This article focuses on adult working learners who attend postsecondary institutions in Canada and the United States. We identify how these institutions deliver curriculum and instruction in the form of career-technical education (CTE) and vocational education offering occupational credentials. In British Columbia and the U.S., most vocational…

In order to build an inclusive economy State leaders have recognized the critical importance of postsecondary attainment in meeting economic and equity goals. Nearly every state has, or is considering a postsecondary education attainment goal, which sets a threshold for the number of people within that state who hold some type of postsecondary…

This dissertation study explores the relationship between student's experiences in taking the Villanova University Professional Human Resources Certification course and their perceived thoughts and explanations as to how their efforts contributed to whether they passed or failed the Society for Human Resources (SHRM) national certification…

Teaching adults is a specialist area. Current education policy defines adult learners as those over 19. However these days if one teaches in some parts of the further education sector one may find teaching students from age 14 upwards. Adult learners may be studying to improve their skills and qualifications for work, or to progress to further…

The Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) is a very successful senior secondary school qualification introduced in the Australian state of Victoria in 2002. Applied learning in the VCAL engages senior students in a combination of work-based learning, service-learning, and project-based learning and aims to provide them with the skills,…

Britain's National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) are work qualifications that measure what an employee or potential employee can do as well as how much he or she knows and understands about a particular job. Used as written proof of usable workplace skills that can be put to profitable use by an employer, NVQs range from basic Level 1, for…

Adults learn from many sources, such as volunteer work, community services, homemaking, jobs, and other activities, and they increasingly want this learning to be recognized so that they can reenter the job market, get a promotion, or return to college. Therefore, scientific methods have been developed to help adults document their experiential…

Educational institutions need to help women get a better education by taking into account the learning they have acquired through experience in homemaking, volunteer work, and other activities. This paper examines the need for recognition of women's prior learning by educational institutions and delves into some of the intricacies of the process.…

European structures of qualification levels were examined through a review of reports on recent developments in Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The examination focused on the following topics: the scope of the national frameworks; the definition of standards and qualifications; the definition of levels in…

Recent trends and developments related to the structures of qualification levels in Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom were examined in a quasi-experimental study that was part of a more comprehensive study on the same topic. The study focused on standards, qualifications, and classifications at the tertiary level of…

This document contains reports on the structures of qualification levels in Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom that were commissioned during a study to identify trends and developments in the European Union related to national certification frameworks. Each country report examines the following topics: the history of…