Specialised Pedagogy: A comparative study of RPL practices within the changing landscape

of the NQF in South Africa

SAQA-UWC Panel Presentation 05 March 2013

Alan Ralphs, Linda Cooper, Kessie Moodley, Karen Deller Barbara Jones

NQFs and the RPL Mandate in SA

• 1994 - 2013: Sizeable cohorts of experiential learners -workers in jobs without the qualifications, and many under-employed trying to find some way to ‘return to learning’

• RPL emerges as principle for building an inclusive NQF with access and progressions opportunities for all, giving:

• Recognition (credit) for competent practice, and • Access opportunities for those without the necessary ‘entry

permits’

RPL in PracticeDoing the boundary work

In practice its about working the ‘boundaries’ between

experiential learning and formal education:

these are primarily knowledge and curriculum ‘boundaries’requiring specialised tools, agency and resources

RPL is not simply a relay for larger market and political

‘trends’: not a miracle worker – it is a specialised pedagogythat can make a difference

“Sweeper to Teacher”Epistemological Access

• Mr Peterson – retrenched 2004 - a job as school cleaner and caretaker in Mitchells Plein - does PDC 2006 - access to BEd in 2007 – works part-time at school - Graduates in 2012

• John K – 1996 – leaves school in Gr10 - declared ‘useless’ by a teacher – joins his uncle – electrician for 10 yrs – paints and reads in his spare time – does 9 week Portfolio Development Course PDC in 2005 – starts a law degree in 2006 – graduates in 2011 – advocate of the Cape High Court 2012

Overarching Research Questions

• How effective are RPL policies and practices for mediating complex knowledge recognition and certification in and across different contexts?

• What needs to change for RPL to become an optimally inclusive practice in the provision for education and training opportunities – both - in formal education and in occupationally directed programmes?

Research DesignA Comparative Study across four different sites of

practice • 2009 Literature review and development of a proposal for

exploring ‘the inner workings’ of RPL as a specialised pedagogical practice [Paper1]

• 2010/1 Case studies of existing practices [Papers 2-5]

• 2012/3 Development and testing of a conceptual framework for understanding limits and possibilities of RPL in different contexts[Paper 6]

• 2013 Learner Agency biographical studies with sample of learners at each site [Reports in Case Studies]

• 2014 Finalisation of Case Study Reports and Book

Phase 1: Mapping of Existing Practices and Models

NQF

KnowledgeLearning

Q

KnowledgeLearningOrganisation

WorkplaceSchool

University

Curriculum Vitae

RPL

Alternative Access

Certification:Licence-to-PracticeTrade Tests

Integrated Curriculum

Integrated Curriculum

SpineCredit Exchange

DevelopmentalTransformation

Researching RPL practices across different sitesCommon Lines of Enquiry

• Knowledge: Relationship between knowledge gained through experience and knowledge codified in qualifications. What knowledge is valued or excluded in the practice and how does it shape the nature of the practice?

• Pedagogy: Content, methods (teaching tools, rules, language, learning relations) and processes used. How do these practices mediate participation or exclusion across the continuum of formal and informal learning?

• Institutional Context: Systems, rules and resources governing RPL provision in different contexts. In what ways do institutional cultures, policies, rules, fees etc impact on the inclusive or exclusive nature of the practice?

• Learner Agency and Experience: Biographical profiles, socio-economic status, cultural dispositions, and strategies of learners as they engage RPL. What ‘affordances’ and ‘limitations’ do learners bring to RPL process and how does this affect their participation in these processes?

VYGOTSKY

BERNSTEIN

ACTIVITY THEORISTS

Rules Division of labourCommunity

Boundaries/specialisation

(Weak to medium Classification)

Hierarchy/control

(strong framing)

RPL Tools Dialogical

Subjects Objects/outcomes

Mediating tools

Towards an integrated model of RPL as a specialised pedagogy: A work in progress!

