Specialised Pedagogy: A comparative study of RPL practices ...Specialised Pedagogy: A comparative...
Transcript of Specialised Pedagogy: A comparative study of RPL practices ...Specialised Pedagogy: A comparative...
Specialised Pedagogy: A comparative study of RPL practices within the changing landscape
of the NQF in South Africa
SAQA-UWC Panel Presentation 05 March 2013
Alan Ralphs, Linda Cooper, Kessie Moodley, Karen Deller Barbara Jones
NQFs and the RPL Mandate in SA
• 1994 - 2013: Sizeable cohorts of experiential learners -workers in jobs without the qualifications, and many under-employed trying to find some way to ‘return to learning’
• RPL emerges as principle for building an inclusive NQF with access and progressions opportunities for all, giving:
• Recognition (credit) for competent practice, and • Access opportunities for those without the necessary ‘entry
permits’
RPL in PracticeDoing the boundary work
In practice its about working the ‘boundaries’ between
experiential learning and formal education:
these are primarily knowledge and curriculum ‘boundaries’requiring specialised tools, agency and resources
RPL is not simply a relay for larger market and political
‘trends’: not a miracle worker – it is a specialised pedagogythat can make a difference
“Sweeper to Teacher”Epistemological Access
• Mr Peterson – retrenched 2004 - a job as school cleaner and caretaker in Mitchells Plein - does PDC 2006 - access to BEd in 2007 – works part-time at school - Graduates in 2012
• John K – 1996 – leaves school in Gr10 - declared ‘useless’ by a teacher – joins his uncle – electrician for 10 yrs – paints and reads in his spare time – does 9 week Portfolio Development Course PDC in 2005 – starts a law degree in 2006 – graduates in 2011 – advocate of the Cape High Court 2012
Overarching Research Questions
• How effective are RPL policies and practices for mediating complex knowledge recognition and certification in and across different contexts?
• What needs to change for RPL to become an optimally inclusive practice in the provision for education and training opportunities – both - in formal education and in occupationally directed programmes?
Research DesignA Comparative Study across four different sites of
practice • 2009 Literature review and development of a proposal for
exploring ‘the inner workings’ of RPL as a specialised pedagogical practice [Paper1]
• 2010/1 Case studies of existing practices [Papers 2-5]
• 2012/3 Development and testing of a conceptual framework for understanding limits and possibilities of RPL in different contexts[Paper 6]
• 2013 Learner Agency biographical studies with sample of learners at each site [Reports in Case Studies]
• 2014 Finalisation of Case Study Reports and Book
Phase 1: Mapping of Existing Practices and Models
NQF
KnowledgeLearning
Q
KnowledgeLearningOrganisation
WorkplaceSchool
University
Curriculum Vitae
RPL
Alternative Access
Certification:Licence-to-PracticeTrade Tests
Integrated Curriculum
Integrated Curriculum
SpineCredit Exchange
DevelopmentalTransformation
Researching RPL practices across different sitesCommon Lines of Enquiry
• Knowledge: Relationship between knowledge gained through experience and knowledge codified in qualifications. What knowledge is valued or excluded in the practice and how does it shape the nature of the practice?
• Pedagogy: Content, methods (teaching tools, rules, language, learning relations) and processes used. How do these practices mediate participation or exclusion across the continuum of formal and informal learning?
• Institutional Context: Systems, rules and resources governing RPL provision in different contexts. In what ways do institutional cultures, policies, rules, fees etc impact on the inclusive or exclusive nature of the practice?
• Learner Agency and Experience: Biographical profiles, socio-economic status, cultural dispositions, and strategies of learners as they engage RPL. What ‘affordances’ and ‘limitations’ do learners bring to RPL process and how does this affect their participation in these processes?
VYGOTSKY
BERNSTEIN
ACTIVITY THEORISTS
Rules Division of labourCommunity
Boundaries/specialisation
(Weak to medium Classification)
Hierarchy/control
(strong framing)
RPL Tools Dialogical
Subjects Objects/outcomes
Mediating tools
Towards an integrated model of RPL as a specialised pedagogy: A work in progress!
