Search results

This paper aims to depart from the premise that human capital investments and human capital outcomes are often tacit – an aspect, which is often neglected in the current literature on entrepreneurial human capital. The idea of this conceptual paper is to shed light on the social process of how human capital investments and human capital outcomes can be valued and made visible through the validation of prior learning. Thus, this study conceptualises the validation of prior learning as a post hoc, the reflective process through which an aspiring entrepreneur is guided.

This paper is conceptual and introduces a process model.

Findings indicate that the process of the validation of prior learning is well-suitable to inform aspiring entrepreneurs of their investments into human capital and their human capital outcomes. The process results in a (partial) certified qualification that provides entrepreneurial legitimacy.

Thus far, the model is conceptual and should be validated via interviews and further empirical studies in the field.

Literature in the field of entrepreneurial human capital suggests that human capital outcomes are more important for success than inputs. Furthermore, context-specific knowledge, skills and abilities are more important than generalised outcomes. These findings have implications for the design of validation procedures.

Human capital has only been recently conceptualised as consisting of human capital investments and outcomes of human capital investment. However, thus far the literature falls short in acknowledging the tacit nature of human capital investments and human capital outcomes. This paper contributes a structured process of how human capital investments and human capital outcomes are linked and assessed. In so doing, this study extends a recent model of human capital investments and outputs (Marvel et al., 2016, p. 616).

This paper aims to draw on a socio-technical perspective to explore how information and communication technology (ICT) supports the validation of non-formal and informal learning (VNFIL) in specific practices and arrangements.

The authors use qualitative content analysis to analyse 43 country reports of the “European inventory on validation” published by the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) in 2019.

This study conceptualises ICT supported VNFIL practices and arrangements from a socio-technical perspective. Given this, the paper finds that ICT is used mainly to provide information on validation practices and arrangements, store qualification registers online and identify and document learning outcomes. The use of ICT to assess and certify learning outcomes remains limited.

VNFIL is very rarely seen in a technical context. This paper contributes to a theoretical perspective and highlights the mutual interdependence of social and technical components. Furthermore, this study provides an overview of inasmuch ICT is currently used to support VNFIL practices and arrangements. Based on the results, validation researchers and practitioners can get inspiration on how to develop ICT supported VNFIL practices and arrangements further.

This study aims to explore how the boundary between science and society can be addressed to support the transformation of higher education towards sustainable development (HESD) in the sense of the whole institution approach. It analyses students’ learning experiences in self-led sustainability projects conducted outside formal curricula to highlight their potential contribution to HESD. The students’ projects are conceived as learning spaces in “sustainability-oriented ecologies of learning” (Wals, 2020) in which five learning dimensions can be examined.

Using an iterative, grounded-theory-inspired qualitative approach and sensitising concepts, 13 in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted exploring students’ learning experiences. Interviews were categorised in MAXQDA and analysed against a literature review.

Results revealed that students’ experiences of non-formal learning in self-led projects triggered deep learning and change agency. Trust, social cohesion, empowerment and self-efficacy were both results and conditions of learning. Students’ learnings are classified according to higher education institutions’ (HEIs) sustainability agendas, providing systematised insights for HEIs regarding their accommodative, reformative or transformative (Sterling, 2021) path to sustainable development.

The education for sustainable development (ESD) debate focuses mainly on ESD competences in formal settings. Few studies explore students’ learnings where formal and non-formal learning meet. This article investigates a space where students interact with different actors from society while remaining rooted in their HEIs. When acting as “change agents” in this hybrid context, students can also become “boundary agents” helping their HEIs move the sustainability agenda forward towards a whole institution approach. Learning from students’ learnings is thus proposed as a lever for transformation.

The paper aims to address the gap in the literature related to students’ mindsets and learning activities through investigation of the differences in students’ expectations of, feelings towards, and perceptions of an overseas study tour based on their mindset. The study provides an in-depth analysis of students with different mindsets and proposes the use of overseas tours and intercultural learning to foster students’ growth mindset.

An overseas study tour hosted by a self-financing tertiary institution in Hong Kong was selected for investigation. 13 sub-degree students participated in the study tour during the summer term in 2018. Two types of primary data – quantitative (i.e., a questionnaire survey) and qualitative (i.e., in-depth interviews) – of fixed mindset and growth mindset students were collected for analysis.

The findings indicate differences in students’ expectations of, feelings towards, and perceptions of an overseas study tour depending on whether they demonstrate a fixed or growth mindset. The growth mindset students had more and higher expectations of the study tour, all of which were related to personal growth and development. The fixed mindset students did not have as much of a desire for personal development and their expectations were easily met. Both growth and fixed mindset students had positive feelings and perceptions of the tour.

