TVETipedia Glossary

Qualifications framework (QF)

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You can find information on National Qualifications Frameworks for virtually all countries in UNESCO-UNEVOC’s TVET Country Profiles database. An overview of Regional Qualifications Frameworks is available right here in TVETipedia.

Instrument for developing, classifying and issuing qualifications at international, national, regional or sectoral levels according to a set of criteria (such as descriptors) applicable to specified levels of learning outcomes.

Comment

A qualifications framework can be used to:

establish national standards of knowledge, skills and competences;
promote quality of education;
provide a system of coordination or integration of qualifications and enable comparison of qualifications by relating qualifications to one another;
promote access to learning, transfer of learning outcomes and progression in learning.

Source

Based on European Parliament and Council of the European Union, 2008; OECD, 2007a

Source:
Cedefop, Glossary. Terminology of European education and training policy, (last accessed 10/2024)
Cedefop, Glossary. Terminology of European education and training policy, (last accessed 10/2024)
Access resource, available in English, French, German
This revised and expanded multilingual glossary defines 430 key terms used in European education and training policy. Building on the Terminology of European education and training policy – A selection of 130 key terms, published in 2014, this latest version, which draws on the experiences of Cedefop’s experts, gives new definitions and covers the latest European Union policy priorities, particularly on skills intelligence and employment.
Terms are provided in 8 languages: German, Greek, English, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch and Portuguese. Definitions are available in English, German and French.

A structure for setting out the levels at which vocational qualifications accredited by regulatory authorities can be recognized.

Source:
UNESCO-UNEVOC/NCVER, TVET glossary: some key terms, 2009
UNESCO-UNEVOC/NCVER, TVET glossary: some key terms, 2009
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This glossary has been published in the "International Handbook of Education for the Changing World of Work" (Vol. 1, chapter 5)
"The glossary aims to reflect the terminology found in the recent literature of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) research, policy and practice internationally. The most common and significant terms (including acronyms) are listed and, in some cases, national and regional variations have been included. To maintain an international perspective, other national and international glossaries and thesauri were consulted in conjunction with current TVET literature from around the world. Where definitions have been written by other organizations, the source of that definition is acknowledged. Unattributed definitions were created in-house at the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). For some terms, where, for example, there are regional differences, more than one meaning has been provided."

The structure into which accredited qualifications are placed, allowing learners, training providers and employers to gain information about the broad equivalence of qualifications.

Source:
UNESCO, Terminology of Technical and Vocational Education, 1984
UNESCO, Terminology of Technical and Vocational Education, 1984
Access resource, available in Arabic, English, French, Russian, Spanish
This publication is a practical terminology in the field of technical and vocational education for the purposes of international communication. After use of the original English/French version for over five years in numerous regional and international meetings, conferences, seminars and workshops held in those two languages, it was felt that publication of the guide in additional international languages would permit Unesco to contribute further to a better understanding in Member States of the Revised Recommendation concerning Technical and Vocational Education (1974), would facilitate the implementation of this instrument and would foster a more effective exchange of information in the field of technical and vocational education.

A system for placing qualifications that meet certain standards of quality on one of a series of hierarchical levels.

Source:
ILO, An Introductory Guide to National Qualifications Frameworks, 2007
ILO, An Introductory Guide to National Qualifications Frameworks, 2007
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(Glossary starting p. 63)
"There are surprisingly few documents which spell out, in a practical way, what an NQF can achieve realistically, what are the preconditions and potential pitfalls and how it can be developed. NQFs have been much discussed and with much enthusiasm, but it may be questioned whether their technical and institutional complexity are well understood.
This Guide attempts to respond to these concerns, and by doing so, to assist policy makers in making informed judgments as to whether and how they can pursue the development of an NQF in meeting the specific needs of their training systems."

The hierarchical classification of the levels of formal learning programmes and their associated qualifications and certificates.

(Comment: More advanced NQFs can also play a role in facilitating stakeholder interactions, creating coherent qualifications systems, ensuring fit-for-purpose qualifications, supporting wider quality assurance processes, recognizing learning gained outside formal education and training and for driving broader educational reforms. They also make national qualifications systems more transparent to foreigners.)

Source:
UNESCO, Level-setting and recognition of learning outcomes: The use of level descriptors in the twenty-first century, 2015
UNESCO, Level-setting and recognition of learning outcomes: The use of level descriptors in the twenty-first century, 2015
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Description of the report:
"The aim of this research is to support a broader initiative that will explore the possibility of developing international guidelines on quality assurance for the recognition of qualifications based on learning outcomes, including a set of world reference levels to facilitate the international recognition of qualifications."
Description of the glossary (pp 189 ff):
"The definitions of this glossary are provided by the authors, drawing on a wide range of literature in the field, and in particular the cited references for this publication. They do not necessarily coincide with official positions of UNESCO."