Memories - New level of leadership in the Portuguese educational system

Over the last decades, Portugal has made a significant effort to qualify the general population, but continues to have low qualification levels generally involving older generations and young people. Since 2006 till 2012, the National Qualifications Agency (NQA), under the joint superintendence of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity, develop the national System for Recognizing, Validating and Certifying Competences (RVCC) and Adult Education and Training (AET) Courses. Main attributions of NQA: *To coordinate, promote and manage the provision of the dual certification in vocational education and training. *To define the guidelines for funding models and for allocating resources required to provide qualifications. *To define mechanisms that promotes integrated assessment and quality assurance of the vocational education and training provision. *To develop and manage the RVCC, both academic and professional, and ensure the New Opportunities Centers (NOC) Network coordination and the system monitoring and assessment. The New Opportunities Initiative (NOI) was established as a national strategy within the scope of the National Employment Plan and the Technological Plan. The strategy of the New Opportunities Initiative builds on two central pillars: *The first one -More than 650 thousand young people were to be involved in technical and vocational courses both regular and professional qualification the objective defined in the Government Programme is to have half of the upper secondary students enrolled in professional or technological education by 2010. *The second -Provide all adults who entered active life with low levels of education with a new opportunity, enabling them to recover, complete and progress in their studies; -Qualify 1,000,000 active workers by 2010, through the national RVCC, as well as through the AET Courses, and the new possibility through Modular Certified Training (MCT). Achieving these objectives implies: (i) The profound and consistent development of the RVCC; (ii) The availability of suitable complementary adult education and training provision; and (iii) The implementation of a system of quality certification for the training entities that will ensure the highest standards of exigency and, most importantly, the strong commitment and involvement of both workers and companies. The RVCC is particularly important for the NOC’s. *Core “business” RVCC aims: -reinforce individual self-esteem and social justice; -promote adults’ integration in new processes of formal learning; -recognize individual ability to learn. The RVCC process and the AET courses are grounded on one National Qualification Catalogue and a double Key Competences Frame of Reference: -one to obtain a formal certificate of 4, 6 and 9 years of schooling and on the specific Occupational Standards to get a level I and II of professional qualification, and -other to acquire a formal certificate of 12 years of schooling and/or a professional level III. During a formal and social event, the adult presents, in a public meeting, mostly in a media presentation, his/her dossier or reflection portfolio. There is an out sourced certified evaluator together with the adult personal counsellor and the process ongoing trainers. To monitorize all this work, ANQ creates a central control instrument called SIGO – (Integrated System for Management of the double certification training supplies). SIGO MAIN OBJECTIVES: -to be a monitoring device; -to support central decision making; -to strengthen the training supply legibility. A wide information and awareness-raising Campaign was carried out via the media in 2007, also in 2008 and lately in 2010 with the objective of promoting the social valuing of investment in adult education and training from a lifelong perspective “It pays to learn” is the moto. This initiative, needs critical mass (socio dynamic) and, most of all, it needs time… A specialized Training Programme addressed to the pedagogical teams of the New Opportunities Centers is annually developed at national and regional level. In 2008, a set of public universities with advanced knowledge in the field of Adult Learning and Education (ALE) is developing training for the New Opportunities Centers’ teams, within the framework of a cooperation agreement with the National Qualifications Agency. There were 269 New Opportunities Centers at the beginning of 2007, the number stands in 2010 at 454 centers functioning, which implies that the technical and pedagogic teams involve 12996 direct members. The NOC activities integrate three dimensions guide lined for a Quality Chart: -the adult’s enrolment phase; -the diagnosis phase; -the adult’s decision-making phase (RVCC or another qualification/training path). To accomplish the functions referred, each center has a technical pedagogical team. 1. The Director, a member of the public schools board, who: -Represents the center and ratifies the validation jury decisions; -Can also be the pedagogical coordinator. 2. The pedagogical Coordinator, who: -Assures the pedagogical and organic management of the Center; -Is responsible for the Strategic Intervention Plan of the center and the activities report; -Increases and coordinates the center’s activity in order to serve the local community; -Promotes the ongoing training; -Guarantees permanent self-evaluation of the center; -Makes information available; -Has a higher education degree. 3. The diagnosis and “pathfinder” Counselor, who advises the adult regarding the best pathway to achieve a certification according to his/her own profile and life experience. 4. The recognizing and validating competences Counselors , who: -Inform, counsel and guide the adult; -Monitor the RVCC process; -Are closely linked with the trainers; -Support and coach the adult; -Identify complementary training needs during the RVCC process; -Must have a higher education degree under these main conditions- *the knowledge of competence balance between life story methodologies and The Key Competences Frame of Reference; *the occupational experience working with adults and *the concrete connection with the local reality where the center operates. 5. The Trainers, who: -Support the recognition process and validate the candidate’s competences; -Keep closely in touch with the RVC counselor and the other trainers; -Assess the residual complementary training adult’s need to comply with a certification; -Must have, in general and according to the laws in force- (i) Qualification as a teacher in the specific Key Competences Area of each Frame of Reference and (ii) Certification as a qualified trainer. REFERENCES COTRIM, A. (2010), The Impact of New Opportunities Centers (NOC) on school organization and on teachers’ work, Lisbon University, Institute of Education. (english) GOMES, M. & SIMÕES, F. (2007). NOC quality chart. Lisbon. NQA. (portuguese) EDUCATION AT A GLANCE (OCDE), (2010) (english) THE DEVELOPMENT AND STATE OF THE ART OF ADULT LEARNING AND EDUCATION(ALE) (2008) National report of Portugal at CONFINTEA by Agência Nacional para a Qualificação (National Qualifications Agency) (english)