Abstract
This paper examines the impact of the national qualifications framework on the education and training system in Slovenia in the context of the European qualifications framework for lifelong learning and its influence on the design of the Slovenian qualifications framework. Although the role of the European Union in educational policy-making has received considerable attention, of which national qualifications frameworks are part of, only a few studies have focused on measuring the impacts of the European qualifications framework influenced national qualifications frameworks in Europe. By drawing on the theoretical concept of policy transfer in the analysis of European/global education policies, the study shows how European qualifications framework policy transfer influenced Slovenian qualifications framework development through soft instruments. Furthermore, this study examined the extent to which the Slovenian qualifications framework’s objectives have been achieved according to key stakeholders (n = 50) using a quantitative research approach. The findings indicate that, unlike objectives related to the Slovenian qualifications framework’s reform role, i.e. support for lifelong learning, the objectives related to the Slovenian qualifications framework’s communication role, i.e. recognisability, understanding and transparency of qualifications and coordination of the qualifications subsystems, are mostly being met from the stakeholders’ perspective.
Highlights
We briefly introduce the role of international organisations (IOs) in fostering policy transfer and the instruments used in the European qualifications framework (EQF) policy transfer, elaborate on the issue of measuring the impact of the current Slovenian qualifications framework (SQF), outline the methodological approach employed in this work and present the results of empirical study
The EQF policy transfer influenced SQF development through discursive dissemination, i.e. common objectives related to facilitation of lifelong learning (LLL), such as the promotion of mobility, transparency and www.ijcrsee.com comparability of qualifications; standard setting, i.e. clear timelines and benchmarks related to the use of criteria and procedures for referencing the SQF to the EQF; financial means, i.e. the SQF development and implementation being supported with European social funds (ESF) and Commission grants to the EQF national coordination points (NCP); coordinative functions, i.e. progress made towards common policy aims being monitored through the EQF networks (EQF AG and EQF NCP); and through technical assistance, i.e. three international experts were included in the EQF referencing process
The results indicate that the SQF is more successful in its communication role compared to the reform role: objectives related to the SQF’s communication role are, from the key stakeholders’ perspectives, realised to a much greater extent compared to those related to the SQF reform role
Summary
The role of international organisations (IOs) in global and/or European education policy-making has received considerable attention in the scientific community (Caspersen and Frølich, 2017; Jakobi, 2009; Kleibrink, 2011; Portnoi, 2016), their role in the establishment of the European qualifications framework (EQF), a key European policy instrument for lifelong learning (LLL) (Elken, 2015), and the national qualifications frameworks (NQFs) whose establishment have been strongly supported by various IOs around the globe (Chakroun, 2010; Raffe, 2013). There is still much to be learned about their impact on national education systems, policies and practices (Portnoi, 2016) and the application of the policies from IOs to the national level (Crossley, 2019; Jakobi, 2009). We looked into the key stakeholders’ views regarding the extent to which the SQF objectives were met and investigated their familiarity with the SQF’s benefits and whether their views differed regarding the SQF’s usage
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