Glossary of Terms

access to (vocational) education and training
Conditions, circumstances or requirements (e.g. qualification, education level, skills or work experience, etc.) governing admittance to and participation in educational institutions or programmes.
Source: adapted from Unesco, 1995.

accreditation (of a VET provider or training programme)
Process of accrediting an institution of vocational education or training, a programme of study, or a service, showing it has been approved by the relevant legislative and professional authorities by having met predetermined standards.
Source: adapted from Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials, http://www.cicic.ca/pubs/guide/Guide2003.en.pdf

accreditation of prior learning (APL)
see validation of informal / nonformal learning
The process of assessing and recognising a wide range of knowledge, know-how, skills and competences, which people develop throughout their lives within different environments, for example through education, work and leisure activities.
Source: adapted from The International Encyclopaedia of Education.

accreditation of skills and competences
see recognition (of skills and competences)
(a) Formal recognition: the process of granting official status to skills and competences either
- through the award of certificates or
- through the grant of equivalence, credit units, validation of gained skills and/or competences; and/or
(b) social recognition: the acknowledgment of the value of skills and/or competences by economic and social stakeholders.
Source: Cedefop, 2003.
Related terms: certification (of skills and competences), (mutual) recognition of qualifications, validation of informal / non-formal learning

see certification (of skills and competence)
The process of formally validating knowledge, know-how and/or skills and competences acquired by an individual, following a standard assessment procedure. Certificates or diplomas are issued by accredited awarding bodies.
Comment: certification validates the outcome of either formal learning (training actions) or informal / non-formal learning.
Source: Cedefop, 2002.
Related terms: awarding body, certificate / diploma, qualification, validation of informal / non-formal learning

see validation of informal / nonformal learning
The process of assessing and recognising a wide range of knowledge, know-how, skills and competences, which people develop throughout their lives within different environments, for example through education, work and leisure activities.
Source: adapted from The International Encyclopaedia of Education.

basic skills
The skills and competences needed to function in contemporary society, e.g. listening, speaking, reading, writing and mathematics.
Source: Cedefop, 2000.
Related terms: basic information and communication technology (ICT) skills, new basic skills

certification (of skills and competences)
The process of formally validating knowledge, know-how and/or skills and competences acquired by an individual, following a standard assessment procedure. Certificates or diplomas are issued by accredited awarding bodies.
Comment: certification validates the outcome of either formal learning (training actions) or informal / non-formal learning.
Source: Cedefop, 2002.
Related terms: awarding body, certificate / diploma, qualification, validation of informal / non-formal learning

competence
Ability to apply knowledge, know-how and skills in an habitual or changing situation.
Source: Cedefop, 2002.
Related terms: knowledge, know-how, skills

credit transfer system (in VET)
A system which provides a way of measuring and comparing learning achievements (resulting from a course, training or a placement) and transferring them from one institution to another, using credits validated in training programmes.
Comment: a credit transfer system supports the transparency and comparability of education and training pathways, curricula and systems. In a credit transfer system, a value is allocated to every learning unit (course, training or placement) that the learner is required to successfully complete, in order to pass a full training programme at a school or training centre, including examinations or other assessments. In 2002, the European Commission created a technical working group to set up a European credit transfer system in VET.
Source: Technical Working Group on Credit Transfer in VET and
Cedefop, 2003.

experiential learning
see informal learning
Learning resulting from daily activities related to work, family or leisure. It is not organised or structured (in terms of objectives, time or learning support). Informal learning is in most cases unintentional from the learner’s perspective. It typically does not lead to certification.
Comment: informal learning is also referred to as experiential or incidental/random learning.
Source: Cedefop, 2003.
Related terms: learning, formal learning, non-formal learning, validation of informal / non-formal learning

formal learning
Learning that occurs in an organised and structured environment (in a school/training centre or on the job) and is explicitly designated as learning (in terms of objectives, time or resources). Formal learning is intentional from the learner’s point of view. It typically leads to certification.
Source: Cedefop, 2003.
Related terms: informal learning, learning, non-formal learning

informal learning
Learning resulting from daily activities related to work, family or leisure. It is not organised or structured (in terms of objectives, time or learning support). Informal learning is in most cases unintentional from the learner’s perspective. It typically does not lead to certification.
Comment: informal learning is also referred to as experiential or
incidental/random learning.
Source: Cedefop, 2003.
Related terms: learning, formal learning, non-formal learning, validation of informal / non-formal learning

know-how
Practical knowledge or expertise.
Source: adapted from New Oxford Dictionary of English.

knowledge
Definitions of knowledge are legion. Nevertheless, modern conceptions of knowledge rest broadly on several basic
distinctions:
(a) Aristotle distinguished between theoretical and practical logic. In line with this distinction, modern theoreticians (Alexander et al., 1991) distinguish declarative (theoretical) knowledge from procedural (practical) knowledge. Declarative knowledge includes assertions on specific events, facts and empirical generalisations, as well as deeper principles on the nature of reality. Procedural knowledge includes heuristics, methods, plans, practices, procedures, routines, strategies, tactics, techniques and tricks (Ohlsson, 1994);

