Southern African Development Community Joint Model for Assessment and Certification

2. Southern African Development Community Joint Model for Assessment and Certification 4th Annual SADC Assessment in Education Conference James Keevy 26 June 2006

3. Presentation overview • Distribution of National Qualifications Frameworks across SADC and further afield • Interpreting National Qualifications Frameworks through four lenses: • Foucauldian • Discourse analysis • Empiricism • African philosophy • 3. Development of the SADC Qualifications Framework: a joint model for assessment and certification • 4. The influence of the South African NQF within SADC • 5. Concluding comments

4. GREENLAND ALASKA (USA) SWEDEN ICELAND RUSSIA FINLAND NORWAY CANADA ESTONIA LATVIA DENMARK LITHUANIA BELARUS REPULIC OFIRELAND UNITEDKINGDOM NETHERLANDS GERMANY POLAND BELGIUM CZECHREPUBLIC UKRAINE KAZAKHSTAN SLOVAKIA AUSTRIA MONGOLIA HUNGARY SWITZ. FRANCE ROMANIA ITALY UZBEKISTAN BULGARIA GEORGIA KYRGYZSTAN SPAIN NORTHKOREA PORTUGAL UNITED STATES of AMERICA GREECE TURKEY TURKMENISTAN TAHKISTAN CHINA SOUTHKOREA JAPAN SYRIA AFGHANISTAN IRAN IRAQ TUNISIA MOROCCO PAKISTAN ALGERIA NEPAL LIBYA EGYPT WESTERN SAHARA SAUDIARABIA MEXICO TAIWAN UAE INDIA OMAN VIETNAM MYANMAR CUBA MAURITANIA LAOS MALI NIGER CHAD THAILAND SUDAN YEMEN GUATEMALA HONDURAS SENEGAL PHILIPPINES NICARAGUA CAMBODIA BURKINA GUINEA NIGERIA COSTA RICA ETHIOPIA VENEZUELA GHANA PANAMA SRILANKA COTED’IVOIRE CENTRALAFRICAN REPUBLIC LIBERIA GUYANA CAMEROON FRENCHGUIANA MALAYSIA COLOMBIA SURINAME SOMALIA UGANDA KENYA CONGO GABON ECUADOR DEMOCRATICREPUBLIC OFCONGO TANZANIA PAPUANEW GUINEA INDONESIA BRAZIL PERU ANGOLA ZAMBIA BOLIVIA MOZAMBIQUE MADAGASCAR ZIMBABWE NAMIBIA BOTSWANA PARAGUAY AUSTRALIA REPUBLICOF SOUTHAFRICA URUGUAY CHILE ARGENTINA NEWZEALAND

5. Incrementalism Underlying philosophy Governance Architecture National Qualifications Framework …a qualifications framework, be it the NQF or any other, provides nationally recognized, consistent standards and qualifications and recognition for all learning of knowledge and skills (NZQA, 2002) …it is [in the first instance], to use the construction metaphor, not the building itself but the frame, the constructional system, that gives shape and strength to the building… (Cosser, 2001) …unified system of thirteen national qualifications in schools, vocational education and training…and the higher education sector (AQF, 2005) …a social construct whose meaning has been, and will continue to be, negotiated for the people, by the people (SAQA in Kraak and Young, 2001). …a single unifying framework known as the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). In this Framework, qualifications are described in terms of their levels and their credit value… (SCQF, 2003:1) Foucauldian lense Scope Prescriptiveness Purpose Policy breadth

6. The social construct continuum Partial Architecture: levels, credits, organising mechanism Social construct Architectural

7. National Qualifications Framework Unified discourse Performative discourse Critical discourse “Discourse analysis” lense Political vanguard discourse Traditional discourse

8. National Qualifications Framework Evidence-based policy development Empiricism lense

9. National Qualifications Framework Community at centre… African philosophy lense Rejection of capitalism… Response to the domination of western thought…

10. Development of the SADC Qualifications Framework

11. Development of the SADC Qualifications Framework: The NQF/RQF debate National Qualifications Frameworks SADC Regional Qualifications Framework

12. The SADC Qualifications Framework: A joint model for assessment and certification • Dominance of performative discourse • Limited vanguard discourse – “no (limited) attempts are made to radically transform the status quo along the lines of a specific vision for the future” • Limited critical discourse – “emphasis on democratic participation by all in the social construction and transformation of knowledge and the world through critical reflection upon their practices” • Continued over-emphasis on empirical evidence • Limited critical engagement • Is African philosophy even considered? • What can we learn from the notion of a community of trust? • Is anyone critical of the new colonization of Africa through the increased focus on performance and managerealism? PURPOSE: Fulfilment of the ultimate objective of the Protocol on Education and Training on harmonisation, standardisation and eventual qualifications equivalences in the Region SCOPE: All forms, levels and categories of education and training ARCHITECTURE: Outcomes-based competencies; Standardised terminology; Regional database; Levels and credits; Common standards and procedures and quality assurance systems PRESCRIPTIVENESS: Voluntary participation POLICY BREADTH: Low institutional logic; high intrinsic logic GOVERNANCE: Representative “weak” authority INCREMENTALISM: Gradual and comprehensive UNDERLYING PHILOSOPHY: Neo-liberalism; Managerealism… Foucauldian Discourse analysis African philosophy Empiricism

13. The influence of the South African National Qualifications Framework in the Southern African Development Community

14. Concluding comments • Move in the United Kingdom to a “framework for development” • Move to meta-frameworks – less prescriptive, do not replace NQFs, translation device, mutual trust, linkages, etc. • Most successful NQFs achieve the least (Young) - SA NQF characterised by contoversy