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186
European journal of vocational training
No 42/43 – 2007/3 2008/1
fies its transfer to National Qualifications Frameworks (NQF) or other national
systems.
The purpose of both processes (Bologna and Copenhagen) is to ensure
permeability, transparency and mobility in the education sector (Dunkel, 2007).
Although the two processes are being coordinated, there is little congruence
between them so far. This is particularly apparent when one considers the issue
of progression between VET and higher education or the development
of the European Qualifications Framework. What are the characteristic features
of ECVET, ECTS and EQF, and how are these instruments coordinated
with one another? To answer these questions, their objectives and functions
are compared methodically in section 1. Section 2 then analyses their
individual elements and components. Section 3 discusses the role and significance
of credits, and a number of conclusions are drawn in the fourth and
final section.
Objectives and functions
The objectives of EQF, ECVET and ECTS combine educational and socio-economic
arguments, as illustrated by the following table. It is a matter
both of promoting the competitiveness of Europe as a location (growth and
employment are EU aims laid down by the Lisbon Strategy) and of fostering
the personal and occupational development of individuals in Europe. ECTS
was first devised in 1984 as an instrument for the recognition of short-term
study visits within the ERASMUS programme (student mobility in Europe) and
was subsequently taken up by the Bologna Declaration as an ‘instrumental
objective’ at the initiative of the Ministries of Education. Only in 2002, in the
context of the Copenhagen Declaration, was ECVET advocated as an instrument
for the recognition of competences and qualifications at the initiative of
the Ministries responsible for VET and of the European Commission. Both ECTS
and ECVET are European credit transfer and accumulation systems, one for
the higher education sector and the other for VET. ECVET does not determine
a credit system for qualifications at national or sectoral level; rather it
serves as an international framework of reference. ECTS has, over the years,
been incorporated into the higher education legislation and regulations of almost
all the countries participating in the Bologna Process (European Commission,
2006c). The EQF is a framework of reference intended, inter alia, to
facilitate the allocation of similar qualifications or parts of qualifications at the
appropriate level and consequently to ensure cooperation and comparabili-