I am a candidate in the Ad Hoc PhD program at McGill University, Montreal in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education. The following is an excerpt from my literature review for my doctoral work entitled: Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) programs in Canada and the role of globalization. I’m posting this for a few reasons – one to contribute to the RFL site, but I’m also looking for feedback and commentary. So . . . This is the third section of the lit. review which is an overview of the contemporary status of prior learning assessment programs in Canada and the different levels of activity within participating provinces.
Political History of Prior Learning Assessment in Canada
It has been almost a hundred years since Dewey (1938) developed his theory of experience, and fifty years since the advent of the G.I. Bill and the start of the influx of adults to college campuses, yet the mission, philosophy and practice of most universities have not kept pace with the significant advances in the assessment of learning (Hamilton, 1997, p. 38).
In Canada, the field of adult education is both vast in scope and deep in history. With the advent of new technology, the field continues to grow tentacles of opportunities in areas of distance education, e-learning and correspondence courses. However, the concept of prior learning assessment is a relatively new idea that, unfortunately, is not enjoying the same popularity as some of the other recent innovations in the field. The purpose of this section is to investigate the possible reasons or root causes for this resistance as well as the current status of prior learning assessment programs across Canada. Through an analysis of the political history of prior learning assessment programs in Canada, it is also expected that a better understanding can be achieved of the optimal conditions required to implement a successful program within a formal education institution. The framework for this investigation is rooted in the context established in previous chapters of this comprehensive study of the marginalized role adults play in current formal institutions of higher education as well as the historical and political influences that shaped Canadian society in the post-war years. This section, as well as the doctoral research, will limit itself to the relationship of prior learning assessment programs within the academic setting and will not address the corporate sector or activities undertaken by Canadian unions.
Hamilton (1997) defines prior learning assessment as “a process of identifying, articulating, measuring, and accrediting learning that is acquired outside the traditional classroom and frequently prior to enrollment in college” (p. 32). This definition offers both a step-by-step procedure of what is to take place as well as the stated purpose of enrollment in college. Wong (2001) adds further clarification to the relationship of entry to a formal education system by defining prior learning assessment as “a systematic process to evaluate and accredit learning gained outside formal educational institutions, by assessing relevant learning against the standards required by post-secondary courses and programs” (p. 159).
This definition infers the idea of “challenging” courses at the post-secondary level in order to gain credit or advanced standing in a program. Finally, for a uniquely Canadian perspective, Thomas (2001) offers the following definition: “Prior Learning Assessment (PLA), known in Canada as Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR), is a process of demonstrations, challenge examinations, and the personal portfolio allowing informal learning outcomes to be translated into academic credit” (p. 343).
In the literature, PLA and PLAR are often used interchangeably and it is at the discretion of the author which terminology is used. To add to the confusion, The Canadian Association for Prior Learning Assessment (CAPLA), recently held a two-day event entitled “Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) Benchmarks for Practitioners Workshop” (September 25-26, 2002, George Brown College, Toronto, Ontario). The association, incorporated in 1997, well after the addition of the “R” for “Recognition”, does not seem to make a distinction between the terms. Thomas (2001) seems to be the exception in his efforts to highlight the unique feature of “Recognition” as a Canadian attribute to the terminology. Most Canadian authors refer to the concept as simply Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) (Wong, 2001; Greason, 1998).
The history of prior learning assessment in Canada is reflected in the experience of the United States in the post-World War II years. “From 1946 until the early 1950s, higher education was completely preoccupied with the problems of absorbing the veterans” (Rose 1990, p. 32). There was unprecedented cooperation between the Federal government, provincial governments and institutions of higher education to recognize life experience for college credit. However, this exceptional period of collaboration was short-lived.
The issue is not only the recognition of adult experience, easy enough in abstract terms, but the problem then of incorporating this knowledge into the curriculum itself. While colleges and universities were willing to do this in an emergency situation, as a form of veterans’ benefits, they immediately stepped back from this in the early 1950s (p. 43).
