On Wednesday 30th October at 5:00pm
In the Saloon, Mansion, Trent Park
‘Can the National Qualification Frameworks
support learner-managed learning?’
Presented by Dr Stan Lester
‘Can the National Qualification Frameworks support learner-managed
learning?’
Learner-managed learning is increasingly needed in a society where
people are expected to take charge of their careers, innovate, and cope
with change. If this kind of learning is to be supported in higher and
further education and in schools, the structures that govern curricular
and qualification systems need to be compatible with it. Among these
structures are the 'national qualification frameworks' that have evolved in
the UK over the past five years; these frameworks are significant both
because of the social value attached to qualifications and the emphasis
given to award-bearing programmes in funding decisions. While the
frameworks appear to support the kind of reactive, task-based learner-
managed learning that can be incorporated into almost any qualification,
their difficulty in recognising the more strategic or exploratory form that
is becoming essential in modern society suggests that they are already
lagging behind current needs. If the frameworks are to be effective, new
assumptions are needed about the way that qualifications can be
structured and award-bearing programmes designed.
Dr Stan Lester is a consultant and systems developer in professional
and vocational education. He is currently engaged among other things
in working on the review of the national qualifications framework for
QCA and its partner organisations in Wales and Northern Ireland, and
developing award-bearing, learner-negotiated pathways for the
University for Industry. Stan is an associate of ICLML and visiting
academic at Middlesex University.
Trent Park is accessible from both Oakwood and Cockfosters tube
stations. A University Shuttle bus runs from opposite Oakwood station
down Snakes Lane to the Campus. If you have any queries or wish to
find out further information please contact Caroline Lloyd,
[log in to unmask] alternatively visit the University website at
http://www.mdx.ac.uk/campus/general.htm#gen
