Classification for Learning Activities : Manual - bvekennis

[pic] |EUROPEAN COMMISSION
EUROSTAT Directorate D: Single Market, Employment and Social statistics
Unit D-5: Education and culture
|[pic] | | Classification for Learning Activities Manual May 2005
Table of contents
1. Foreword 4 2. Introduction 5
2.1. The need for CLA 5
2.2. Purpose of CLA 5
2.3. Purpose of this manual 6 3. General concepts and definitions 8
3.1. Lifelong Learning 8
3.2. Learning activities versus non-learning Activities 9
3.3. Single Learning Activities (SLA) 10
3.4. Learning map and aggregation of Single Learning Activities 11
3.5. Scope of education and learning and categories of Learning
Activities 13
3.6. Operational criteria for distinguishing the broad categories of
Learning Activities 15
3.6.1. Informal learning versus formal and non-formal education
15
3.6.2. Formal education versus non-formal education 16
3.7. Summary decision making flow chart 20 4. Classification of Learning Activities (CLA) 21
4.1. Content and structure of CLA 21
4.2. Primary statistical units of CLA 21
4.3. Formal Education 21
4.4. Non-Formal Education 22
4.5. Informal Learning 22 5. Broad categories, classes and sub-classes 23
5.1. Summary table 23
5.2. Explanatory notes to CLA 24 6. Bibliography 29
6.1. EUROPEAN COMMISSION 29
6.2. CEDEFOP 30
6.3. UNESCO and UNESCO Institute for Statistics 30
6.4. OECD 30
6.5. ILO and United Nations Statistics Division: 30
6.6. World Bank 30
6.7. National reference papers 30
6.8. Internet sites of some of the references: 31 Abbreviations and acronyms LLL Lifelong Learning FED Formal Education NF Non Formal Education INF Informal Learning LA Learning Activities NLA Non Learning Activities SLA Single Learning Activities NFQ National Framework of Qualifications ISCED International Standard Classification of Education HALLA Harmonised List of Learning Activities CLA Classification of Learning Activities ETS WG Education and Training Statistics Working Group TF/MLLL Task Force on Measuring Lifelong Learning AES Adult Education Survey Q&A Question and Answer
Foreword Since the treaties of Maastricht and Amsterdam included education and
training as part of action at Community level, lifelong training has been a
key element of the education and training policy in Europe. Thus, the
conclusions of the Lisbon summit (2000) mention lifelong learning as a way
of ensuring a successful transition towards a knowledge society. Moreover,
the EU Council resolution of 27 June 2002 on lifelong learning stresses
that « Education and training are an indispensable means for promoting
social cohesion, active citizenship, personal and professional fulfilment,
adaptability and employability» and that lifelong learning must cover
learning from the pre-school age to that of post-retirement. Lifelong Learning (LLL) is not simply a summing up of traditional education
programme and modern learning opportunities. While traditional educational
institutions have been (and still are) primarily concerned with
transmitting knowledge, modern learning opportunities and the LLL approach
put the emphasis on the development of individual capabilities and the
capacity of the person to learn. LLL implies a paradigm shift from the
dominance of traditional education institutions to a diverse field of
traditional and modern learning opportunities that are more process and
outcome oriented as well as of a modular structure. At the same time,
responsibility for education and learning shifts from the public (state) to
non-governmental organisations as well as to the individuals themselves. This political priority results in a growing need for statistics on
lifelong learning. Now, learning activities cover many fields. According
to the definition of the European Union, education and lifelong learning
include the entire spectrum of formal, non-formal and informal learning.
Furthermore, lifelong learning must be understood as all learning activity
undertaken throughout life, with the aim of improving knowledge, skills and
competence. The work carried out by the Task Force set up by Eurostat with a view to
proposing means of measuring lifelong learning has resulted in several
recommendations, including the establishment of a classification of such
activities. Classifications and nomenclatures are the basic tools for structuring
statistical information in well-defined categories excluding one another.
These classifications are a prerequisite for the data collection and they
play an important part in the quality of statistics in that they make it
possible to set common harmonised definitions. A classification is primarily meant to ensure the comparability of the
data. The existing classifications only cover part of all learning
activities. Thus, regarding formal and non-formal learning, the ISCED 97
classification, which covers education programmes by levels and fields,
needs to be refined before it can be used for non-formal learning. And as
for the Classification of Training Provisions (Brandsma and Kornelius) of
the Leonardo da Vinci project, it covers other aspects of education and
formal and non-formal learning. It would then be interesting to obtain a
classification that would include these different aspects. On the contrary, as regards informal learning, there is practically no
information at the international level. Some useful reflection on concepts
that could underpin a classification of learning activities has taken place
in the project on Harmonised List of Learning Activities carried out at the
request of CEDEFOP in 2001-2002 (Dieter Gnahs, Alexandra Ioannidou, Klaus
Pehl, Sabine Seidel). The results of this project constitute an important
input for the Classification of Learning Activities.
Introduction
1 The need for CLA The need of policy-makers for statistical information on the participation
of individuals in lifelong learning had generated a need for appropriate
statistical tools to measure this. A Classification of Learning Activities
(CLA) is one of the tools required for the statistical measurement of key
lifelong learning issues. Within the framework of the CLA project launched by Eurostat in December
2002, a survey on the needs of potential users of the classification was
conducted. The main general conclusions that were drawn from the survey can
be summarised as follows: . Need to develop an operational definition of learning activity at EU
level . No operational definition of learning activities has been identified even
at national level . Non-existence of a Classification of learning activities at country level . Lack of conceptual work in the field of non-formal and informal . Need to take into account all learning activities either formal or
informal and/or taught or non-taught . Need to develop and detail the ISCED fields of education and training,
especially for subjects like personal development and working life. Moreover the UN Expert Group on International Economic and Social
Classifications formulated the following recommendation (New York, 8-10
December 2003): "The Expert Group recommended that the classification and reporting of non-
traditional educational and/or recreational and life-long learning
activities should be addressed and solved. The UNESCO Institute for
Statistics (UIS), Eurostat and ILO should be involved in this task." Both the UIS and ILO have been involved in the development since the
beginning of the CLA project participating in the Task Group on
Classifications, which acted as the steering group for the project in 2002-
2003, in the framework of the Eurostat Task Force on Adult Education
Survey.
2 Purpose of CLA CLA is intended to cover all types of learning opportunities and
education/learning pathways. It is intended to be universal in nature,
applicable in countries irrespective of their level of development or
systems of education and learning. It is designed to serve as an instrument for compiling and presenting
comparable statistics and indicators on learning activities both within
individual countries and across countries. It covers all intentional and
organised learning activities for all age groups. CLA is to be applied to statistical surveys to collect quantitative
information on different aspects of participation of individuals in
learning. The CLA has been designed to cover and serve the scope of the
European Union Adult Education Survey (AES). However, other EU household
surveys (e.g. LFS[1], TUS[2], etc) as well as specific enterprise surveys
(e.g. CVTS[3]) may use it if it is adequate for their needs. CLA is intended for the collection, compilation and presentation of data: . regarding both individuals (through household surveys such as the future
survey on adult education, which will focus on lifelong learning) and
training providers; . covering the participation of individuals in learning systems, as well as
other aspects of learning such as the time dedicated to learning, the
money spent/invested in it. CLA provides relevant criteria for the classification of all learnin