ABSTRACT
Recognition of prior learning (RPL)——taken here to mean the process via which an individual’s prior learning experiences are assessed as being equivalent to specific formal learning outcomes-—is viewed by many higher education policymakers as a key aspect of a comprehensive lifelong learning agenda (Watson, 2003). RPL is believed to have the potential to advance economic goals, through stimulating mobility in the labour market; and social/democratic objectives, including the validation of informal and non-formal learning to widen access to education (Andersson & Fejes, 2010). RPL also has potential to redress social injustice, by supporting learners historically under-represented in higher education (Frick & Albertyn, 2011). To date, there has been diverse research into RPL, much of it focusing on the extent to which learning acquired in one context can be transferred, and is equivalent, to learning acquired in another context (Harris, 2000; Trowler, 1996). As Trowler (1996, p. 17) more poetically
Introduction
Recognition of prior learning (RPL)——taken here to mean the process via which an individual’s prior learning experiences are assessed as being equivalent to specific formal learning outcomes-—is viewed by many higher education policymakers as a key aspect of a comprehensive lifelong learning agenda (Watson, 2003). RPL is believed to have the potential to advance economic goals, through stimulating mobility in the labour market; and social/democratic objectives, including the validation of informal and non-formal learning to widen access to education (Andersson & Fejes, 2010). RPL also has potential to redress social injustice, by supporting learners historically under-represented in higher education (Frick & Albertyn, 2011). To date, there has been diverse research into RPL, much of it focusing on the extent to which learning acquired in one context can be transferred, and is equivalent, to learning acquired in another context (Harris, 2000; Trowler, 1996). As Trowler (1996, p. 17) more poetically
puts it, ‘the angel already exists within the person; their abilities … are simply given credit value through assessment’.
