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CHALLENGES FACED
BY POLISH LIFEWIDE LIFELONG LEARNING (LLL)
EDUCATORS AS EXEMPLIFIED BY ACCOUNTING
R. Grabowski A. Karmanska
The present article focuses on: (1) challenges faced by the Polish LLL educators connected with the policy pursued in Poland with regard to lifelong learning described in the official document of the Council of Ministers entitled ’’Prospects of lifelong learning” [Perspektywa (Prospects), 2013], (2) activities in response to these challenges undertaken at the level of a professional organisation affiliating people (practitioners and academics) dealing with accounting.
In this place, the considerations have been limited to the institutional solutions aimed at the identification, assessment and confirmation of competence, i.e. giving them a rank of qualifications with regard to grown up people. In the authors’ opinion the Polish solutions in this area are original and may become an object of interest of a broader spectrum of people working on the problem of LLL in different countries.
The policy of lifelong learning pursued in Poland is based on the so-called horizontal principles approved by the EU [Perspektywa (Prospects), pp. 3, 30 and 48], which include: (1) the appreciation of learning in different forms and places (i.e. formal, non-formal and informal learning), (2) the appreciation of learning at every stage of life ( from early years till old age), (3) universality perceived as the application of the LLL policy to all the people, (4) the assessment and confirmation of the effects of learning irrespective of where, how and when it takes place, (5) development of partnership in favour of lifelong learning, (6) placing a human being in the centre of policy, (7) effective investment in learning.
Referring to these principles, it was assumed in Poland that the strategic goal of lifelong learning is a good preparation of children and youth for longlife learning and making adults extend and complete their competences and qualifications to match them with the challenge they may face in their professional, social of private life [Perspektywa, pp. 3 and 30]. And operational goals are subordinated to the strategic goal formulated in this way: [Perspektywa, pp. 3, 3143]: (1) the introduction of institutional solutions as a result of which in the process of education (formal, informal and non-formal) creativeness and innovativeness of learners will be stimulated, (2) drawing up a transparent and cohesive qualifications system, (3) guarantee of diversified and accessible offer of early care and education, (4) organisation of the system of teaching and professional training adjusted to the needs of sustainable economy, labour market changes and social needs, (5) introduction of solutions thanks to which the environment of work and social involvement will favour the longlife learning, i.e. the acquisition of competence and qualifications. The pursuit of the aforementioned goals generates challenges for the authorities of different administration levels as well as for employers, employees, institutions involved in science or education as well as entities associating representatives of different professions. Such challenges are also faced by the Accountants Association in Poland affiliating primarily practitioners but also academics dealing with accounting.
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The first important challenge faced by LLL accounting educators is the development of the validation system, i.e. the system of identification, appraisal and confirmation of learning effects in the area of accounting. The development of such a system is a challenge of a particular importance with regard to the nonformal and informal learning, which has dominated the education of accounting practitioners. Accounting perceived as both practice and science is subject to constant changes related to the dynamics of economy. That is why, diligent dealing with accounting requires a permanent pursuit of these changes, i.e. learning. For the accountants who have completed a formal educational process, non-formal and informal learning is the principal way to acquire new and improve the previously acquired competences.
Non-formal learning includes “institutionally organised learning, however beyond curricula and training leading to the acquisition of qualifications” [Perspektywa, p. 65]. The abundance of courses, trainings and other forms may hinder the comparison of real competences possessed by staff and job applicants. Thus, it is important for the organisation with a suitable substantive and organisational foundation to reduce to the lowest common denominator the aforementioned competences through their identification and evaluation and giving them the rank of qualifications. The same conclusion may be drawn taking into account the fact that according to the document ’’Perspektywa...”, learning is conducted also in an informal context. In the case of accounting, this context is of a particular significance. Although academics treat accounting primarily as a science, the practitioners perceive it as the acquisition of knowledge, skills and other competences taking place not only within the confines of a university but also in the course of conducting accounting activities in the business reality.
The second challenge is the need to develop qualifications systematics in cooperation with employers, employees and entities involved in accounting education. The systematics would allow: (1) employers - to indicate the competences and qualifications expected from employees and job applicants as well as the comparison of qualifications offered by employees, (2) employees - to plan their professional career path, (3) entities involved in education - to develop education curricula based on the real labour market needs. Speaking about accounting in the aforementioned context, it is worth pointing to the need for the identification of qualifications common (at different levels) to all business entities, but also competences which are specific to the work in accounting departments operating in different sectors of economy. This challenge is closely connected with the fact that on the one hand accounting is conducted in all business entities, and on the other hand it is specific to different sectors (e.g. SMEs, financial institutions, public sector institutions etc.). Thus, it may be said that some competences needed to conduct the accounting activity are of a universal character - they are indispensable to do the accounting business irrespective of the sector of economy which the given entity belongs to. Other competences have a specific character (specialist), necessary to conduct accounting of the entities belonging to the selected sectors of economy.
The third challenge faced primarily by the entities involved in the accounting education, but also those operating in the area of science, is to develop curricula corresponding to the real needs of employers and employees. We wish to emphasize strongly that it is necessary to make employers involved in such a way
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that the knowledge, skills and competences acquired in the process of learning would meet the actual needs of employers. The development of curricula corresponding to the real needs of employers and employees is also a challenge for the people doing scientific research. As it is observed in the document ”Perspektywa...” (p. 26), this challenge consists in the search for the answer to the following questions: First, what competences and qualifications do employers expect from the present and future employees? Second, what competences and qualifications do employees and applicants possess? Third, what is the competence gap, in other words what is the discrepancy between what employers expect and what employees can offer in the area of competence and qualifications? The answers to these questions obtained by means of scientific tools, i.e. correctly conducted research, will allow for the construction of curriculum, which will correspond to the needs of employers and employees.
In Poland the response to the aforementioned challenges is a system of certification prepared by the Accountants Association in Poland within the framework of which four levels of qualifications have been formulated: I -bookkeeper, II - accounting specialist, III - chief accountant and IV - chartered accountant. These levels differ with regard to the required knowledge, skills and other competences. The scope of requirements to be met has been thoroughly described in the respective AAP documents. They will not be quoted here due to their comprehensibility. Instead, the authors wish to emphasize the cohesion of the AAP solutions with the policy of lifelong learning. The cohesion is reflected in:
a. opportunity to apply for the confirmation of qualifications despite different forms of learning (cohesion with lifewide learning principles),
b. determination of requirements through the indication of the areas of knowledge, skills and other competences indispensable to obtain qualifications at every level (cohesion with the approach basing on the competences and not the way they have been obtained),
c. synchronisation of individual levels of qualifications (I-III) with the levels of qualifications defined by the Ordinance of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of 27 April 2010 on the classification of jobs and specialisations for the purposes of the labour market and the scope of its application (cohesion with the system of qualifications),
d. involvement of employers (the so-called Employers’ Council) and the accounting practitioners in the AAP work, and consequently in the process of drawing up requirements to be met at all the levels of qualifications,
e. specification of curricula leading to obtaining competences required at every level of qualifications (cohesion with the need for the creation of curricula corresponding to the real needs of employers and employees).
References
1. Perspektywa uczenia si§ przez cate zycie (Prospects of lifelong learning) (2013), Annex to the Resolution no. 160/2013 of the Council of Ministers of 10 September 2013. http://www.men.gov.pl/index.php/uczenie-sie-przez-cale-zycie/770-perspektywa-uczenia-sie-przez-cale-zycie; Accessible as of: 2014-02-14.
2. Karmanska A., Grabowski R. (2014), Polish Lifewide Lifelong Learning (LLL) in the Field of Business as Exemplified by Accounting. The 12th International Conference „Lifelong Learning: Continuous Education For Sustainable Development”, Saint-Petersburg,Russia, 2014.
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