candidates] have to fit into this normative structure [the portfolio]. On the other hand, I am always torn, telling myself that people must be left free to express themselves through this normative folio… » VAE Accompagnatrice

22. Experience is • Problematic • mediated by social discourses • Narration • Through reflection upon experience • Objectified →It needs an acquired language → →Language of the evaluator

23. Humanist Personal development planning Self fulfilment Self directed Self-reflective learner (Kolb reflective circle) Credit exchange Economic aims Employability Social inclusion Labour market demands Mobility flexibility Differing perspectives different aims

24. Problem with PDP • Assumes that individual are able to measure and articulate their learning • Self reflexivity: conception of the individual as free to make choices • Ignores context

25. The context Question of therelationship between the historical experience of the community and the personal experience of individuals, or of knowledge as a social product that humans make collectively (E Michelson 1997)

26. Citizenship Collective knowledge

27. Questions of citizenship Sense of belonging Community? Various communities Communities of interest Virtual communities Geographic communities Sense of place

28. A collective experiencecollective knowledge

29. Projects - Northern CanadaSkownan First Nation Community Values Project Integrating Aboriginal Values into Land Use and Resource Management how Aboriginal people value the lands around them and how this information can be incorporated into Manitoba's land-use and resource management activities http://www.iisd.org/ai/waterhen.htm

30. Appreciative enquiry? • an approach to organizational and social development that identifies peak moments within a community, then discovers and reinforces the conditions that made past achievements possible • to move beyond deficit-based approaches • to project planning and implementation • to methods that identify and build upon local strengths, values and visions http://www.iisd.org/

31. The Black Community Development Project minority ethnic people Greater Pilton, Edinburgh Fighting for Social Justice & Equality advice advocacy support information recreational and educational activities http://www.bcdp.org.uk/

32. Capacity Development Work • Facilitate Capacity Building • strengthening the individual's capacity in social, political and socio economic arena • objectives defined by the individuals themselves • Building the capacity of smaller minority ethnic voluntary groups/organisations http://www.bcdp.org.uk/

33. Citizenship education bridges the skills gap • →skills of enquiry, analysis, understanding, opinion forming, decision-making, problem solving, communication and team working • Skills empower people • Citizenship skills give the confidence and the knowledge to play an active role in politics, society, the workplace and the community • http://www.citizen.org

34. Social capital • social capital built through civic engagement • more or less synonymous with active citizenship • Shared values • Social trust (Robert Putman) (John Field)

35. EU Link between social capital and lifelong learning EU social agenda: building social capital as a basic principle balance between competitiveness and maintenance of social cohesion social renewal: central element in increased global competitiveness promoting European citizenship

36. Make visible Untapped resources of knowledge Economic & social benefits to individuals The community To the country European Guidelines for the Validationof Non Formal and Informal Learning

37. GLOCALISATION • Link between the recognition of NF-IFL and capacity building • social capital development • Skills for citizenship • Social and economic benefits • Skills to cope within globalisation

38. Globalisation and localisation are making the local availability of knowledge and skills more and more important

39. The role of universities in their region’s capacity building: a mountain to climb?

40. The OECD study “Supporting the contribution of HEIs to regional development programme” 2004 -2007 • Funding for teaching and governance not geared towards building human capital in deprived regions • Little incentives for staff to pursue activities which may serve the regions • Often engagement with community / region is seen as a third task

41. Partnership building • Involvement of HEIs in regional strategies • Generation of new funding streams for small businesses • Stronger branding of HEIs • Impact on national policy • BUT • “third mission” not well integrated with teaching and research • Importance of local mission & local engagement • Universities as “corporate citizens”

42. Trondheim Europe search capital • Yahoo, Google + smaller start up companies’ R&D departments • local research skills & proximity of the Norwegian University of Technology • Highly skilled graduates

43. Transforming the Ceramic industry in Castellon Valencia • University of Jaune • Production cluster of 500 businesses • 36000 employees • Mediated by institute for ceramic technology • Growth of ceramic cluster supported by: • technology transfer, spin-outs, upgrading of technologies • Partnership→ Valencia global leader

44. So what about IF-NFL?Difficult linkage • What about capacity building? • Citizenship? • Macro versus micro level • Growth in capacity building may result in greater demand for recognition • Greater awareness of rights • Of right to equality, equity, access to official recognition • Demand led and not supply led approach • Sense of place