Valuing the Process: Towards a Two-Dimensional Conceptualisation of RPL Assessment

Recognising the prior learning of students undertaking vocational education and training [VET] can make a significant contribution to providing the sort of responsive, relevant and integrated learning frameworks necessary for the present and ongoing maintenance of a quality Australian workforce. This paper asserts that to date, [recognition of prior learning] RPL in the VET sector generally has been conceptualised by practitioners and policy makers in Australia as a one-dimensional model or continuum based around the notion of where the RPL assessment takes place. It is argued that under a one-dimensional conceptualisation, administrative and educational factors relating to RPL become confused and confounded and that as a consequence, it is difficult for practitioners and policy makers alike to give clear meaning and overt emphasis to the processes and procedures necessary for effective RPL. This paper explores the use of a two-dimensional model for RPL assessments that defines the interaction between mode of decision-making and focus of assessment in terms of the co-existence, rather than separation, of the resulting permutations within a holistic framework for RPL.