Transparency and transferability of learning outcomes

EU Policy Initiatives

The 2000 Memorandum on Lifelong Learning (cf. European Commission 2000) marked a significant milestone in this journey, leading to the development of European transparency instruments, such as

• the European Qualifications Framework (EQF),
• the European credit system for vocational education and training (ECVET),
• the European Quality Assurance in Vocational Education and Training (EQAVET), and
• Europass.

These instruments have played a major role in promoting the learning outcomes approach and facilitating connections between different types of learning.

Against this background, Cedefop’s three-year study on “Ensuring transparency and facilitating transferability of learning outcomes: analysing two decades of European and national initiatives”¹ aims to examine the impact of national and European policies on promoting the transparency and transferability of learning outcomes over the past two decades (2000–2020). The study’s conceptual framework consists of five interconnected thematic policy areas that represent specific policy objectives related to the transparency and transferability of learning outcomes, including:

1. encouraging the use of quality assurance mechanisms, which is essential for ensuring trust of learning outcomes from different countries and education and training systems;
2. promoting the comparability of skills and qualifications, which seeks to make qualifications more readable and understandable across different countries and systems;
3. supporting validation of non-formal and informal learning, which aims to give value to learning outcomes achieved outside formal settings;
4. encouraging credit accumulation and transfer, which seeks to facilitate the combination of sets of learning outcomes for the achievement of qualifications;
5. encouraging mutual recognition of skills and qualifications, which facilitates trust between learning institutions and reduces the barriers to learning mobility.

A comprehensive and long-term review of EU policy initiatives across these five thematic areas was recently published by Cedefop (2024). This article builds on this previous work and explores the influence of EU transparency instruments at the national level, assessing the interlinkages between national initiatives and reforms based on experts’ opinions. Two research questions were formulated to guide the analysis.

1. How have EU policy initiatives related to the transparency and transferability of learning outcomes influenced national developments?
2. To what extent are national developments related to the transparency and transferability of learning outcomes perceived as connected?

Data collection and analysis

An online survey was conducted from December 2022 to January 2023 to gather views from stakeholders involved in lifelong learning policy development across European countries. The survey, designed via EU Survey, resulting in 98 respondents from 28 countries, representing key national stakeholders such as national institutions/agencies, academic experts, social partners, and education providers. The survey data was analysed using descriptive statistics, including frequency distributions and percentage calculations, to summarise responses and identify trends and patterns.

Interplay between national and EU policy thematic areas

The online survey offers valuable insights into stakeholders’ perceptions of the interplay between national and EU policy thematic areas. Respondents were specifically asked about the impact of EU initiatives on national policies, particularly regarding the transparency and transferability of learning outcomes.

As depicted in the figure, EU initiatives significantly influence national policies across all five thematic areas, with the comparability of skills and qualifications – such as the EQF, the Qualifications Framework for the European Higher Education Area (QF-EHEA), and EUROPASS – perceived as the area where EU initiatives had the greatest impact on national developments. Here, 47.9 per cent of respondents reported a high level of influence, while 41.7 per cent indicated a moderate level.

The survey also highlights the impact of EU support for quality assurance mechanisms, with 85.4 per cent of respondents acknowledging moderate to high relevance for national developments. Conversely, the area perceived as least influenced by EU interventions is the development of more efficient and robust ways of enabling all learners to receive and accumulate credit for learning experiences, with 26.3 per cent indicating low influence and 6.3 per cent noting no influence at all.

With regard to the perceived level of connection among the different thematic policy areas, the majority of respondents identify a moderate level of connection, reflecting an overall interconnected ecosystem with potential for improvement (cf. figures in the electronic supplement).

The policy area promoting comparability of skills and qualifications emerges as the most interconnected, suggesting that initiatives such as national qualifications frameworks play a crucial role in bridging between policy areas. The strongest relationship exists between initiatives promoting the recognition and comparability of skills and qualifications, with 28 per cent of respondents reporting a high and 42 per cent a moderate level of connection (see figure 5 in the electronic supplement). This highlights the significance of tools facilitating the comparability of skills and qualifications in recognition processes. Additionally, quality assurance initiatives are perceived as highly connected with comparability and recognition (see figure 1 in the electronic supplement), emphasising the importance of what is often referred to as the ‘golden triangle’. Qualifications frameworks, a key instrument in comparability discussions, are strongly linked to quality assurance development, as quality assurance is a prerequisite for trust and learning portability.

The policy area considered least connected to other developments is that of credits, exhibiting a particularly weak relationship with validation of non-formal and informal learning. Only 18 per cent of respondents indicated a strong connection between credits and validation (see figure 4 in the electronic supplement), with just 9 per cent perceiving validation developments as highly connected to credits, and 19 per cent reporting no connection at all between the two areas in their countries (see figure 3 in the electronic supplement). Given the potential of credits to validate and value learning in informal and non-formal contexts, ultimately bridging diverse forms of learning, this suggests that the relationship between credits and validation may require additional attention.

Advancing synergies between initiatives

The Cedefop study revealed that, according to expert assessments, EU initiatives have had a significant impact on national developments, with the comparability of skills and qualifications being a key area of focus. This is not surprising, considering that this policy area has been one of the first priorities at the EU level and has a direct impact on the transferability and transparency of learning outcomes.

However, the analysis revealed that other thematic areas, such as credit accumulation and transfer, quality assurance mechanisms, recognition of qualifications, and validation systems for non-formal and informal learning, are also relevant, albeit to a lesser extent.

To create a more seamless and connected learning landscape, it is essential to adopt a holistic approach that recognises the interlinkages between different policy areas and that promotes the transparency and transferability of learning outcomes. A key aspect of this approach is addressing the areas where progress has been slower, such as credit accumulation and transfer, and validation systems for non-formal and informal learning, and promoting synergies between sectoral initiatives, such as those on quality assurance, in order to ensure a more comprehensive and equitable system.

Vasileios Symeonidis
PhD, Expert on Qualifications and Credentials, Cedefop

Zelda Azzarà
Expert on Qualifications and Credentials, Cedefop 

(A German translation of the article has been published in BWP 2/2025)