The Malta Qualifications Council (MQC) will shortly publish the fourth policy document in the series Valuing All Learning, entitled Frameworks For The Validation Of Informal And Non-Formal Learning In Malta.
This document proposes the term validation as the core concept covering activities spanning from identification to recognition of learning outcomes in informal and non-formal contexts. It is estimated that around 80 per cent of what adults learn comes through non-formal and informal means.
Three dimensions of validation are highlighted in the book: reference to learning outcomes; standards against which assessment takes place; and the process of how learning outcomes are validated. Assessment in validation is presented as having two distinct perspectives and fulfils two important requirements: summative and formative assessment. Summative assessment tests what the learner has acquired; formative assessment helps the learner organise his learning experiences in a structured manner.
Recognition plays an important part of the whole validation process: formal recognition through the award of certificates or the grant of equivalence, credit units, validation of gained competences; and/or social recognition by economic and social stakeholders.
According to the draft policy document, one of Malta's major challenges is to make invisible learning visible. Learning can only be made visible through the process of validation which provides learners with certification of the learning that they have acquired in informal and non-formal contexts. Validation of invisible learning should enable learners to enter the National Qualifications Framework and subsequently to continue their lifelong-learning path.
The validation process should have clear and specific objectives which need to be made clear to all key players from the start. Learners and employers stand to gain from such a process which is already being used in a number of EU member states such as France, the UK and Finland. Learners will have the opportunity to be accredited for what they are capable of doing; employers will be in a better position to map recognised skills of their workforce and to recruit employees on the basis of officially validated skills and competences.
There is so far no legislation which regulates the validation of informal and non-formal learning in Malta. The first step towards implementing a framework is therefore legislation. Legislation needs to specify the role that the Malta Qualifications Council is to take up in the validation process particularly in the accreditation of validation centres including places of work and informal learning institutions. It is also important to identify where such 'other' learning takes place. The main purposes of the validation process are: to gain access to education and training institutions; to obtain exemption from units of education and training courses; and to gain full certification. It is important to highlight that the validation process being put forward will incorporate the two main assessment aims mentioned earlier, namely formative and summative assessment.
Validation of invisible learning should be based on various forms of assessment including portfolio, interviews, simulations, Europass CV etc. The Malta Qualifications Council intends to develop a system through which it can ensure that standards and guidelines are respected through internal and external verifiers. Citizens must be empowered to realise the benefits of such a process of validation; authorities must ensure that structures are legitimate, credible, transparent and in a learning process in themselves.
The credibility and the legitimacy that such a process provides to learners can help Malta maintain, develop and improve its competitive edge as a country where all workers are officially recognised as learners within the Malta Qualifications Framework which is already aligned to the European Qualifications Framework.
Ms Attard is communications manager at the Malta Qualifications Council.
www.mqc.gov.mt