the right value to the outcomes of mobility by qualifications authorities and companies. This approach should enhance transparency and comparability of qualifications and facilitate the transfer, recognition and accumulation of knowledge, skills and competence (i.e. learning outcomes) acquired in different learning contexts (European Commission 2011b). Some examples developed by Leonardo ECVET testing projects reveal that agreement among partners becomes easier and facilitates the assessment abroad, if: •• They use occupational activities resp. job tasks as the basis for comparability or equivalence of units, or the design of common units. •• They ensure that the description of learning outcomes is understandable to various actors from different countries, who are familiar with the specific occupational context. •• The size of a unit (the number of learning outcomes) is related to the complexity of assessment. •• The description of the unit reflects the elements of knowledge, skills and competence. This does not necessarily mean a need to adopt the format of describing knowledge separately from skills and separately from competence. Holistic descriptions are also possible. The partnership needs to decide on this (Cedefop 2010b).
343 Mobilit y as a tool to acquire and develop competences from childhood to seniorit y
PART I: Mobility and Competences – Civic Society, Labour Market and Education
Making learning portable To find the right words to formulate learning outcomes requires a European shared vocabulary to translate into domestic contexts. This vocabulary is part of a learning culture in mobility (ranging from mobility agreements to national training regulations). Examples of good practice include a European guide ECVET questions and answers (European Commission 2011c). Also helpful are guidelines, e.g. the guidelines developed in Germany5 specifically address the description of learning outcomes. They provide concrete recommendations on how to formulate learning outcomes (for example, use active verbs, specify the context and the level of demand, avoid vague formulations, etc.). The challenges and obstacles to practically recognising and validating competences acquired during mobility abroad revolve around the facts that:
5 See <http://www.ecvet-info.de>.
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•• Learning outcomes are still a goal – not yet a common achievement in all E&T systems. •• A unit-based approach to qualifications is not consolidated within all systems. •• There remain marked differences in assessment approaches, procedures, tools and assessor profiles across countries and between VET segments.