Trends in Public Support for Prior Learning Recognitionnew.tru.ca/__shared/assets/plirc-livingstone22390.pdf · WALL, 2010 Graph 10A: Graph 10B: Graph 11: Race, Gender and PLAR All

SSHRC-sponsored Workshop Ottawa, November 6-7, 2010

D. W. LIVINGSTONE Canada Research Chair in Lifelong Learning and Work

Professor Emeritus Department of Sociology and Equity Studies

Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto

Trends in Public Support for Prior Learning Recognition:

National Survey Findings, 1998-2010

Prior Learning Assessment and Recogni2on: Emergence of a Canadian Community of Scholars

Abstract

This presenta2on will summarize basic findings from three na2onal surveys conducted in 1998, 2004 and 2010 on paid and unpaid work, formal and informal learning and aHtudes toward the principle of prior learning recogni2on. Trends in interest in using PLAR are summarized for the adult Canadian popula2on, the employed labour force and specific social groups, including recent par2cipants in further adult educa2on, non‐par2cipants who wanted to par2cipate, and those who did not par2cipate and did not want to do so.

Par2cular aLen2on will be paid to non‐par2cipants in further adult educa2on who wanted to par2cipate and are interested in using PLAR, a core group of those with unmet need for PLAR. In addi2on, the associa2on of prior formal educa2onal aLainment, occupa2onal class, age, sex, ethnicity, immigra2on status and underemployment with interest in PLAR will be assessed. Finally, the rela2onship between engagement in inten2onal informal learning ac2vi2es and interest in PLAR will be analyzed. Implica2ons of these paLerns for PLAR policy and program development will be suggested.

The PLAR Con2nuum

1. QR – qualifica2ons recogni2on – exchange and transferability of creden2als

2. Competency‐based PLAR systems – essen2al skills, performance indicators, etc

3. Developmental PLAR approaches – PorUolio Learning

[ Source: Livingstone and Myers 2006. ]

Table 1: Typology for Recognizing Prior Learning (RPL)

RPL

Formal Learning Informal Learning

Qualifica2on Credit Transfer PLAR

Recogni2on (por7olio)

(challenge for credit)

[ Source: Adapted from Conrad, D. (2008). RevisiDng the RecogniDon of Prior Learning (RPL): A ReflecDve Inquiry into RPL PracDce in Canada. Canadian Journal of University Con3nuing Educa3on, 34(2), 89–110. ]

Table 2: PLAR for different types of learning, different mo2ves

Motives Formal education Informal learning

Education-related

recognition of prior formal learning at another educational institution in granting advanced credit toward completion of a formal program at a given educational institution

recognition of prior informal learning in granting advanced credit toward completion of a formal program at a given educational institution

Work-related

recognition of prior formal learning in granting certification to practice a profession or trade

recognition of prior informal learning in determining responsibility and reward in workplaces

Many discussions of PLAR conflate or confound PLAR for different types of learning (formal or informal) as well as different motives (education or work-related) for PLAR:

PLAR Ques2ons in NALL 1998, WALL 2004 and WALL 2010

NALL1998: Would you be more likely to enroll in an educational program if you could get formal acknowledgment for your past learning experiences so that it would require fewer courses to finish the program? 1 Yes / 5 No

WALL2004: Would you be more likely to enroll in an educational program if you could get formal acknowledgement for your past informal learning experiences so that it would require fewer courses to finish the program? 1 Yes / 5 No

WALL2010: In general, would you be more likely to enroll in an educational program if you were given academic credit for knowledge gained through your past informal learning? 1 Yes / 5 No

PLAR questions in NALL 1998, WALL 2004 and WALL 2010 surveys focus on education-related motives-- advanced credit toward completion of formal education programs-- without distinguishing between formal and informal prior learning experiences.

Changing Nature of Work and Lifelong Learning http://wall.oise.utoronto.ca

•  Changing Nature of Work and Lifelong Learning Research Network (www.wallnetwork.ca)

•  Research funded by SSHRC under a series of Strategic Research Grants and the Canada Research Chairs Program

•  Includes 1998, 2004 and 2010 representaDve naDonal surveys of randomly selected respondents over 18 on many issues of working condiDons and adult learning

•  Also includes over 50 related case studies of different industry sectors, at‐risk workers, unpaid work and informal learning

Figure 1: Forms of Activity and Learning

Forms of Ac2vity

• Paid Employment

• Unpaid Housework • Community Volunteer Work

• Leisure (sleep, self‐care, hobbies)

Forms of Learning

• Formal Schooling

• Further EducaDon • Informal EducaDon

• Self‐directed Learning

General Context Findings

Graph 1: Par2cipa2on in Paid and Unpaid Work

All Adults, Canada, 2010 (%)

98

79

70

46

64

2

21

30

54

36

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Percent who do household work

Percent who parDcipate in volunteer work

Percent who parDcipate in informal volunteer work

Percent who parDcipate in formal volunteer work

Percent of all adults in employed labour force

Par2cipants Non‐par2cipants

[ Sources: WALL, 2010. ]

Graph 2: Educa2onal Job Requirements and Formal Educa2onal ALainments of Canadian Wage and Salary Earners,

1983‐2010 (% Post‐secondary CredenDal)

[ Sources: Canadian Class Structure Survey, 1983 (N=1462); WALL 2004 Survey(N=3887); WALL 2010 Survey (N= 933).]