Research on the application value of overseas study tours in helping students from self-financing tertiary institutions develop a growth mindset is scarce, and thus warrants further investigation.

This paper aims to introduce an information and communication technology (ICT) artifact that uses text mining to support the innovative and standardized assessment of professional competences within the validation of prior learning (VPL). Assessment means comparing identified and documented professional competences against a standard or reference point. The designed artifact is evaluated by matching a set of curriculum vitae (CV) scraped from LinkedIn against a comprehensive model of professional competence.

A design science approach informed the development and evaluation of the ICT artifact presented in this paper.

A proof of concept shows that the ICT artifact can support assessors within the validation of prior learning procedure. Rather the output of such an ICT artifact can be used to structure documentation in the validation process.

Evaluating the artifact shows that ICT support to assess documented learning outcomes is a promising endeavor but remains a challenge. Further research should work on standardized ways to document professional competences, ICT artifacts capture the semantic content of documents, and refine ontologies of theoretical models of professional competences.

Text mining methods to assess professional competences rely on large bodies of textual data, and thus a thoroughly built and large portfolio is necessary as input for this ICT artifact.

Following the recent call of European policymakers to develop standardized and ICT-based approaches for the assessment of professional competences, an ICT artifact that supports the automatized assessment of professional competences within the validation of prior learning is designed and evaluated.

This case study describe how Bahrain Polytechnic maintains academic quality while responding to students’ expectations that prior learning will be recognized in a competitive market. Although recognising prior learning is important for enhancing the student experience, Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s) need confidence in the quality of transferring students prior learning. Bahrain Polytechnic differ from other HEI’s in the Kingdom of Bahrain in that it delivers applied, professional and technical qualifications. Graduates are expected to be work-ready; confident and competent, aware of what is expected of them in the professional world, and able to perform to their full potential (Bahrain Polytechnic, 2017). Programmes, qualifications and courses, and the underlying methodology of how they are delivered are developed in consultation with businesses, industries, professions, international education and training institutions to ensure that Bahrain Polytechnic graduates meet the needs of the labour market, thus supplying Bahrain’s economy with a source of highly skilled graduates. This enforces the use of a unique teaching and learning philosophy represented in Problem-based Learning (PBL) (Bahrain Polytechnic, 2017). Therefore, Bahrain Polytechnic need to be very cautious when assessing any RPL application. This paper identifies student mobility and internationalization as important and legitimate issues for both individual institutions and for educational quality assurance bodies. It then focuses on the Bahrain Polytechnic’s approach in acknowledging students prior learning through formal education. Following significant internal consultation, Bahrain Polytechnic has developed a more robust process for awarding credits/ exemptions to students based on formal education in other approved HEI’s.

This literature review explores the potential of gamification in workplace learning beyond formal training. The study also highlights research gaps and opportunities for scholars to develop new theories and methodologies to enhance the understanding and application of gamification in workplace learning. It provides guidance for managers to use gamification to enhance learning and engagement. Ultimately, this review presents gamification as a promising field of study to increase individual and organizational performance.

Literature review of 6625 papers in the timeframe 1990–2020, with an update to include papers published in 2023.

This article examines the impact of gamification beyond formal learning and its potential to enhance employee productivity and well-being in the workplace. While there has been extensive research on gamification in formal learning contexts, little is known about its impact on informal learning. The study argues that the context of gamification is crucial to extending its effects and discusses the role, antecedents and consequences of game design elements in the workplace. The article also explores how the learning context relates to employee learning during work. Further research is necessary to investigate the impact of individual characteristics on work experience and performance.

Intended contribution of the present study is the development of a theoretical framework exploring the benefits of gamification in a work context.

For practicing managers, this paper shows how to use gamification to increase workplace learning and employee engagement, not just in the context of formal learning—as some companies already do today—but also systematically, in the context of informal learning.

This study explores the impact of gamification on informal workplace learning and emphasizes the significance of the context of gamification in extending its effects to improve individual and organizational performance.

This study aims to provide an overview of the past two decades of lifelong learning (LLL) policies for enhancing employability and reduce social exclusion in young people of European countries through the development of the so-called LLL key-competences.

Built on a quasi-systematic review, this contribution explores traditional and new methods for promoting the LLL transition, and then employability, in young adults (e.g. apprenticeship, vocational training, e-learning, etc.).

It argues the need to identify all the possible approaches able to support policymakers, as they can differently impact key-competence development.

Finally, based on the consolidated EU policy experience, we propose a strategy of implementation of the LLL programmes that facilitates the institutions’ decision processes for policy-making through the use of decisional support system.