The notion of “stepping back” was not the original intent for most of the authors of the demobilization plan. These planners seemed to have far greater expectations for the complete overhaul of the system of higher education. As well, there were those who were insightful enough to recognize that the unique post-war situation offered a tremendous opportunity for education policy makers in the form of a “laboratory” of activity. One of the most drastic changes that still is a profound factor in contemporary higher education is the shift away from a strictly liberal arts curriculum to one that is more vocational in nature. Rose (1990) quotes Forkner (1944), a policy maker of the time, as saying “we can be certain that the boy who dropped out of college is not going to want to return to much of the time-wasting type of education which colleges frequently provided before he went to war” (p. 34). The reference to “time-wasting” has more to do with the required length of residency in a program than the actual curriculum. This effect is still in evidence today and is a striking element in the argument for implementing programs of prior learning assessment, where an adult student may not be able or willing to commit to a standardized time-line of residency in a university or college program.
Throughout the literature dealing with returning veterans and higher education, an interesting theme emerged concerning the character of these “new” students. I found it fascinating how the education policymakers in the 1940s and 1950s took great pains to emphasize the adult nature of the veterans who would be students and how this would make a huge difference in their planning. According to Rose (1990) “writers noted that the veterans would be motivated to complete their education; have a good idea of what kind of education they wanted and would demand good teaching” (p. 34). Are these not the very characteristics espoused by most contemporary authors of adult education literature? Not only was the present-day model for such programs as prior learning assessment formulated in these post-war years but the definition of “the adult learner” was as well. Cornelius Turner, the director of the Commission on Accreditation of Service Experience stated as Rose (1990) notes:
But for the benefit of those who do not complete formal schooling, we must be prepared to measure, and recognize their educational growth, no matter how attained, not only to serve the welfare of the individual citizen but also to serve the needs of our democratic society. A program of accreditation by means of examinations supplements the educational program of our schools and colleges and, when fully recognized, will enable the educators of this country to assume more completely their responsibility to the American people (p.42).
At the time, there was the recognition of a need to treat adult students as adults and to award credit for life experience. In Canada, a concerted effort to organize around the concept of prior learning assessment did not come to fruition until the 1970s. In the late 1970s, the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) took “a leadership role in promoting experiential learning as an important part of higher education. The academic and administrative standards of PLA developed by CAEL have guided practitioners and institutions for a decade” (Wong 2001, p. 160). National policy concerning programs of prior learning assessment did not take place again until the mid-1990s. Perhaps due to the cyclical nature of politics there is only recently a resurgence in Federal activity in the area of prior learning assessment. In 1995-1996, the Canadian Labour Force Development Board (CLFDB), “a national advisory body comprising labour market partners, initiated a national consultation that resulted in the development of national standards for prior learning assessment and recognition” (Wong 2001,p. 161). As previously mentioned, it was only in 1997 that the Canadian Association for Prior Learning Assessment (CAPLA) was incorporated, a relatively new organization to represent a concept that had developed in the 1940s. In terms of prior learning assessment programs across Canada, the level of activity varies remarkably from one province to the next.
The relatively young country of Canada seems to struggle at times with a sense of national identity. This is exacerbated by a pervasive sense of regionalism. Further, the dichotomy of responsibilities that fall under provincial and federal jurisdiction seems to add fuel to the political fire. Education is a provincial responsibility and represents more than simply a transfer of knowledge from teacher to student. Education is the very socialization of a country’s constituents for responsible citizenship. It is also the canary in the mineshaft of provincial policy concerning budgetary issues. It seems that when a province is enjoying prosperous times, there is money for innovative education policies such as prior learning assessment. However, when there is fiscal restraint, there is a sharp regression to vocational training programs. According to Selman et al. (1998) in British Columbia “in the latter half of the 1990s, the emphasis is on prior learning assessment and recognition, distance education and learning outcomes – in each case, with particular reference to work-related training” (p. 253). However, the policies regulating adult education are still considered “piecemeal”. British Columbia’s on-line resources for information regarding prior learning assessment programs are through the Open Learning Center website, however the site is difficult to access and rarely seems to be updated.
