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Qualifications frameworks (QFs) refer to the structures designed at the national, regional (groups of nations), and/or international levels to guide planning, implementation, and maintenance of education and training systems, particularly higher education systems. The term, qualifications, refers to the categories and descriptions of the levels of educational and vocational qualifications (the quality or accomplishment that makes someone suitable for a particular job or activity). When combined into a framework, the qualifications enable understanding and comparisons among the different levels of qualifications.
The levels within Qualifications Frameworks are often described by learning outcomes, skills, and knowledge that are aligned with the levels. Attention to learning outcomes, skills, and knowledge are especially spurred by growing needs for a skilled workforce in many nations. This has resulted in an emphasis on credentials such as academic degrees, certificates, licenses, and microcredentials which are described in the various levels of many Qualifications Framework.
Qualifications Frameworks are used to:
The processes and timeline for developing a Qualifications Framework vary significantly among nations. Key factors that impact the process and timeline include the type of existing education system, political environment, stakeholder collaboration, and complexity of the envisioned framework. Generally, the development of a national Qualifications Framework takes years and a complex process:
The learning outcomes used to describe the levels in Qualifications Frameworks typically prescribe what learners will know and be able to do when they successfully complete a period of study, a course, or an educational or training program. Learning outcomes are often statements that describe three domains: knowledge, skills, and competences.
The following examples illustrate the diverse applications of Qualifications Frameworks. They range from regional collaborations like the European Qualifications Framework to national frameworks that are tailored to specific education sectors such as the National Qualifications Framework for Higher Education in South Africa. The management of Qualifications Frameworks involve close collaboration between governmental bodies, educational institutions, and relevant stakeholders to maintain effectiveness and relevance.
Released in 2011 by Lumina Foundation, the Degree Qualifications Profile (DQP) was updated in 2014, and again in 2021, with the assistance of the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) and based on feedback from over 800 higher education institutions. Birth and Growth DQP 3.0 document provides a quick history of the DQP and information that informed the revision process. A one-pager highlighting revisions is found here.
The DQP describes what degree recipients should know and be able to do through proficiencies that benchmark the associate, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees—regardless of a student’s field of specialization. The DQP drew on more than a decade of debate and effort across all levels of U.S. higher education and in countries throughout the world to define learning outcomes that graduates are expected to fulfill in preparation for work, citizenship, global participation and life.
While clarity and consensus were goals of the DQP process, the DQP did not attempt to “standardize” U.S. degrees. Rather, it recognized the role and responsibility of faculty to determine both the content appropriate to different areas of study and the best ways to teach that content. The DQP described, therefore, generic forms of student performance appropriate for each degree level through clear reference points that indicated the incremental, integrative and cumulative nature of learning.
The DQP focuses in five areas:
Challenges. Many nations (for example, the United States) do not have a comprehensive Qualifications Framework to guide their higher education systems. Several challenges can arise in nations without a Qualifications Framework:
Benefits. Education and training enterprises in many nations operate effectively without a formalized Qualifications Framework. Benefits may include:
The concept of a Qualifications Framework grew out of developments in many ancient cultures. Civilizations in Greece, Rome, and China, for example, identified systems of education to enable certain groups of their population (scribes, priests) to obtain needed knowledge and skills.
As the practices of education and vocational training evolved, they became more accessible and necessary for the masses. In such a context, Qualifications Frameworks became a tool to build education and training systems that would enable people to move among national, regional, and international boundaries and ensure that people’s knowledge, skills, and competencies would be recognizable by employers and other educational institutions.
Examples:
Over the past 50 years, Qualifications Frameworks have commonly bridged two education and training areas: vocational/occupational education’s growing focus on competencies; and growing focus on learning outcomes framed within a lifelong learning concept.
In the present increasingly global context, there is growing recognition of the importance of learning and learner mobility; global standards for skills building and upskilling in many occupational and professional areas (for example, technology, cybersecurity, engineering, law, medicine, architecture); and employer hiring for credentials and skills, especially among global companies. These changes may influence nations, regions, and international entities to develop Qualifications Frameworks to address need for common language and standards in educational and training, mobility, transparency, leveraging resources, and quality assurance.
Competency Modeling for Beginners| Blog | CABEM Technologies https://www.cabem.com/competency-modeling-for-beginners/
Connecting Credentials: A Beta Credentials Framework - Credential Engine
DQP - National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment
dqp.pdf (luminafoundation.org)
https://www.oecd.org/education/2030-project/teaching-and-learning/learning/
https://www.learningoutcomesassessment.org/dqp/
https://www.careeronestop.org/CompetencyModel/competency-models/pyramid-home.aspx
https://www.careeronestop.org/CompetencyModel/
https://cte.ed.gov/initiatives/employability-skills-framework
https://credentialfinder.org/search?searchType=competencyframework
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualifications_framework
The Training Industry: https://trainingindustry.com/wiki/professional-development/competency-model/
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