alan ralphs
University of the Western Cape, Adult Education, Department Member
- Teacher, director and retired adult education specialist and researcher. I am currently working on contract with a preference for projects that allow me to further and share my specialisation in the field of RPL - Recognition of Prior Learning.edit
This article provides some insight into the constraints on the potential of recognition of prior learning (RPL) to widen access to educational qualifications. Its focus is on a conceptual framework that emerged from a South African Study... more
This article provides some insight into the constraints on the potential of recognition of prior learning (RPL) to widen access to educational qualifications. Its focus is on a conceptual framework that emerged from a South African Study of RPL practices across four different learning contexts. Working from a social realist perspective, it argues that RPL needs to be seen as a specialised pedagogy that enables navigation across different cultures of knowledge; this is inevitably a contested process because it questions dominant forms of knowlegde and modes of knowledge production.
Research Interests:
The story of prior learning assessment, more commonly referred to in South Africa as the recognition of prior learning (RPL) forms part of the complex history of educational systems transformation reviewed in this chapter. Significant... more
The story of prior learning assessment, more commonly referred to in South Africa as the recognition of prior learning (RPL) forms part of the complex history of educational systems transformation reviewed in this chapter. Significant milestones in the development of RPL policy and practice in South Africa are covered with reference to socio-economic realities and challenges, the attempt to build a National Qualifications Framework, links with leading international organisations; and some of the first pilot projects attempted in higher education and workforce development after 1994.
This article argues that greater understanding of the Aristotelian concept of phronesis or practical wisdom would make an important contribution to the conceptualization and implementation of Recognition (Assessment) of Prior Learning... more
This article argues that greater understanding of the Aristotelian concept of phronesis or practical wisdom would make an important contribution to the conceptualization and implementation of Recognition (Assessment) of Prior Learning (RPL/APL) in formal education contexts. However, there is a need to identify phronesis empirically so that RPL assessors can identify it and RPL candidates can articulate it. Extracts from the qualitative data of two separate research projects are presented to show examples of phronesis. These extracts also show the difficulties associated with its articulation and identification. It is argued that even if phronesis cannot be accredited for RPL purposes, it should be taught and discussed in the curricula of adult education and RPL portfolio development courses to show the importance of this form of knowledge and reasoning and the different forms it might assume in formal education and life contexts.