Flexible learning pathways: the national qualifications framework backbone

This report forms part of an international project, led by UNESCO's International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP), on higher education's role in supporting "flexible learning pathways." Flexible learning pathways (FLPs) in higher education provide routes to the acquisition of knowledge and skills at different life stages, to meet the different needs and circumstances of the learner. They can involve boundary crossing between different sources of knowledge, different subject fields, different institutional providers, and different forms of learning. Pathways can take learners on journeys through expanded and differentiated higher education systems and beyond. In line with UNESCO's eight-country study of FLPs in higher education, the South African research team analysed over 30 policies and instruments that support FLPs nationally, and they conducted 51 interviews with 80 key representatives across a national department, the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) authority, the higher education quality assurance (QA) body, professional bodies, and further individuals recommended by the selected entities. Interviews were also conducted with the leadership, selected managers, students and alumni in a public university, a University of Technology (UoT), and a private higher education institution (pHEI) included on the basis of their known FLP practices. The findings of the study confirm deep awareness and developments relating to the extensive structural and legislative frameworks for FLPs in the country.