OECD

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Moving MountainsHow can Qualifications Systems
Promote Lifelong Learning?Patrick
WerquinOECD D i r e c t o r a t e f o r E
d u c a t i o n Lecture at the Victorian
Qualifications Authority, Melbourne, 30 November
2005
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Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
Agenda

• Background, rationale, process and outcomes
• Quick overview
• Concepts
• Main findings
• Some concluding remarks

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Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
Agenda

• Background, rationale, process and outcomes
• Quick overview
• Concepts
• Main findings
• Some concluding remarks

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Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
OECD Approach to LLL

• Key features of lifelong learning strategies
• Systemic approach
• Learner-centred
• Motivations to learn
• Multiplicity of objectives
• Implications for education and training policy
• Objectives
• Structure of provision
• Content, quality and relevance

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Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
Features of Systemic Approach

• Visibility and recognition of learning
• Foundations of lifelong learning
• Access and equity
• Resources
• Co-ordination of policy development and
  implementation

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Process and outcomes

• Expert and country meetings
• Guidelines
• 15 Country background Reports
• 3 Thematic Groups
• More than 20 countries involved one way or
  another
• International Synthesis Report (January 2005)
• Partnership with QCA (Mike Coles)

Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
Agenda

• Background, rationale, process and outcomes
• Quick overview
• Concepts
• Main findings
• Some concluding remarks

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Synopsis.
LLL
NQS
?
Good supply
Excellent supply
This link is identified as mechanisms
Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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The approach.
National social and economic systems
NQS
Structural changes and changes in conditions
LIFELONG LEARNING
Structural changes
Changes in conditions
Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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Structure of the report (Jan 05)

• Introduction (1)
• The big concepts (2)
• Pressures for change Policy responses (3)
• Quantitative relationships (4)
• Qualitative evidence Mechanisms (5)
• Mechanisms and policy responses (6)
• Mechanisms in combination (7)

Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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Assumption
There are mechanisms
Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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However
There are few conclusionswe can draw from
quantitative evidence
Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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Typology of qualifications systems
1. Dual system / alternance 2. Qualifications
framework 3. VET in upper secondary education
4. Central organisation of education 5.
Regulated entry to the labour market 6. System
for recognising non-formal or informal
learning 7. Credit system 8. Credentialism
Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
Agenda

• (Background, rationale, process and outcomes)
• Quick overview
• Concepts
• Main findings
• Some concluding remarks

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Participation in adult learning and dual system
Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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When there is a culture of learning, obtaining a
qualification is not necessary the main objective
Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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Matthew effect in reverse
Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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The data can be trusted
Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
Conclusion aboutquantitative evidence
There is some evidencebut not sufficient
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Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
Fortunately
There is substantial qualitative evidence
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Pressures for change
What are the recent policy responses to the
lifelong learning agenda that involve national
qualifications systems?
Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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Pressures for change (contd)

• Broad economic pressures (discrepancy between job
  training and qualifications, human capital for
  economic growth, innovation)
• International pressures (PISA/IALS/ALL ranking,
  EU recognition for labour mobility)
• Pressure to harmonise (EQF development, European
  credit, European sector frameworks, international
  benchmarks/standards)

Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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Pressures for change (contd)

• Demographic pressures (ageing, immigration)
• - Social and cultural pressures (learning for its
  own sake)
• Pressure to improve communication and coherence
  (transparency)
• Pressure from technological change (using
  opportunities created by the new technologies)

Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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The 9 Policy Responses
1. Increase flexibility and responsiveness 2.
Motivate young people to learn 3. Link education
and work 4. Facilitate open access to
qualifications 5. Diversify assessment
processes 6. Make qualifications progressive 7.
Make the qualifications system transparent 8.
Review funding and increase efficiency 9. Better
manage the qualifications system
Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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Discovering mechanisms

• the ways the stakeholder groups interact with
  their qualifications system
• inducements to learn
• constraints that reduce the quantity, quality,
  distribution and efficiency of LLL
• some issues are specific to certain stakeholder
  groups (important for policy formulation)
• the evidence is used to create a list of
  mechanisms

Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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The 20 Mechanisms

• Communicating returns to learning for
  qualification
• Recognising skills for employability
• Establishing qualifications frameworks
• Increasing learner choice in qualifications
• Clarifying learning pathways
• Providing credit transfer
• Increasing flexibility in learning programmes
  leading to qualifications
• Creating new routes to qualifications
• Lowering cost of qualification
• Recognising non-formal and informal learning

Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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The 20 Mechanisms (contd)
11) Monitoring the qualifications system 12)
Optimising stakeholder involvement in the
qualifications system 13) Improving needs
analysis methods so that qualifications are up to
date 14) Improving qualification use in
recruitment 15) Ensuring qualifications are
portable 16) Investing in pedagogical
innovation 17) Expressing qualifications as
learning outcomes 18) Improving co-ordination in
the qualifications system 19) Optimising quality
assurance 20) Improving information and guidance
about qualifications systems
Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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Ex. of mechanism Establishing a QF
Qualifications frameworks can make progression
routes clear, remove dead ends and can bring
coherence and quality assurance to qualifications
systems. Individuals might be motivated to learn
if they can be guided towards appropriate
qualifications for their aspirations. They might
also have confidence in nationally approved
qualifications. Employers will find a framework
helpful in setting out qualification requirements
for a job and in relating an applicants
qualification profile to a standard reference
point. It may help rationalise training
provision. Providers might find a framework of
qualifications useful for promotional material as
they can market qualifications according to a
well-known structure and, like recruiters, they
might feel more secure in the knowledge that
certain qualifications are national benchmarks.
Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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Important points about the method

• Policy responses are derived from the country
  evidence provided
• Policy responses clearly exist in countries as
  mature policies or as a clear policy intention
• The mechanisms are not directly derived from
  country evidence in the same way
• The mechanisms are based on a wider evidence
  base concerned with the ways they might change
  the behaviour of the main stakeholders (and on
  authors own thinking)

Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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Linking the two concepts

• Linking policy responses and mechanisms a
  classification.
• Strong role
• Supporting role

Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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Example
Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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Ranking the influence of mechanisms
Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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Ranking the influence of mechanisms
Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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What is a top ranked mechanism?

• A top ranked mechanism is the most useful way of
  improving lifelong learning through
  qualifications systems because it supports more
  policy responses than the other mechanisms
• It is the most cost effective action since it
  supports many policy responses
• Where policy responses are not properly defined
  (perhaps because of the absence of reliable
  diagnosis of issues) the mechanism represents a
  safe option for optimising lifelong learning
• It serves more purposes than the lower ranked
  ones because the purposes the latter serve are
  more specific

Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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Change mechanisms

• It is possible to analyse the set of mechanisms
  in terms of their potential as enablers,
  multipliers or triggers, and on this basis
  three mechanisms emerge
• Communicating returns to learning for
  qualifications.
• Establishing qualifications frameworks.
• Investing in pedagogical innovation.

Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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Example

• The most often quoted is establishing a
  Qualifications framework
• Clarifying learning pathways
• Providing credit transfer
• Creating routes to qualifications
• Recognising non-formal and informal learning
• Monitoring the qualifications system
• Optimising stakeholder involvement in
  qualifications system
• Ensuring qualifications are portable
• Improving co-ordination in the qualifications
  system
• Optimising quality assurance

Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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Supporting mechanisms

• Not decisive
• Close to individuals
• Lubricant
• . Monitoring the qualifications system
• . Establishing qualifications frameworks
• . Investing in pedagogical innovation
• . Expressing qualifications as learning outcomes
• . Improving information and guidance about
  qualifications system

Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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Powerful mechanisms
Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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Three tools

• Review of policy responses
• Pay attention to the powerful mechanisms
• Consider interactions between mechanisms

Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
Agenda

• Background, rationale, process and outcomes
• Quick overview
• Concepts
• Main findings
• Some concluding remarks

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In short.

• This OECD activity has provided definitions built
  on common understanding, not only common words
• It has found 9 policy responses to the lifelong
  learning agenda
• And 20 mechanisms for qualifications system to
  impact on lifelong learning
• Policy responses and mechanisms can be a means of
  evaluating lifelong learning policy from the view
  point of national qualifications systems
• International synthesis report (forthcoming)
• A lot of documents (country background reports,
  thematic reports) already on

www.oecd.org/edu/lifelonglearning/nqs
Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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Conclusion setting an agenda

• Data collection to be carried out
• Evaluation methods to be developed
• Link between mechanisms and policy responses to
  be discussed further and refined
• Independent review (thematic review)
• Policy responses evolve (current priorities)
• Mechanisms to be implemented and assessed
• Follow up OECD activities

Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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A starting point

• This work is only the beginning
• Main OECD follow up activity
• Recognition of non formal and informal
  learningandcredit accumulation and transfer
• (November 2005 onward)

Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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m e r c i
www.oecd.org/edu/lifelonglearning/nqs
patrick.werquin_at_oecd.org
Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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Participating countries

• CBRs Australia, Belgium (French speaking),
  Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Japan,
  Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal,
  Slovenia, Switzerland and United Kingdom (15)
• TGs Australia, Belgium (Flanders), Czech
  Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,
  Greece, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Mexico, the
  Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Slovenia,
  Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom (20)

Lecture at the Victorian Qualifications
Authority, Melbourne, 30 November 2005
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