Tag Archives: Colleges and Universities

Prior Learning

Posted in Adult Learning, Education, Education and Training, prior learning by

By Dean Dad from Inside Higher Education – very interesting piece about Prior Learning:

“If you haven’t seen Paul Fain’s piece in IHE about credit for prior learning, check it out. It’s a great introduction to a topic that it ready to break big over the next couple of years.
The piece points out, correctly, that two major national organizations — ACE and CAEL — have established increasingly popular protocols for measuring prior learning and awarding appropriate academic credit.  Campuses have generally been circumspect about mentioning that, for reasons both valid and, well, not as much.
A few thoughts on prior learning from a community college perspective:
1. We need to be absolutely clear on the difference between “prior learning” and “life experience.”  They are not remotely the same thing…
2. Faculty resistance and conflicts of interest.  The folks on the non-credit/corporate training side of the college have been pushing “credit for non-credit learning” for years.  I’ve been reluctant to move too quickly on that for fear of setting off thermonuclear war with the faculty, who would likely respond to any hint of alternate routes for academic credit as an existential threat. It’s a sticky area… “

 

To read more go here at Inside Higher Ed : http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/confessions-community-college-dean/prior-learning#ixzz1uLitF28V

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Dispatches from South Africa: the case for vocational training

Posted in Adult Learning, Education, Learning, Skills Learning Programmes by

From International Hub – The Guardian - article by Sarah Duff

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Youth unemployment rates are worryingly high, yet education policy and culture make higher education a priority for students, says Sarah Duff.

Photograph: Alexander Joe/AFP/Getty Images

“The end of the first week of teaching in the South African academic year is an experience that any academic at any university around the world would recognise: the chaos of finding timetables and new lecture venues …

…In January, Angie Motshekga, the minister for basic education, announced with some fanfare that 70.2% of the pupils who sat the examinations for the national senior certificate – usually referred to as matric – passed. In a country with high levels of deprivation and poor resource allocation, this appears to be a magnificent achievement.

Unfortunately, the celebrations hid a few worrying facts. In 2011, according to the well-respected NGO, Equal Education, … of  the 923,463 pupils who began grade 1 in 2000, only 496,090 took matric in 2011, meaning that nearly half dropped out during their school career.” Therefore of … “all those who began school in 2000, the real matric pass rate falls to 38%. ”  This is indeed a very worrying fact.

“…despite the fact there are about 600,000 unemployed graduates in South Africa, university education is seen as the only pathway to employment. I would rather the department of higher education and training invested in FET colleges …”

However, I would like to point out that these moves are already taking place – see South African Education Green Paper. This is a major focus of Dr Nzimande, Minister of Education. The Green Paper is available for download at the following link which also has a great article: Scholarly Communication in Africa Programme: http://www.scaprogramme.org.za/2012/02/the-green-paper-for-post-school-education-and-training-in-south-africa/

To read more of Sarah Duff’s article follow the link below:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/higher-education-network/higher-education-network-blog/2012/apr/18/south-africa-vocational-training?newsfeed=true (Accessed 18/04/2012).

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