Recognising non-formal and informal learning: participant insights and perspectives

This study investigated the experiences of people who have used recognition of non-formal and informal learning to enable them to access a formal training qualification and/or further study. In particular, the study sought insights into how people not currently in education and training become aware of their options and opportunities regarding recognition of non-formal and informal learning. The study also investigated the factors that encourage or inhibit people from accessing the non-formal and informal pathways to formal learning. A review of the literature suggested that factors likely to encourage learner engagement with recognition of prior learning (RPL) procedures include clear communication, simplified processes, tailored support for learners, and more of a focus on the way individual lives can be transformed through participation in the process of recognition. Factors identified as impeding uptake of RPL include a lack of awareness, the complexity of the process, and the nature of the language associated with it. In addition, the literature suggests that learners devalue their own experiential learning and opt to undertake training rather than access the options and opportunities available through the recognition process. The themes emerging from this study are consistent with much that is already known or assumed about promoting, accessing and implementing recognition of prior learning. But the study asks, why do the same issues keep arising? The answer may, in part, lie in the lack of any rigorous longitudinal research aimed at establishing the longer-term educational impact and industry-based benefits of RPL.

This study investigated the experiences of people who have used recognition of non-formal and informal learning to enable them to access a formal training qualification and/or further study. In particular, the study sought insights into how people not currently in education and training become aware of their options and opportunities regarding recognition of non-formal and informal learning. The study also investigated the factors that encourage or inhibit people from accessing the non-formal and informal pathways to formal learning. A review of the literature suggested that factors ...  [+] Show more