Unit Standards to Occupational Qualifications: South African Vocational Policy Reform Stuck in Reverse

Autor/in	Alphonsus, Naomi Sumangala
Titel	Unit Standards to Occupational Qualifications: South African Vocational Policy Reform Stuck in Reverse
Quelle	In: Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 74 (2022) 1, S.107-125 (19 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1363-6820
DOI	10.1080/13636820.2021.1955404
Schlagwörter	Educational Change; Employment Qualifications; Vocational Education; Foreign Countries; Educational Policy; Outcomes of Education; Guidelines; National Standards; Competency Based Education; Curriculum Development; South Africa + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Bildungsreform; Employment qualification; Vocational qualification; Vocational qualifications; Berufliche Qualifikation; Ausbildung; Berufsbildung; Ausland; Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; Lernleistung; Schulerfolg; Richtlinien; Education; Competence; Competency; Competency-based education; Unterricht; Kompetenzorientierte Methode; Curriculum; Development; Curriculumentwicklung; Lehrplan; Entwicklung; Südafrika; Süd-Afrika; Republik Südafrika; Südafrikanische Republik
Abstract	This paper argues that the recent policy reform of occupational qualifications in South Africa is not substantially different from previous qualifications composed of unit standards and learning outcomes. The transition to democracy in the 1990s saw the introduction of a National Qualifications Framework (NQF) for post-school education. The framework adopted a model similar to competency-based training (CBT), where qualifications used unit standards and learning outcomes as a design template. Many problems ensued; amongst other concerns, researchers demonstrated that unit standards fragment learning by focusing on task performance at the expense of knowledge. Substantial changes were made in 2009, including the introduction of the Occupational Qualifications Sub-Framework of the revised NQF. Occupational qualifications are designed using a template to standardise the format of occupational standards and knowledge, practical skills, and work experience modules for the curriculum framework. For policymakers, occupational standards represent broad notions of competence based on occupational practice. The development of an occupational qualification is guided by a template for the process of deriving the curriculum framework from occupational standards. However, my research suggests that occupational qualifications based on occupational standards are further elaborated work tasks that are then used to develop curriculum framework contents, which further entrenches CBT approaches and their associated problems. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01