EXPERIENCES IN THE NATIONAL REFERENCING PROCESS FINLAND

1
EXPERIENCES IN THE NATIONAL REFERENCING
PROCESSFINLAND

• Raija Timonen, Counsellor of Education
• Recognition and International Comparability of
  Qualifications
• Finnish National Board of Education

2
How you present that the NQF and its
qualifications are based on learning outcomes?

• Learning outcomes mentioned in national
  legislation provisions on the qualifications
  and goals/ required learning outcomes of
  education are laid down in the legislation.
• Outcome-oriented approaches in curriculum policy
  have been present in the Finnish VET-education
  system nearly twenty years.
• In national core curricula goals are written in
  the form of learning outcomes. At upper secondary
  level both initial and additional VET training
  has been based on learning outcome-approach from
  1993-1994. In higher education the process
  started in 2005 and its still ongoing.

3
What kind of qualifications are included in the
NQF and what qualifications are not in the NQF?

• One overarching NQF- all official national
  qualifications are included
• In the first phase, the NQF will include only the
  qualifications defined in the legislation of the
  educational and other administrative sectors.
• NOT included modules of qualifications,
  education not leading to a qualification,
  procedures to grant the right to practice a
  profession or undertake certain work duties.
• In the second phase, the NQF should be extended
  to cover all knowledge, skills an competences e.g
  broad courses of various administrative sectors
  that are not included in the qualification
  system, but learning outcomes are defined by a
  competent authority

4
How you involve quality assurance agencies in the
referencing process

• The referencing process is ongoing
• - authorities responsible for quality assurance
  are involved in the process
• - feedback (twice) on the draft NQF proposal was
  requested from the Education Evaluation Council
  and the Higher Education Evaluation Council and
  also the National Education and Training
  Committees
• - feedback on the referencing report will also be
  asked from these agencies

5
Which stakeholders are involved in the
referencing process?

• The Finnish NQF process has been organised to
  include as broad a range of stakeholders as
  possible.
• The NQF Committee consisted of the following
  representatives
• The Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Internal
  Affairs, Ministry of Employment and the Economy,
  Defence Command Finland (Ministry of Defence)
• Finnish National Board of Education
• Confederation of Unions for Professional and
  Managerial Staff in Finland (AKAVA),
  Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK), Central
  Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK),
  Association of Finnish Local and Regional
  Authorities, Finnish Confederation of
  Professionals (STTK)
• Association of Vocational Adult Education Centres
  (AKKL), Rectors' Conference of Finnish
  Universities of Applied Sciences (ARENE),
  Vocational Education Providers in Finland (KJY),
  Finnish Association of Principals, The Finnish
  Council of University Rectors, Finnish Adult
  Education Association, the National Union of
  University Students in Finland and the Union of
  Finnish upper secondary students

6
If there are any stakeholders that are not happy
with the results of the referencing process, what
are the issues?

• Meetings of the NQF Committee have been very
  constructive and consensus has been easy to
  reach during all the processes.
• Some comments from HEIs and working life
  representatives on descriptors modifications
  have been made based on them,e.g. addition of
  enterpreneurship and language skills.
• Placement of qualifications was made in
  consensus, only a few comments from the
  polytechnics and universities.

7
Who are international experts and how you
selected them?

• Stefan Skimutis, International Coordinator,
  Department of Analysis and Research, Swedish
  National Agency for Higher Vocational Education,
  Sweden
• Eduard Staudecker, Strategy Development (VET),
  Federal Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture,
  Austria
• Gunnar Vaht, Head of the Estonian ENIC/NARIC,
  Estonia
• NQF Committee agreed on the following criteria
  for selection
• Should represent education administration be
  familiar with NQF work at
• EU level know Bologna process, be
  internationally well-known and appreciated, know
  the entity of the qualification system or
  represent expertise of general education, VET or
  HE and if possible be familiar with Finnish
  education system.
• Invitation by the Ministry of Education and
  Culture.
•  
• .

8
What is the role of international experts?

• To ensure, that questions concerning referencing
  have been answered transparently and in an
  understandable way.
• To comment the draft text of the report.

9
Your experiencies with the translation of the
referencing report

• The Committee report on the NQF proposal was
  written in Finnish and translated into Swedish
  and English.
• The referencing report is written in Finnish and
  will be translated into Swedish and English.
• Translation takes time. Translators are not
  always familiar with education and EQF
  terminology. Education specialists and those who
  know well the EQF terminology are needed in the
  process to check the translation.

10
Particular challenges that you are facing during
the referencing process

• Ensuring international understanding concepts
  and their meanings differ
• Giving clear and easily comprehensible
  information of the national system and its goals,
  values and development issues.
• Pointing out how criteria 2 ja 4 are fulfilled
• Transparency descriptions of learning outcomes
  should not be very long but they should point out
  the connections between level descriptors and
  qualifications
• Transparency of the placement process of
  qualifications
• Writing the report is very challenging , need to
  express briefly information
• based on a number of documents
• Time for writers and the feedback team

11
Issues that you have successfully addressed

• Cooperation with and between different
  stakeholders
• Good preparation of the materials for the
  Committee
• Access issues are not a problem based on law,
  no dead ends (works also in practice)
• Placement of qualifications is clear and
  understandable all stakeholders involved in the
  process consensus found
• Learning outcomes are the basis of placement ,
  not VET/HE division e.g. some VET qualifications
  are placed on level 6

12
Issues that the referencing process helped bring
to the surface and discuss with the stakeholders

• No big problems all things have been discussed
  in cooperation
• In the future, discussion on the placement of
  preparatory education to VET and competencies
  outside of the official system - widening the
  NQF to the NF for other learning

13
Aspects in which you think your national
referencing process is strong and can be
suggested to other countries

• Clear political mandate given in the Development
  Plan for Education and Research 20072012
• Involvement of all stakeholders from the very
  beginning, wide participation and wide
  consultation process in each phase.
• The committee report formed a basis for the
  Government Proposal to Parliament for an Act on
  the National Framework for Qualifications and
  Other Learning.
• Excellent cooperation between Ministry and FNBE/
  NCP.
• Good coordination of the work , clear roles.
• No consultants from outside, the work was in the
  hands of those who are experts in the education
  system and development of qualifications and are
  reponsible for them.