Knowledge
Boundaries
UWC Case StudyRPL for Access to Undergraduate Study
• Portfolio Development Course (PDC)– 9 weeks, 5 contact sessions, mentor, assessment
• Tests for Access and Placement– National Benchmark Tests (AL&QL)– Reading and Writing Proficiency Tests (UWC)
• Research Methods– Cohort study and comparisons – Historical review and qualitative study of PDC
2010
Patterns of Access and Exclusion 2001-2010Knock on effects and limited FET options
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
RPL APPLICATIONS
113 144 132 260 266 433 408 607 695 1050
RPL PARTICIPATION
113 144 132 130 150 172 106 160 138 188
RPL REGISTRATIONS
43 (38%)
72 25 26 42 58 42 47 4835%
5530%
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011PDC 69 81 79 81 73 87TAP 50 74 76 80 58 89
PDC AND TAP FIRST SEMESTER MODULAR PASS RATES (%)
RPL for Alternative AccessPortfolio Building and Writing Entrance Tests
From narrative to paradigmatic ways of knowing
From a primary (tacit) to a secondary (explicit) discourse on learning
Oral LiteraciesAcademic Literacies
PortfolioBuilding
Learning Portfolio
Tests for Access &Placement
Learning Portfolio
(Outcomes - Procedural)
• Motivation Statement
• Skills Profile and Elaborated CV
• Autobiographical Learning History
• Article Review
• Special Project• Evidence and References
Theory (Foundations - Declarative)
• Adult Learning Principles• Experiential Learning Theory
• Classifications of Knowledge and Curriculum
• Narrative Theory
• Academic Literacy• Critical Reflection
• Basic Research Literacy
• Assessment Principles
RPL Portfolio Development Course:
A Curriculum Framework
DLL Portfolio Development Course‘Seeing the borders and crossing the lines’ Harris
Competence pedagogy Performance Pedagogy
Experiential learning & narrative Academic literacy and text-based practices
Learner centered reflection and journal writing
Open community of practice, group and peer learning
Literature search & article reviews (intertext)writing for a.n. other (mentor)
Faculty focused CoP activity, with tutors andmentors
Content and pacing focus on recognition rules – navigating learning in different contexts
Content and pacing focus on realisation rules- using the tools in an academic context
Enhanced visibility
UWC Case Study
• Competence in either Tests or PDC is a good predictor of subsequent success, but many don’t make it.
• The Case Study illustrates the merits and limitations of different RPL practices – test and portfolio –the former is a primarily a boundary crossing assessment device; the latter is a programme that facilitates access to boundary-crossing navigation tools.
• Information, advice and pre-selection services are key to effective placement on either of these routes.
Workers College Case StudyRPL embeded in the curriculum
• 5 Diploma Programmes @ Level 5• Access via literacy assessment and interview• Progression option: entry to BA Social Science
UKZN• Flexible delivery - 6 modules per diploma –
Project+Research report concludes• Experiential learning restricted in the planned
curriculum but fully integrated in the pedagogy
Labour Studies Programme
Planned Curriculum
Strong classification of knowledge boundaries in Union and University contexts but College curriculum integrated - more porous curriculum boundaries allow for integration of different knowledge forms
UnionUniversity
Labour Studies Programme
Enacted curriculum – pedagogy in action
Inductive and deductive recruitment of experiential learning but strong framing of dialogical discourse –control of the concepts, direction of dialogue, underpinning values, assessment rules
Workers College:RPL articulation course
• This study illustrates the limitations and possibilities of RPL as a radical pedagogy for mediating between the knowledge of union and CBO activists and concepts located within academic discourse.
• It promotes an inclusive epistemology and articulation whilst challenging conventional dichotomies between academic and experiential learning.
Workplace RPL
• This case study suggests that the QCTO model of qualification and curriculum design is suited for novices entering an occupational learning pathway but
• prescribes a disaggregated RPL model that could seriously disadvantage or exclude the experienced practitioner from .
• Does the model explain this and would the recommendations for an integrated approach offer a more inclusive and cost effective way forward?
UCT Case StudyRPL for access to postgraduate study
• Adult Education, Business and Management, Disability
• This case study suggests there is a tension betweenexpected institutional and disciplinary limitations to
RPL, and a finding that there is considerable space for pedagogic agency thus presenting affordances for RPL.
Research in progress
– In practice its about recognising and working the ‘boundaries’between experiential learning and formal education: these are primarily knowledge and curriculum ‘boundaries’ requiring specialised tools, agency and resources to navigate
– RPL is about providing learners with the ‘tools’ to navigate different knowledge and learning practices across contexts –
– Good information, advice, counseling and administration are a key feature of all RPL programmes and services
– Its about pedagogic agency combining with learner agency – doing the work to make articulation possible within and across different learning pathways
– RPL is not simply a relay for larger market and political forces: not a miracle worker – it is a specialised pedagogy that can make a difference