Вестник ТГПУ им Л.Н. Толстого №3 2005

№ 3, 2005 ВЕСТНИК ТГПУ им. Л. Н. Толстого Anne Jordan, Orison Carlile NATIONAL QUALIFICATION FRAMEWORKS: GLOBAL TRENDS This paper examines the global forces influencing national qualifications structures and describes the characteristics and issues surrounding such frameworks. The aim is to present an overview of this topic to a Russian academic audience. The authors draw on previous research carried out on this topic by Professor Michael Young of London University (Young, 2003) and by the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland (NQAI, 2002). We begin with an examination of some of the processes of globalisation which have had a marked impact on advanced societies. National mass educational participation and the development of a knowledge economy are key features of globalising societies and critical instruments in the achievement of national, economic and social goals. Some clear international educational trends have emerged in recent years. These include a perception of education as an international marketable product. It is noteworthy that the World Trade Organisation, in its General Agreement on Trades and Services (GATS) includes within its provisions the view of higher and other levels of education as a tradable activity requiring regulation to facilitate greater liberalisation. (King, 2004, p.74). To date, the governments of three of the most educationally advanced countries; US, Australia and New Zealand ‘have set out their negotiating positions for GATS higher education’ (ibid. p. 90). Such regulation and liberalisation would include the international recognition of qualifications and the creation of a common educational market. At a national level most advanced societies pursue the development of integrated strategies to coordinate national, economic and educational priorities. One implication of this strategic planning is that educational and qualification provision needs to be closely regulated by government. For example, vocational education and the award of vocational qualifications are now being closely monitored in order to steer skill development and promote mobility in the workforce. Investment in people is now seen as more efficacious than investment in physical or financial capital. The workforce needs to be more skilled and businesses more innovative in order to meet the increased competitive challenges of the global economy (King, 2004, xiv). Another feature typifying developing knowledge-economies is the growth in demand for access to educational opportunities, .and progression in terms of qualifications, especially by -adult students. The growth in organisations such as the English and European Open Universities or in China’s ‘Spare Time’ universities is evidence of this surge in demand over the last thirty years. Since the collapse of the Soviet system, many private higher education institutions have emerged in Russia - particularly in the fields of economics and business management and law (Wikipedia, 2005). A factor now preoccupying many governments and funding bodies is how to co-ordinate and regulate initiatives that have sprung up on an ad hoc basis over the years to cater for different student types and in response to personal and labour market demands. Many governments, including those in Ireland, have recently also issued major policy documents with the intention of providing radical reforms to facilitate lifelong learning provision (DES Irl. 1998 and 2000). An offshoot of globalisation is the need for nations to develop statistics in key areas for economic and educational purposes, in order to benchmark external and internal development and expansion. The OECD ‘Education at a Glance’ annual publication series is one example of a widely consulted set of figures which indicates the status and ranking of national educational systems (OECD). Thus there is transparent global evidence of national educational development and reform, with the corollary that rankings and league tables are produced, enabling