28 45 53 25 56 64 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

CCS, 1983 WALL, 2004 WALL, 2010

Post‐Sec Creden2al Required for Entry to Job Post‐Sec Completed

Graph 3: Organiza2onal changes in past 5 years

Canada, 2004 and 2010

23

30

39

50

56

23

33

39

39

42

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

ReducDon in managers/supervisors

Increase in overDme

Part‐Dme or temporary workers

More job rotaDon/mulD‐skilling

ReducDon in number of employees

2004 (%) 2010 (%)

[ Sources: WALL 2004 survey (N=5581); WALL 2010 survey (N=1256). ]

Table 3: Job Demands “Great Deal” of Thought and ALen2on by Occupa2onal Class

Canadian Wage and Salary Earners, 1983‐2010 (% great deal)

Occupa2onal Class 1983 2004 2010

Managers 77 78 69 Supervisors 55 72 81 Professional employees 74 76 71

Service workers 25 60 50

Industrial workers 30 63 61

TOTAL 37 67 63 N 1,482 4,249 967 [Sources: Canadian Class Structure Survey, 1983 (N=1,482); WALL 2004 Survey(N=4,249); WALL 2010 Survey (N=967)]

Table 4: Creden2al Underemployment by Occupa2onal Class of Employee

1983‐2010 (% underemployed)

[ Sources: Canadian Class Structure Survey, 1983; WALL 2004 Survey; WALL 2010 Survey.]

OCCUPATIONAL CLASS 1983 2004 2010

Managers 15 25 29

Supervisors 21 43 24

Professional employees 17 20 20

Service Workers 25 36 39

Industrial Workers 33 33 36

Total [%] 25 31 31

N 1461 3844 934

PLAR Findings

Graph 4: Interest in Prior Learning Assessment and Recogni2on in Canada

All Adults and Employed Labour Force 1998‐2010 (% Interested)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

1998 2004 2010

All Adults All Employees

[ Sources: NALL, 1998; WALL 2004 and WALL 2010. ]

Table 5: Current Par2cipa2on Status in Further Adult Educa2on and PLAR

All Adults, Canada, 2004‐2010

[ Source: WALL, 2004 and WALL, 2010. ]

Par2cipa2on Status % of Total Popula2on % Interested in PLAR

2004 2010 2004 2010

Enrolled past year 45 45 64 60

Not enrolled, wanted course 17 19 66 66

Not enrolled, did not want 37 36 34 35

TOTAL 100 100 52 53


Table 6: Current Par2cipa2on Status in Further Adult Educa2on and PLAR

Employed Labour Force, Canada, 2004‐2010

Par2cipa2on Status % of Employed Popula2on

% Interested in PLAR

2004 2010 2004 2010

Enrolled past year 54 55 66 60

Not enrolled, wanted course 18 19 70 68

Not enrolled, did not want 28 26 49 45

TOTAL 100 100 62 58

Graph 5A: All Adults Graph 5B: Employed Labour Force

Graph 5: Current Par2cipa2on Status in Further Adult Educa2on

All Adults and Employed Labour Force, Canada, 2004‐2010 (% of total populaDon)


45 17 37 45 19 36 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Enrolled past year Not enrolled, wanted course

Not enrolled, not wanted

2004 2010

54 18 28 55 19 26 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80



2004 2010

Graph 6: Par2cipa2on Status in Further Adult Educa2on and PLAR

All Adults and Employed Labour Force, Canada, 2004‐2010 (% interested)

Graph 6A: All Adults Graph 6B: Employed Labour Force


64 66 34 52 60 66 35 53 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80



TOTAL

2004 2010

66 70 49 62 60 68 45 58 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80



TOTAL

2004 2010

75 70

67

54

34

13

77

66 62

54

39

19

0

20

40

60

80

100

18‐24 25‐34 35‐44 45‐54 55‐64 65 +

WALL, 2004 WALL, 2010

Graph 7: Age and PLAR

All Adults, 2004-2010 (% interested)


Graph 8: Formal Educational Attainment and PLAR

All Adults, 2004-2010 (% interested )

