Abstract
<p>Intention and opportunity for validation of competences acquired in different contexts are considered influential to meet the incremental changes in the world of work. Positioned in the universities of applied sciences delivering art and professional teacher education in Finland, we study emergence of validation of prior learning in the intended, or planned, curricula. The Nordic Quality Model for Validation was employed as the empirical frame of reference. Data were collected from the institutions’ open websites. The critical discourse analysis revealed differences in curricular discourses between and across the institutions. Texts with more indicators of validation were found within larger providers of professional teacher education, whereas those were more scarce in texts from smaller institutions. Validation texts are shorter in length and more fragmented in art teacher curricula. Despite its centrality in educational policy, validation remains in the margins of art and professional teacher education curricula. It is unlikely that the intended curricula facilitate teacher trainers’ efforts to form a shared repertoire of a community of practice in validation of non-formal and informal learning. We suggest further study on the enacted and experienced curricula to examine the role of validation in art teacher and professional teacher education.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0893/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>
Highlights
Educational institutions are encouraged to rethink approaches to learning and teaching and to modernise higher education (European Union, EU, 2017)
The need to validate non-formal and informal learning in educational programmes is a central aim in current educational policies (UNESCO, 2019)
We examined how this policy has been addressed in Finnish art teacher and professional teacher education curricular texts and how functional are the tools for analysis provided by the Nordic Model for Validation (Grunnet & Dahler, 2013)
Summary
Educational institutions are encouraged to rethink approaches to learning and teaching and to modernise higher education (European Union, EU, 2017). Educational reforms involve seeking alternatives to the traditional and expensive realisation of degree programmes through options like the competence-based approach (Ordonez, 2014). The European Union promotes the provision of competence-oriented education, training and learning, establishing related good practices and better support of educational staff (EU, 2018). Competence-based approach links authentic working life experiences to learning occurring at an educational institution (Jonnaert et al, 2007) and promotes validation of competences acquired in different contexts. The recent shift towards competence-based curricula (UNESCO, 2019) reflects this desire for pedagogical change integrating professional competences across higher education (HE)
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