Abstract
The French experience of validating the knowledge, skills and competences acquired through informal and non-formal learning is unique in the world. In this chapter, we argue for the singularity of this experience in France. We first review the beginnings of accreditation of prior learning (APL) movement, from the early experiments until its current modes of functioning. We show in particular how the implementation of APL introduced a significant break in the French educational model that attaches great importance to diplomas obtained within the school system. APL radically transformed the landscape of classic means of certification. It established a strong distinction between diplomas and other pathways to gain certification, by recognising the formative dimension of work experience. The issue which then arises is not so much the recognition of knowledge, skills and competences that have been acquired at work, but the means by which the recognition can be operationalised. We focus, therefore, on the methodological resources provided to support candidates and to assist the complex process by which they are expected to put into words their work experience. To do so, we discuss recent research conducted in France in the field of psychology and educational sciences that investigate the counsellors’ activities. This research, we argue, opens up interesting perspectives in terms of training and professionalisation in the field of APL.
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Notes
- 1.
In France, the term certification is used to refer to all documents that attest to the acquisition of knowledge, skills or competences, from a qualification to operate construction site equipment to certifications established by the social partners within a professional sector or university diplomas. The term diploma traditionally refers to the certifications issued by the Ministry of National Education and other educational institutions like business schools. Some ministries, excluding National Education, customarily refer to their certifications as ‘titres’ (e.g. the Ministry of Labour). But the word ‘titre’ also sometimes refers to certain categories of diplomas, as, for example, the diplomas issued by some engineering schools (selected by a special committee), which grant the ‘title of engineer’. The law specifies that all certifications are eligible for accreditation of prior learning once they are recorded in the National Registry of Vocational Certifications (NRVC), as will be discussed later in this text. The only certifications that are excluded are those that attest to the learning of certain job-required skills but that does not constitute preparation for a job or a job function exercised in the private or public sector. Examples would be certifications that are part of a quality approach or that are obtained to comply with safety regulations. For convenience, we denote all the certifications available through APL by the words ‘diplomas’ or ‘certifications’ in the rest of this article.
- 2.
In France, this refers to the National Education diplomas called ‘Certificat d’Aptitudes Générales’ (CAP) or ‘Brevet d’Études Professionnelles’ (BEP), which are granted in secondary school.
- 3.
The clinic of activity is a French research stream that developed in the 1990s based on the work of Clot (‘Le Travail sans l’homme? Pour une psychologie des milieux de travail et de vie’, Paris, La Découverte, 1995). Clot’s work dealt with the development of the power to act in one’s work activity and the tasks and missions assigned in the context of work organisation. It also analysed the conditions for the processes of development using specific methodologies for intervention.
- 4.
Professional didactics is a French research stream that developed in the 1990s based on the works of Pastré (‘La didactique professionnelle. Approche anthropologique du développement chez les adultes’, Paris, Presses Universitaires de France, 2011). The objective is to analyse work activity with a view to training for professional skills development. It is situated at the confluence of a field of practices, adult education and three theoretical perspectives: developmental psychology, cognitive ergonomics and the didactics of school disciplines.
- 5.
Vergnaud, G. (1990). La théorie des champs conceptuels. Recherches en didactique des mathématiques, vol. 10, n° 2–3, p 133–170.
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Rémery, V., Merle, V. (2014). French Approaches to Accreditation of Prior Learning: Practices and Research. In: Halttunen, T., Koivisto, M., Billett, S. (eds) Promoting, Assessing, Recognizing and Certifying Lifelong Learning. Lifelong Learning Book Series, vol 20. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8694-2_15
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