39 54 66 59 58 48 46 47 71 56 50 43 0

25

50

75

Incomplete HS Complete HS Some Post Sec Ed Non‐Univ Post Cert Undergraduate Degree

Grad/Prof Degree

WALL, 2004 WALL, 2010


Graph 9: Current Participation in Formal Education and PLAR

All Adults, 2004-2010 (% interested )

60

77

69

44

67

84

66

46

0

25

50

75

100

Took Adult Ed. Course Full‐2me Student Part‐2me Student Non‐Par2cipants

WALL, 2004 WALL, 2010


Graph 10: Age and Educational Attainment by PLAR


70 70 77

70 65 60

23

37 42 45 48

35

0

25

50

75

100


Grad/Prof Degree

Up to 45 years old Over 45 years

WALL, 2004

WALL, 2010 83

64

80

63 62

51

29 33

54 50

36 35

0

25

50

75

100


Grad/Prof Degree

Up to 45 years old Over 45 years

WALL, 2010

Graph 10A:

Graph 10B:

Graph 11: Race, Gender and PLAR


72 69 51 50 76 66 51 47 0

25

50

75

100

Non‐white Female Non‐white Male White Female White Male

WALL, 2004 WALL, 2010


Graph 12: Period of Immigration to Canada & PLAR



71 75 67

58 51

27

75 72 78

67

50

20

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0‐5 years 6‐10 years 11‐20 years 21‐30 years 31‐40 years 41 or more

2004 2010

Graph 13: General Involvement in Informal Learning & PLAR


22 42 59 72 30 40 53 69 0

25

50

75

100

0‐5 Informal Learning Topics




2004 2010


Graph 14: Overall Involvement in Informal Learning, Unmet Demand for Further Adult Education Courses and PLAR (%)


[ Source: WALL, 2004.] [ Source: WALL, 2010.]

Graph 14B: 2010 Graph 14A: 2004

22 40 52 63 60 68 69 78 0

25

50

75

100





Did not want course Wanted course

27 31 49 60 46 62 60 75 0

25

50

75

100





Did not want course Wanted course

Table 7: Selected Occupa2onal Classes by Creden2al Underemployment and Interest in PLAR

Employed Labour Force, 2010

Occupa2onal Class Underemployed (% with higher creden2al than job

entry requires)

PLAR (% interested)

Professional employees 20 49

Service workers 39 67

Industrial workers 31 61

Total labour force 31 52

[ Source: WALL, 2010.]

Recognizing the Icebergs

of Informal Learning

[ Sources: NALL 1998 Survey; WALL 2004 Survey; WALL 2010 Survey. ]

Area of informal learning

Paid work Household work Volunteer work General interest

Year 1998 2004 2010 1998 2004 2010 1998 2004 2010 1998 2004 2010

Total% 86 87 90 79 82 82 81 76 90 83 82 88

N 962 5734 1256 1436 8607 928 795 3745 1914 1565 9024 1965

Table 8: Par2cipa2on rates in informal learning related to paid and unpaid ac2vi2es, 1998–2010 (%)

Graph 15: Time of Par2cipa2on in Different Forms of Informal Learning, 1998‐2010 (hours per week)

7 6 4 6 15 5 6 4 5 14 6 4 6 6 15 0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Job Housework Volunteer work General interest Total

NALL, 1998 WALL, 2004 WALL, 2010

[ Sources: NALL 1998 Survey; WALL 2004 Survey; WALL 2010 Survey. ]

Graph 16: Age and par2cipa2on in past year in adult further educa2on courses and informal learning ac2vi2es (%)

All Adults, 2010

[ Source: WALL 2010 Survey (N=1965).]

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

18‐24 25‐29 30‐34 35‐39 40‐44 45‐49 50‐54 55‐59 60‐64 65‐69 70‐74 75+

Taken a course in past year Any informal learning

The Gap between Working Knowledge and Formal Job Requirements

“Just involve the people … This guy might run this machine every day for years. He will come up with ideas that will make his job easier for him and easier for management … Give people some sort of a sense of importance … rather than being treated like caLle.”

[Ethan, a tool seier on an auto assembly line] [Source: Educa3on and Jobs 2009]

Conclusions

Concluding Remarks

•  About half of all Canadian adults and greater numbers of the employed would be more likely to enroll in further formal educa2on if their previous learning experiences were recognized for credit.

•  More than two‐thirds of racial minori2es, recent immigrants and younger school dropouts express a high interest in enrolment in further formal educa2on and training if their prior learning experiences were recognized for credit.

Concluding Remarks

PLAR for educa2onal mo2ves

•  The survey results indicate substan2al unmet demand for par2cipa2on in further formal educa2on. About one fish of all adults wanted to enroll in further formal educa2on in the past year but did not. Two‐thirds of these people indicate interest in enrolling if their prior learning experiences were recognized for credit.