(b) it is possible to differentiate between forms of knowledge which represent different ways of learning about the world. Various attempts have been made to compile such lists, in which the following categories seem to be frequently represented:
- objective (natural/scientific) knowledge, judged on the basis of certainty;
- subjective (literary/aesthetic) knowledge judged on the basis of authenticity;
- moral (human/normative) knowledge judged on the basis of collective acceptance (right/wrong);
- religious/divine knowledge judged by reference to a divine authority (God).
This basic understanding of knowledge underpins the questions we ask, the methods we use and the answers we give in our search for knowledge;

(c) knowledge encompasses tacit and explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge (Polanyi, 1966) is knowledge learners possess which influences cognitive processing. However, they may not necessarily express it or be aware of it. Explicit knowledge is knowledge a learner can consciously inspect, including tacit knowledge that converts into an explicit form by becoming an ‘object of thought’ (Prawat, 1989).
Source: Cedefop, 2000.

knowledge society / knowledge based society
A society whose processes and practices are based on the production, distribution and use of knowledge.
Source: Cedefop, 2001 in European Commission, Communication
Making a European area of lifelong learning a reality, COM(2001) 678 final.

learning
A cumulative process whereby individuals gradually assimilate increasingly complex and abstract entities
(concepts, categories, and patterns of behaviour or models) and/or acquire skills and competences.
Source: adapted from Lave, 1997.
Related terms: learning by doing, learning by using

learning by doing
Learning acquired by repeated practice of a task, but without instruction.
Source: Cedefop, 2000.
Related terms: learning, learning by using

learning by using
Learning acquired by repeated use of tools or facilities, but without instruction.
Source: Cedefop, 2000.
Related terms: learning, learning by doing

learning content
The topics and activities which make up what is learned by an individual or group of learners during a learning process.
Source: adapted from ETF, 1997.

learning outcome(s) / learning attainments
The set of knowledge, skills and/or competences an individual acquired and/or is able to demonstrate after
completion of a learning process.
Source: Cedefop, 2003.
Related terms: assessment (of skills and competences), certification (of skills and competences)

lifelong learning
All learning activity undertaken throughout life, with the aim of improving knowledge, skills and/or qualifications for personal, social and/or professional reasons.
Source: Cedefop, 2003.
Related terms: adult education, continuing vocational education
and training, lifewide learning

lifewide learning
Learning, either formal, non-formal or informal, that takes place across the full range of life activities (personal, social and/or professional) and at any stage.
Comment: lifewide learning is a dimension of lifelong learning.
Source: Cedefop, 2003.
Related terms: adult education, continuing vocational education and training, lifelong learning

new basic skills
New skills that, combined with basic skills, are needed to function in contemporary society. New basic skills are information and communication technology (ICT) skills, foreign languages, technological culture,
entrepreneurship and social skills.
Source: Cedefop, 2003, adapted from Lisbon European Council,
Conclusions of the Presidency, paragraph 26.
Related terms: basic skills, information and communication technology (ICT) skills

non-formal learning
Learning which is embedded in planned activities not explicitly designated as learning (in terms of learning objectives, learning time or learning support), but which contain an important learning element. Non-formal learning is intentional from the learner’s point of view. It normaly does not lead to certification.
Comment: Non-formal learning is sometimes described as semistructured learning.
Source: Cedefop, 2003.
Related terms: formal learning, informal learning, learning, validation of informal / non-formal learning

prior learning
The knowledge, know-how and/or competences acquired through previously unrecognised training or experience.
Source: Cedefop, 2003.
Related terms: informal learning, non-formal learning

programme (of education or training)
An inventory of activities, learning content and/or methods implemented to achieve education or training objectives (acquiring knowledge, skills or competences), organised in a logical sequence over a specified period of time.
Source: Cedefop, 2003.
Related term: curriculum

recognition (of skills and competences)
(a) Formal recognition: the process of granting official status to skills and competences either
- through the award of certificates or
- through the grant of equivalence, credit units, validation of gained skills and/or competences; and/or

(b) social recognition: the acknowledgment of the value of
skills and/or competences by economic and social
stakeholders.
Source: Cedefop, 2003.
Related terms: certification (of skills and competences), (mutual) recognition of qualifications, validation of informal / non-formal learning

skill
The knowledge and experience needed to perform a specific task or job.
Source: Cedefop, 2003.
Related terms: competence, knowledge, know-how

validation of informal learning
see validation of informal / non-formal learning
The process of assessing and recognising a wide range of knowledge, know-how, skills and competences, which people develop throughout their lives within different environments, for example through education, work and leisure activities.
Source: adapted from The International Encyclopaedia of Education.
valuing learning
The process of promoting participation in and outcomes of (formal or non-formal) learning, in order to raise awareness of its intrinsic worth and to reward learning.
Source: Cedefop, 2001 in European Commission, Communication
Making a European area of lifelong learning a reality, COM(2001)
678 final.