The Recognition of Prior Learning Power, Pedagogy and Possibility

A guide for academics, planners, policy-makers and practitioners who deal with the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). It presents the theoretical perspectives developed to illuminate the complex relationships between context and RPL practice.

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RPL: Power, Pedagogy and Possibility is a useful guide for academics, planners, policy-makers and practitioners who deal with the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). Its theme of 'knowledgeable practice' marks a departure from much international literature in that it understands RPL as a social practice situated in context, rather than as a set of neutral technical procedures. The conceptual guide presents the theoretical perspectives developed to illuminate the complex relationships between context and RPL practice. These are put to work in three distinctive international contexts chosen to draw out epistemological and pedagogical issues and possibilities. These analyses provide the basis for an understanding of what is and a consideration of what could be. The implementation guide is structured around questions often asked by those interested in implementing RPL for the first time. The focus is practical, on researching and analysing particular institutional and curricular contexts to provide a local picture of what is, what could be and why. On that basis, the detail of how to implement an RPL procedure is also addressed.