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NATIONAL QUALIFICATION SYSTEM IN THE CONTEXT OF INTEGRATION INTO THE EUROPEAN ZONE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
А. М. Mamyrkhanova
One of the tasks facing Kazakhstan, which is a member country of the Bologna process, is to ensure mobility of both students and graduates for participation in the creation of the united educational environment and united market of labor resources. The national system of qualifications, based on the description of the results of learning for each level of education and a set of competences received by graduates, gives graduates of higher educational institutions the opportunity for free movement. The availability of a National Qualification System (NQS) is one of the prioritized elements of the Bologna process. It should be also noted that the developed national system of qualifications shall be harmonized with the European Qualifications Framework covering all levels of education.
Issues associated with the Qualifications Framework have been important in Europe since 2001. During the period from 2001 until 2011, several workshops covering this topic were organized that justified the need to establish a qualifications framework with the description of a qualification from the point of view of level, work load, results of training and profile. In 2008, the European Parliament adopted the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), which is a meta framework and a tool for comparison and comparability of national qualifications in EU member countries [1]. For member countries of the Bologna process that develop their own qualifications frameworks, EQF is a reference point. We should remember that a national qualifications framework shall meet the requirements of the Bologna process and the European Union with regard to their correspondence to the following documents: “Steps of development of national qualifications structures”, “Recommendations of strategy of the verification process. Criteria and procedures for checking and confirmation of comparability of structures”, “Criteria and procedures of bringing national qualifications levels into line with the European Qualifications Structure” [2].
A National Qualifications System (NQS) is one of the main conditions for the development of skilled staff. It has become more important, because nowadays the level of preparation of specialists does not meet the requirements of the labor market. NQS provides for interaction of the education fields and labor activity by means of correlation of the stages of study, evaluation of practicability of the educational programs, conducting of public and professional accreditation and expertise in education. It also gives an opportunity to determine the preconditions for development of the skilled labor market (description of professional profiles by areas of activity, attestation of employees and job positions), and to preserve the international context of professional training (to compare qualifications received in different systems of education). National qualification frameworks occupy the central place in the creation of the NQS, which are based on the results of training
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and divided into qualification levels. In the course of the development of the qualification frameworks, it is important to reflect the cycles of the training courses in the structure, as well as their relevant qualifications by the subject-based parameters of the elements set forth in the Bologna process. They should be described in the context of the European qualifications frameworks based on the results of education and acquired competences, quantitatively and qualitatively.
The existing Kazakh system of qualifications demonstrates the skills of an employee through definition of the input parameters of the educational system, approximation of levels of formal education, correspondence of curriculums and their duration, and work experience (MSK-97). Thus, the system of qualifications does not reflect the competency of an employee, or their ability to solve tasks and bear responsibility. Naturally, the system of education is preparing specialists in accordance with its own vision, and not in accordance with the labor market order. The so called qualifications of education - bachelor’s and master’s degrees - do not have a systematic description for different types of economic activity and are not transparent for employers. Recently, Kazakhstan has made a serious step forward towards the development of the NQS, i.e. the development and approval of a national qualifications framework and the beginning of development of professional standards, which is a basis for the development of a fully-fledged national framework and system of qualifications. However, development of professional standards takes place only in the field of technical and vocational training. Systematic research in the field of study of the NQS is carried out by Russian scientists, mainly employees of the Center of Study of Professional Education [3-5]. The work of students in this center describe the preconditions for the creation of regulating mechanisms for supply and demand in the market of qualifications in the context of improving the quality of professional training due to its refocusing on educational results. However, only the work of V.I. Baydenko is devoted to the issue of the development of a national qualifications system in the context of integration into the European zone of higher education [6].
Presently, the issues of the creation of a national system and national framework of qualifications and professional standards are widely discussed in academic and professional society. Besides, this problem is not very well analyzed in scientific works. Development and implementation of the NQS based on the results of education requires a reconsideration of the national system of education, training and lifelong education, and development of connections between them.
Updating the structure and content of the educational programs in accordance with the labor market requirements and international standards is a prioritized direction in the development of the system of professional training, including higher education and postgraduate studies. It should be implemented by means of the development of the NQS, with the attraction of the employers’ associations. It will allow the higher educational institutions to develop modules and training programs based on the results of training and credits, and to simplify the acknowledgement of qualifications and all forms of previous education.
In the course of the development of the NQS, it is necessary to determine clear connections between national qualifications and levels of eQf, to develop national systems of acknowledgment of non-formal and spontaneous education based on general principles agreed at a European level, and to use the
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opportunities of the system of accumulation and transfer of credits for development of the integrated mechanism of accumulation and transfer of credits for the purpose of lifelong education.
References
1. Европейский Парламент и Совет Европы. Рекомендации от 23 апреля 2008 года. Утверждение европейских квалификационных рамок для обучения на протяжении жизни. Официальный журнал европейского союза. 06.05.2008.
2. Болонский процесс: поиск общности европейских систем высшего образования (проект TUNING) / под науч. ред. д-ра пед. наук, проф. В. И. Байденко. - М.: Исследовательский центр проблем качества подготовки специалистов, Национальный аккредитационный центр МОН РК, 2006. - 244 с.
3. Коулз М. Национальная система квалификаций. Обеспечение спроса и предложения квалификаций на рынке труда / М. Коулз, О. Н. Олейникова, А. А. Муравьева. - М.: РИО ТК им. А.Н. Коняева, 2009. - 115 с.
4. Олейникова О. Н. Принципы и процедуры разработки Национальной рамки квалификаций / О. Н. Олейникова, А. А. Муравьева, М. Коулз. - М., 2006. - 42 с.
5. Олейникова О. Н. Профессиональные стандарты как основа формирования рамки квалификаций / О.Н. Олейникова, А.А. Муравьева. - М.: АНО Центр ИРПО, 2009. - 10 с.
6. Болонский процесс: европейские и национальные структуры квалификаций (книга-приложение 2) / под науч. ред. д-ра пед. наук, профессора В.И. Байденко. - Астана: Исследовательский центр проблем качества подготовки специалистов, Независимое казахстанское агентство по обеспечению качества в образовании (НКАОКО). 2010. -218 с.
Translated from Russian by Znanije Central Translations Bureau
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