The European Credit system

The European Credit systemfor Vocational Education and

Training (ECVET)

CONTEXT

ECVET is entended to :– Facilitate the transfer, recognition and

accumulation of assessed learning outcomes who are aiming to achieve a qualification

This will improve the general understanding of citizens’ learning outcomes and their transparency, transnational mobility within members states in a borderless Long Life Learning Area

– And it will also improve the mobility and portability of qualifications at the national level between various sectors of the economy within the labour market

CONTEXT

ECVET enable a transfer of credits :

- between countries - across institutions within a country

- across qualifications systems

THE PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVES OF ECVET

- Transnational mobility (for all)

- Long Life Learning (for all)

WHY ECVET IS RELEVANT FOR LIFE LONG LEARNING POLICIES ?

It contribute to the wider objectives of promoting LLL and increasing the employability openess to mobility and social inclusion of workers and learners

And contribute to the development of flexible and individualised pathway

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY :

Credit accumulation Process through which learners can acquire qualifications progressively by successive assessments of learning outcomes.

Credit for learning outcomes (credit)* Set of learning outcomes of an individual which have been assessed and which can be accumulated towards a qualification or transferred to other learning programmes or qualifications

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY :

Credit transfer Process through which learning outcomes achieved in one context can be taken into account in another context. Credit transfer is based on the processes of assessment, validation

and recognition

ECVET points* Numerical representation of the overall weight of learning outcomes in a qualification and of the relative weight of units

in relation to the qualification

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY :

Learning outcomes : Statements of what a learner knows, understands and is able to do on completion of a learning process defined in terms of knowledge, skills and competence

Unit of learning outcomes (unit)* Component of a qualification, consisting of a coherent set of knowledge, skills and competence, which can be assessed and validated

WHY DOES ECVET REQUIRES THE USE OF UNITS ?

because each unit is documented and the learning outcomes it contains are assessed, and validated. Hence learners can:

• Progressively (unit-by-unit or set of units by set of units) accumulate learning outcomes in view of achieving a qualification;

• Obtain recognition for their learning outcomes achieved in other contexts without new assessment

HOW CAN LEARNING OUTOCOMES BE GROUPED TO

CREATE UNITS? Units should be constructed and organised

in a coherent way with regard to the overall qualification.

HOW CAN LEARNING OUTOCOMES BE GROUPED TO

CREATE UNITS?There are different criteria according to

which learning outcomes can be grouped into units

The fact that the learning outcomes relate to the same set of occupational activities/tasks (for example the learning outcomes in a unit entitled “shampooing and hair treatment”);

The fact that they are related to the same product or production technique (such as the learning outcomes in a

unit entitled “prepare grilled dishes”);

HOW CAN LEARNING OUTOCOMES BE GROUPED TO

CREATE UNITS? They can also be grouped according to the stages in the

production process or process of performing a service (for example the learning outcomes in a unit called “informing the client about the nature of maintenance intervention”);

They can be grouped in a unit because they relate to the

same field of knowledge, skills or competence (for example the competence in foreign language can form a separate unit).

WHAT INFORMATION CAN BE USED FOR DESIGNING A UNIT ?

In our RET project we will use the occupational activities, tasks and processes as the reference for designing units especially because the learning outcomes will be related to a specific occupation in the sphere of renewal energy.

WHAT INFORMATION CAN BE USED FOR DESIGNING A UNIT ?

? The use of information which expresses the reality of

profession for which the qualification prepares as the basis

for the design of units has several advantages :

- While qualifications’ descriptions differ very much from system to system and from country to country, the tasks, activities or processes

undertaken on the workplace are often very similar.

- Identification of transferable parts of qualifications is relatively easy when the partner institutions discuss what activities/tasks/processes the qualification prepares for;

WHAT INFORMATION CAN BE USED FOR DESIGNING A UNIT ?

- This also facilitates the communication of the content of the qualification to stakeholders outside the area of education and training: for example employers.

- Use of activities, tasks and processes is also compatible with the assessment of learning outcomes in the work place or in work-related situations.

HOW SHOULD UNITS BE DESCRIBED WHEN USING ECVET ?

Units should be described in legible and understandable terms by referring to the knowledge, skills and competence contained in them.

Unit specifications should include :

- the generic title of the unit the title should be meaningful from the point of view of the labour market

HOW SHOULD UNITS BE DESCRIBED WHEN USING ECVET ?

- the generic title of the qualification to which the unit relates, where applicable,

- the reference of the qualification according to the EQF level and, where appropriate, the national qualifications framework level, with the ECVET credit points associated with the qualification, •

HOW SHOULD UNITS BE

DESCRIBED WHEN USING ECVET

?- The amount of detail contained in the unit description

should suit the purpose for which the description is being used and for whom it is intended.

If the description is used to communicate about the content of the qualification to learners or employers, less detail will be needed than if the same description is also used to guide the assessment process.

HOW SHOULD UNITS BE DESCRIBED WHEN USING ECVET ?

- the procedures and criteria for assessment of these learning outcomes,

- the ECVET points associated with the unit (for more information see the section about ECVET points),

- the validity in time of the unit, where relevant.

ALLOCATION OF ECVET POINTS

TO QUALIFICATIONS

Using the convention concerning ECVET points, the number of ECVET points for the qualification is defined (one year = 60 ECVET points).

THE EUROPEAN QUALIFICATION FRAMEWORK FOR LIFELONG LEARNING

The proposal for the European QualificationsFramework was launched by the European Commission

in September 2006;

This recommendation outlines an overarching framework to be set up in Europe to facilitate comparison of qualifications and qualifications levels in order to promote geographical

and labour market mobility as well as lifelong

learning. The core of the framework consists of 8

qualifications levels described through learning

outcomes (knowledge, skills and competence).

THE EUROPEAN QUALIFICATION FRAMEWORK FOR LIFELONG LEARNING

The core of the framework consists of 8 qualifications levels described through learning outcomes (knowledge, skills and competence).

THE EUROPEAN QUALIFICATION FRAMEWORK FOR LIFELONG LEARNING

The EQF is a ladder in the sense that from level 1 to

level 8 the associated learning outcomes becomes more complex and makes greater demands on the learner or worker.

Increases in level 1 to 8 relate to different factors such as:

• the complexity and depth of knowledge and understanding;

• the degree of necessary support or instruction;

• the degree of integration, independence and creativity required;

• the range and complexity of application/practice;

• the degree of transparency and dynamics of situations.

SOME REFERENCES

- Explaining the European Qualifications Framework for life long learning - http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture- Using ECVET to support Life Long Learnin – European

Commission- - The European Credit System for Vocational Education

and Training ECVET – Get to know ECVET better – questions and answers- revised february 2011

- - Glossory Quality in Education and training- CEDEFOP- - Guidelines for describing units of learning outcomes

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION