Learning for Life, Work and the Future Initial ... - Unesco-Unevoc

Learning for Life, Work and the Future Participants’ Papers Page 49
• Student-designed modules.
• Research modules.
• The accreditation of prior learning against defined
modules.
• The award of credit for the successful completion of
individual modules.
• The accumulation of credits over a period of time,
especially for working professionals, to complete an
award.
• Modular programmes often capable of being
delivered with degrees of flexibility to allow
students variable start times, negotiable lengths of
study time for modules and programmes, and
choices about attendance, study methods and
assessment occasions.
A CAT Scheme should make provision for a defined
group of technical and vocational education teachers
and managers. The Scheme Document should also
define the QA principles and procedures for the
validation of programmes and modules, the evaluation
of programmes, and the systems for the assurance of
standards of student performance. Although credit can
be awarded for prior learning, for the majority of
students most credit will be gained through the study of
their subject as organised into modules.
Modules should be defined primarily through their
outcomes. A module will usually have several
specified outcomes, although a project module may be
described by one main outcome.
Competence outcomes are primarily concerned with
undertaking work-based tasks. Each statement of
competence should have a context within which it can
be demonstrated to:
• Derive from a work role of the teacher (it should be
work-related).
• Be judged against pre-specified criteria.
• Be a measure of what the student can do at a
particular point in time.
Cognitive outcomes provide a framework for
‘academic’ learning, which is related to an area of
professional practice. They include: knowledge and
understanding of the subject, the ability to apply the
knowledge in different situations, the ability to analyse
problems and propose solutions, and the evaluation of
learning outcomes, particularly in relation to problems.
The assessment of a student’s evidence of learning in
an outcomes-based module will be against criteria and
standards. Both fellow assessors and external verifiers
will verify judgements of assessors about the award of
module credit.
6. Occupational Standards
An occupational role can be defined by the standards
of competence and knowledge needed for effective
operation in that role; in most such frameworks the
occupational level is connected also to the normally
expected academic/ professional qualifications of
people in the role.
7. Continuing Professional Development
The concept of lifelong learning translates into vocational
and professional areas as Continuing Professional
Development, and is commonly included as an
element in professional occupational standards. It is
vitally important that professional staff in TVE have
the requirements to work within such a culture and a
framework: this is probably the key element in the
development of a sustainable quality of TVE provision.
8. Regional Co-operation
This paper suggests that if it were possible to develop
some common concepts and practices in the business
of TVE staff development, then many lines of active
co-operation would be easier to sustain. There are
many ways in which practitioners can be mutually
supportive. Regular meetings, seminars and conferences
should, with careful planning, bring significant
and mutual rewards. Electronic means of communication
offer many opportunities. But it is probable that
more important benefits to staff developers’ knowledge
and capabilities would come from exchange and
professional interaction in teaching, developing
materials and research, in the employment of staff from
other countries in the verification of standards of
students’ achievement and, in the short-term, through
shared expertise and experience. In addition, preservice
and in-service teachers-in-training could be
regionally mobile by using the mechanisms for transfer
of credit and the accreditation of prior learning.
9 KOKORWE, Doreen and TIDIMANE, Christopher (Botswana): Access to TVET
1. Background
Vocational training institutions in Botswana were
started in 1965 with only one, based at Swaneng Hill
School. They grew over the years, and today we have
47 of them in place. Of these, six are technical
colleges and 41 are brigades. Technical colleges are
government-owned institutions that offer technical and
vocational programmes at NCC level. Brigades are
community-based institutions that offer training with