Actors: the APL-professionals Aušra Fokienė, Anita Lanka, Eglė Stasiūnaitienė, Sandra Gudzuka, Alvars Baldinš, Jovita Gudaitytė, Vilma Šlentnerienė
Actors: the APL-professionals Who are the main actors in the APL process? What are the tasks of these actors? What should be the features of good assessor? The main actors in the APL process are: Candidate (VET Teacher) Counsellor Tutor Assessor
The process of APL starts with assessing the evidence of prior learning and closes with personalized learning qualification development plans. Therefore, the entire procedure of APL is not simply about recognizing competencies, but about the communication between the candidate, the assessor and the consultant (and any others who may be involved in the process) in order to find the effective personal learning path. The initial task of the assessors, before starting the APL procedure is to clarify whether the aim of the candidate is to improve their competence or to shorten the study time of a certain education programme. Various actors can contribute to the success of the assessment of VET teachers’ non-formal and informal learning achievements. The key actors are the VET teacher, the counsellor, the tutor,
and lastly the assessor who makes the decision based on the assessment results. The VET teacher is the most important of the key actors in the entire process of APL in VET teacher education. The quality and the success of APL mainly depend on the aims and attitudes of the candidate. The candidate should understand the meaning on APL in their own career development, and should be applying for APL to improving their teaching as opposed to wanting to shorten a study programme. The candidate should have enough of information about APL and sufficient motivation to collect and demonstrate the evidence of their development process, i.e. to carry out self analysis of their own learning achievements. The starting point for any candidate wishing to claim for APL is to reflect on their experience in order to identify relevant achievements. The Counsellor. Even though the Lifelong learning ideas are being actively promoted, the idea of learning and planning a professional career is not yet an everyday activity in the VET teacher education culture. Therefore the role of the counsellor as a facilitator is hugely important for the candidates, since they have little or no experience in planning learning activities or gathering the evidence of learning on-the-job. The 55