Manitoba is in stark contrast to the rest of the Prairie Provinces in terms of its activity in prior learning assessment programs. Through the CAPLA website, the only province that appears on the “Provincial PLAR link” is Manitoba. The “Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition in Manitoba” site is an up-to-date website that not only defines the concept but provides a listing of government services, frequently asked questions and the outline of the MPLAN (Manitoba Prior Learning Assessment Network), whose mission “supports and promotes the concept of building interconnected learning communities through the formal recognition of prior learning” (www.plarinmanitoba.ca). Within the website’s contact list there are four community colleges and four universities that offer prior learning assessment programs, among them Red River College, a founding institution of prior learning assessment programs in Canada. Selman et al. (1998) seem to have a more positive tone concerning the efforts in Manitoba to establish a concise policy in regard to adult education and the promotion of prior learning assessment programs.
In 1996, the Post-Secondary Education Council was established, creating one administrative body to guide the development of post-secondary education. Among other things, it is hoped the Council will promote more prior learning assessment and recognition, increased laddering among institutions and improve articulation agreements (p. 258).
The situation in Ontario is perhaps the most interesting since it is full of anomalies and contradictions. On one hand, prior learning assessment programs seem to enjoy great support within this province in terms of government policy and subsidies, unions, associations and groups that promote the concept as well as research in institutions of higher education. And yet, there are very few programs that are actually taking place. According to Thomas (1998), “in Ontario, the discrepancy between the sometimes unstated expectations of the early implementation groups and the reality of demand has been dramatic. Since the period of initiation, demand has grown slowly” (p. 337). CAPLA is based in Ontario as well as the Ontario Institute for the Study of Education at the University of Toronto which houses the New Approaches to Lifelong Learning project.
NALL - The national research network for New Approaches to Lifelong Learning has been funded by the SSHRC ( Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council ) to study informal learning and its relation to formal and continuing education throughout the life course (www.oise.utoronto.ca/depts/sese/csew/nall/about.htm).
According to Greason (1998), “unfortunately, while Quebec was one of the leaders in this emerging field in the 1980s, it fell far behind several other provinces in the 1990s” (p. 96). This was mostly due to budgetary cuts to the education portfolio. Quebec’s unique CEGEP system was at the forefront of the prior learning assessment movement in the 1980s. The contemporary scene is practically void of any activity and it is difficult to attain information concerning their programs. “Fewer than five hundred adults per year use the prior learning assessment services offered by Quebec CEGEPs” (Greason 1998, p. 97). The trend of neo-conservative budgetary restraint continues to be a prevalent factor in the landscape of education policy. “In their roles of system managers, governments such as those of Ontario and Quebec stimulated the creation of specific organizations, roles and designations, but the current trend is to re-absorb those roles and procedures within pre-existing ones” (Thomas 1998, p. 340).
The Maritime Provinces offer a special case of innovative adult education programs in Canada. From the grassroots ideals of Coop programs to the initiatives of Moses Coady, there exists a strong sense of pioneering spirit for adult education programs. In Halifax, Human Resources Development Canada has funded the “PLA Centre”. “The Prior Learning Assessment Centre (PLA Centre) is a joint project involving five Halifax universities, the provincial community college system, and representatives from community groups, voluntary organizations, labour, the private sector and the government” (www.placcentre.ns.ca).
In 2002, the “Halifax Declaration for the Recognition of Prior Learning” was released, which represented the results of research carried out amongst participants of the ‘Recognizing Learning’ conference in Halifax on October 28 to 31, 2001 (www.capla.ca). Likewise in New Brunswick and Newfoundland, there appears to be substantial studies and policy reports that have been undertaken in the area of prior learning assessment – however the activity does not seem to see fruition at the stage of implementation. Instead, the focus of most programs appears to be on the promotion of job-training skills.
There is a curious paradox in the concept of prior learning assessment that Thomas (1998) continues to investigate. There is the notion that most prior learning assessment programs are created by senior administrators or government agencies. This has meant that the concept is not being pushed forward by those who are most likely to be its principal beneficiaries, meaning adult learners (p. 335). However, according to Wong (2001) this trend may be changing:
In the last decade, there has been a growing demand for colleges and universities to implement PLA systems. It is a reflection of a global phenomenon where falling job expectations and a general longing for something better are driving increasing numbers of adults to return to post-secondary education (p. 159).