Knowledge

Boundaries

UWC Case StudyRPL for Access to Undergraduate Study

• Portfolio Development Course (PDC)– 9 weeks, 5 contact sessions, mentor, assessment

• Tests for Access and Placement– National Benchmark Tests (AL&QL)– Reading and Writing Proficiency Tests (UWC)

• Research Methods– Cohort study and comparisons – Historical review and qualitative study of PDC

2010

Patterns of Access and Exclusion 2001-2010Knock on effects and limited FET options

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

RPL APPLICATIONS

113 144 132 260 266 433 408 607 695 1050

RPL PARTICIPATION

113 144 132 130 150 172 106 160 138 188

RPL REGISTRATIONS

43 (38%)

72 25 26 42 58 42 47 4835%

5530%

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011PDC 69 81 79 81 73 87TAP 50 74 76 80 58 89

PDC AND TAP FIRST SEMESTER MODULAR PASS RATES (%)

RPL for Alternative AccessPortfolio Building and Writing Entrance Tests

From narrative to paradigmatic ways of knowing

From a primary (tacit) to a secondary (explicit) discourse on learning

Oral LiteraciesAcademic Literacies

PortfolioBuilding

Learning Portfolio

Tests for Access &Placement

Learning Portfolio

(Outcomes - Procedural)

• Motivation Statement

• Skills Profile and Elaborated CV

• Autobiographical Learning History

• Article Review

• Special Project• Evidence and References

Theory (Foundations - Declarative)

• Adult Learning Principles• Experiential Learning Theory

• Classifications of Knowledge and Curriculum

• Narrative Theory

• Academic Literacy• Critical Reflection

• Basic Research Literacy

• Assessment Principles

RPL Portfolio Development Course:

A Curriculum Framework

DLL Portfolio Development Course‘Seeing the borders and crossing the lines’ Harris

Competence pedagogy Performance Pedagogy

Experiential learning & narrative Academic literacy and text-based practices

Learner centered reflection and journal writing

Open community of practice, group and peer learning

Literature search & article reviews (intertext)writing for a.n. other (mentor)

Faculty focused CoP activity, with tutors andmentors

Content and pacing focus on recognition rules – navigating learning in different contexts

Content and pacing focus on realisation rules- using the tools in an academic context

Enhanced visibility

UWC Case Study

• Competence in either Tests or PDC is a good predictor of subsequent success, but many don’t make it.

• The Case Study illustrates the merits and limitations of different RPL practices – test and portfolio –the former is a primarily a boundary crossing assessment device; the latter is a programme that facilitates access to boundary-crossing navigation tools.

• Information, advice and pre-selection services are key to effective placement on either of these routes.

Workers College Case StudyRPL embeded in the curriculum

• 5 Diploma Programmes @ Level 5• Access via literacy assessment and interview• Progression option: entry to BA Social Science

UKZN• Flexible delivery - 6 modules per diploma –

Project+Research report concludes• Experiential learning restricted in the planned

curriculum but fully integrated in the pedagogy

Labour Studies Programme

Planned Curriculum

Strong classification of knowledge boundaries in Union and University contexts but College curriculum integrated - more porous curriculum boundaries allow for integration of different knowledge forms

UnionUniversity

Labour Studies Programme

Enacted curriculum – pedagogy in action

Inductive and deductive recruitment of experiential learning but strong framing of dialogical discourse –control of the concepts, direction of dialogue, underpinning values, assessment rules

Workers College:RPL articulation course

• This study illustrates the limitations and possibilities of RPL as a radical pedagogy for mediating between the knowledge of union and CBO activists and concepts located within academic discourse.

• It promotes an inclusive epistemology and articulation whilst challenging conventional dichotomies between academic and experiential learning.

Workplace RPL

• This case study suggests that the QCTO model of qualification and curriculum design is suited for novices entering an occupational learning pathway but

• prescribes a disaggregated RPL model that could seriously disadvantage or exclude the experienced practitioner from .

• Does the model explain this and would the recommendations for an integrated approach offer a more inclusive and cost effective way forward?

UCT Case StudyRPL for access to postgraduate study

• Adult Education, Business and Management, Disability

• This case study suggests there is a tension betweenexpected institutional and disciplinary limitations to

RPL, and a finding that there is considerable space for pedagogic agency thus presenting affordances for RPL.

Research in progress

– In practice its about recognising and working the ‘boundaries’between experiential learning and formal education: these are primarily knowledge and curriculum ‘boundaries’ requiring specialised tools, agency and resources to navigate

– RPL is about providing learners with the ‘tools’ to navigate different knowledge and learning practices across contexts –

– Good information, advice, counseling and administration are a key feature of all RPL programmes and services

– Its about pedagogic agency combining with learner agency – doing the work to make articulation possible within and across different learning pathways

– RPL is not simply a relay for larger market and political forces: not a miracle worker – it is a specialised pedagogy that can make a difference