•  This amounts to well over 10 percent of all Canadian adults, or over 3 million people. These people tend to be younger with less formal educa2on. Fuller recogni2on of less creden2aled Canadian adults’ prior informal learning could contribute to substan2ally greater par2cipa2on in further formal educa2on and training among those most at risk of being excluded from an increasingly creden2al‐oriented society.

Concluding Remarks

PLAR for employment mo2ves

•  Fuller recogni2on in paid workplaces of current educa2onal creden2als and informally acquired job skills and knowledge among the large numbers of underemployed workers, especially service workers and industrial workers, as well as fuller recogni2on of formal creden2als from abroad and informally acquired job skills and knowledge of recent immigrants in employment seHngs could contribute to more effec2ve use of workers’ talents in fulfilling, decent jobs. Greater educa2onal equity, a more produc2ve labour force and a more sustainable just society could result.

•  PLAR could address the chronic shortage of cer2fied skilled trades workers in Canada.

Concluding Remarks

•  Can we develop the systems needed to support the current diverse demands for PLAR?

•  Can we do so in a manner that is sensi2ve both to par2cipants’ learning capaci2es and work experiences, and also to their right to privacy in what they are prepared to reveal?

•  More in‐depth studies by communi2es of scholars on prior learning assessment and recogni2on, studies that dis2nguish between prior formal and informal learning and also between mo2ves of educa2onal cer2fica2on and job benefits, are sorely needed.

Concluding Remarks

Lifelong and Lifewide Learning

•  Broader than lifelong schooling mindset, as per WALL formal and informal learning in paid and unpaid work conceptual model.

•  PLAR is not a ‘one‐trick pony’ – i.e.: superb bridge into formal educa2on and training but much more.

•  PLAR applies to a broad range of transi2on challenges between learning and work throughout the life course– starts with strengths – builds confidence, mo2va2on – opens range of op2ons (labour market/career change/community engagement/legacy document/etc).

•  Conrad, D. (2008). RevisiDng the RecogniDon of Prior Learning (RPL): A Reflec2ve Inquiry into RPL Prac2ce in Canada. Canadian Journal of University Con3nuing Educa3on, 34(2), 89–110.

•  Livingstone, D.W. (2002). Working and Learning in the Informa2on Age: A Profile of Canadians. Oiawa: Canadian Policy Research Networks. [www.cprn.org]

•  Livingstone, D. W. (2004). The Educa2on‐Jobs Gap: Underemployment or Economic Democracy. (2nd ed.). Toronto: Garamond Press.

•  Livingstone, D. W. & P. Sawchuk. (2004). Hidden Knowledge: Organized Labour in the Informa2on Age. Toronto: Garamond Press, & Boulder: Rowman & Liilefield.

•  Livingstone, D.W. and Douglas Myers. (2007). “I Might Be Overqualified: Personal PerspecDves and NaDonal Survey Findings on Prior Learning Assessment and RecogniDon in Canada”. Journal of Adult and Con3nuing Educa3on. 12, 2: 27‐52.

•  Livingstone, D.W. (Ed.). (2009). Educa2on and Jobs: Exploring the Gaps. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. •  Livingstone, D.W. (Ed.). (2010). Lifelong Learning in Paid and Unpaid Work: Survey and Case Study Findings.

London: Routledge. •  Livingstone, D.W., & Raykov, M. (2010). WALL Papers: Resources from the SSHRC Collabora2ve Research

Ini2a2ve on the Changing Nature of Work and Lifelong Learning in the New Economy. Toronto: Centre for the Study of EducaDon and Work. (Available at www.wallnetwork.ca.)

•  Livingstone, D. W.(2010) Job requirements and workers' learning: formal gaps, informal closure, systemic limits, Journal of Educa3on and Work, 23(3), 207‐231.

•  Livingstone, D.W., Smith, D.E., & Smith, W. (Forthcoming, 2011). Manufacturing Meltdown: Recas2ng Steelworkers’ Labour and Learning. Black Point, NS: Fernwood Publishing.

References

Contact InformaDon

Dr. D.W. Livingstone Canada Research Chair in Lifelong Learning and Work

Professor Emeritus, Department of Sociology and Equity Studies

Ontario Ins2tute for Studies in Educa2on of the University of Toronto

252 Bloor St. W. Toronto, Ontario M5S 1V6

Email: [email protected]

Phone/fax: 905 271‐2755

Documents

Trends in Public Support for Prior Learning Recognitionnew.tru.ca/__shared/assets/plirc-livingstone22390.pdf · WALL, 2010 Graph 10A: Graph 10B: Graph 11: Race, Gender and PLAR All