Beyond Galileo's telescope: situated knowledge and the recognition of prior learning

Recognition of prior learning (RPL), known in the US as prior learning assessment, arose out of the student-centred educational movements of the late 1960s and early 1970s. It has, more recently, been introduced in many other countries, emerging at different historical moments and taking on the political and philosophical marks of its disparate new settings. However, the undertheorisation of RPL practice remains the norm and 'RPL remains trapped within a model of transcendental rationality and individual cognition that is shared by white academic cultures across the globe'. This chapter revisits the epistemological foundations of RPL practice, focusing on the specific attention paid to portfolio-assisted evaluation.

The monograph from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 86.365; selected chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 86.366 to TD/TNC 86.373.

Recognition of prior learning (RPL), known in the US as prior learning assessment, arose out of the student-centred educational movements of the late 1960s and early 1970s. It has, more recently, been introduced in many other countries, emerging at different historical moments and taking on the political and philosophical marks of its disparate new settings. However, the undertheorisation of RPL practice remains the norm and 'RPL remains trapped within a model of transcendental rationality and individual cognition that is shared by white academic cultures across the globe'. ...  [+] Show more