Digital Commons Network^™

Proposed Models Of Including Non-Formal Sector Qualifications In National Qualifications Frameworks, Horacy Debowski, Stanislaw Slawinski, Sylwia Walicka, Agata Poczmansksa, Barbara Przybylska

Level 3

Report prepared within NQF-in Project based on the analysis and discussions of the experiences of seven European Countries: draft for consultation

Policy Development And Implementation Procedures For Recognition Of Prior Learning: A Case Study Of Practice In Higher Education, Anne Murphy

Level 3

This article investigates how higher education (HE) experts and training stakeholders perceive the use and value of recognition of prior learning (RPL) in responding to changing learner profiles in the context of increasing economic difficulties globally and their resulting impact on employment, the labour market and education and training systems. The data were gathered as an element of the author’s doctoral research. The immediate research context was shaped by a rich policy discourse on social inclusion, mobility, organisational development, personal development, up-skilling and re-skilling in the labour market, and economic regeneration.

The Discourses Of Higher Education In Ireland: Religion, Nationalism And Economic Development, Nora French

Level 3

This paper will trace the discourses used in university education in Ireland from the founding of Trinity College in the sixteenth century, to Newman’s Idea of the University (1996) in the nineteenth century, the impact of the independence and nationalist movement in the early part of the twentieth century and finally, from the late 1950s on, the gradual turn towards the economic dimension, where education has progressively been perceived as a vital component in developing the wealth of the country, in providing a well-educated workforce to allow for economic and industrial development

The Interface Between Academic Knowledge And Working Knowledge: Implications For Curriculum Design And Pedagogic Practice., Anne Murphy

Level 3

This paper considers some aspects of the theory and practice of work-based learning (WBL) that may be of interest to academic staff in higher education who have responsibility for negotiating, designing, delivering and assessing programmes for, and with, Irish workplaces, companies, organisations and sectors of the workforce. The paper does not claim to be breaking significant new ground: rather it is trying to connect aspects of the field to inform underpinning of WBL curriculum design and related pedagogic practice as the start of a conversation rather than the last word.

What Light Do Professional Doctorates Throw On The Question On The Question Of What Counts As Knowledge In The Academy At The Start Of The 21st. Century, Sandra Fisher

Level 3

In their article, ‘Professional Doctorates in England’, Bourner et al. (2001: 81) pose the question ‘What light do professional doctorates throw on the question of what counts as knowledge in the academy at the start of the twenty-first century?’ This article attempts to address this question.

The article provides some background to the development of professional doctorates. It looks at forces, such as the rise of the knowledge society, economic drivers, and the demands of lifelong learning, that are shaping knowledge in the academy in the twenty-first century. I attempt to interpret these forces in the context of …

Is There A Need To Debate The Role Of Higher Education And The Public Good?, Sandra Fisher

Level 3

Calls for sustaining and increasing investment in higher education are often made on the basis that higher education is a `public good'. The idea of higher education as a public good is frequently conceptualized in terms of its contribution to economic development. If more people participate in higher education then society as a whole will benefit.

Outside of the economic benefits of higher education there is less debate as to what is meant by `public good' in the context of higher education. This paper explores higher education as a public good and its role in realizing the public good ( …