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Competence-based Vocational and Professional Education pp 589–606Cite as

Comparing Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) across Countries

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Abstract

The core idea of RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) is to promote, to make visible and to make full use of the entire scope of learning results and (work) experience gained by an individual over the lifespan and irrespective of where, when and how the learning took place. This contribution aims at reviewing, comparing and contrasting policies and practices of prior learning, its assessment and recognition across ten countries including Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. It starts with the emergence of RPL in the light of lifelong learning and a clarification of concepts and terms. It then turns on national RPL conditions and traditions in all ten countries with a particular focus on RPL procedures and assessment methods. The contribution ends with critically discussing main findings and developing recommendations for future research. Prior learning is an umbrella term for any kind of learning outcomes gained in various learning settings. Recognition of prior learning (RPL) refers to the process of identifying, assessing and recognising any learning results that were acquired by individuals in different learning contexts outside formal education and training systems. Its core idea is to promote, to make visible and to make full use of the entire scope of learning results and (work) experience gained by an individual over the lifespan and irrespective of where, when and how the learning took place.

Whereas many European countries make a distinction between formal, nonformal or informal learning and its outcomes, this is not the case with most of the non-European countries where the term ‘prior learning’ is more common.

What they have in common is a growing interest in making the results of learning processes transparent and usable for labour markets or for educational access.

Against this background, this contribution aims at reviewing, comparing and contrasting policies and practices of prior learning, its assessment and recognition across ten countries including Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. It starts with the emergence of RPL in the light of lifelong learning and a clarification of concepts and terms. It then turns on national RPL conditions and traditions in all ten countries with a particular focus on RPL procedures and assessment methods. The contribution ends with critically discussing main findings and developing recommendations for future research.

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Acknowledgement

The author gratefully acknowledges the helpful, constructive and thoughtful comments of the editors and especially Judith Harris on an earlier version of the manuscript.

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  1. Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany

    Sandra Bohlinger

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  1. Sandra Bohlinger
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Correspondence to Sandra Bohlinger .

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  1. Education and Competence Studies Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Martin Mulder

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Bohlinger, S. (2017). Comparing Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) across Countries. In: Mulder, M. (eds) Competence-based Vocational and Professional Education. Technical and Vocational Education and Training: Issues, Concerns and Prospects, vol 23. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41713-4_27

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41713-4_27

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