# 1 - January 2009 Welcome The FamCompass newsletter informs you about the FamCompass project, funded by the European Commission in the Lifelong Learning Program Grundtvig I. The aim of this project is to validate 'family competences', competences men and woman have acquired in the informal settings of family life. We hope you will find the outcomes of our project useful and we invite you to give us your feedback as we further develop it.
Content
1. Family Competences Portfolio: What, why and who will benefit?
2. First testing concluded
3. The FamCompass team
4. LLL and APL in Europe
5. Work in progress
6. LLL- and APL-news from participating countries
7. Project website
1. Family Competences Portfolio
What?
This project develops an instrument to assess and validate the competences men and woman have obtained in family life: the Family Competences Portfolio. The FamCompass will take the form of a paper-portfolio and a computer program. The instrument will be made available in English and in the official languages of the participating countries. Why?
Due to the aging society, we will face a growing demand for qualified personnel in the sector of care. At the same time, we are facing a low level of education and participation on the labor market of certain groups in society, e.g. women, elder citizens and immigrants. It becomes very important to validate and implement talents that now remain invisible: knowledge, skills and competences people acquired in family life, in their roles as educators, homemakers and care workers. Who will benefit?
The FamCompass will be of particular use for: - Institutes offering training programs that seek to attract more adult learners in several fields, e.g. education, social work/psychosocial work, family coaching and assistance, foster care, teacher assistance, family learning, street corner work, etc.
- Adult learners who want to apply for these training programs, in view of possible employment in these professions.
- Employers in these sectors.
- Centers for job coaching.
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2. First testing concluded
'Filling out the FamCompass Portfolio was an intense but very enriching experience. I learned a lot about competences I didn't even realize I had or how much they are wanted on the labor market', says one of the enthusiastic participants of the 1st testing of the instrument.
The project was launched in November 2007 and runs until the end of October 2009. During the first year we developed a 1st draft of the instrument. This was tested in different settings in seven EU-countries. Based on the feedback of users and institutes we will now develop a 2nd draft. This will be tested in March-April 2009.
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3. The FamCompass team
All participating organizations have a very broad experience in working on international projects and/or in the assessment of prior learning (APL):
Download the leaflet in one of the partner's languages or have a look at the illustrated reports in Lithuanian or a presentation of FamCompass in Slovak. Back to menu
4. LLL and APL in Europe
The FamCompass project wants to stimulate the debate on lifelong learning and the accreditation of prior learning in the European Union. We hope to influence local, national and international authorities to take the necessary steps for the official recognition and validation of skills and competences obtained in the non-formal settings of family life and care.
In view of this aim all partners participating in this project have made a short analysis of the LLL and APL (assessment/accreditation of prior learning) policy in their country and compared them with the goals set by the EU.
You can download this paper from the FamCompass website: 'LLL and APL in the countries involved in the FamCompass project'.
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5. Work in progress
The FamCompass project has ended its first work-year. Together with the director of the Higher Institute for Family Sciences, Ms Gaby Jennes, Joris Dewispelaere (HIG) wrote an article which summarizes the work done, what is coming up and especially invites the Flemish Government to validate the instrument.
The article was published in November 2008 in a special edition of the 'Gezinsbond' (Flemish League of families) on 'Parents at work at home and the call of the labor market'.
You can download this article from the project website in English or Dutch.
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6. LLL- and APL-news from participating countries
Related project in Germany in the making: www.winkit.eu
This project wants to make the learning outcomes of women's informal learning more visible and valuable, not only to women themselves, but also to their social and family networks. The aim is to open and facilitate pathways leading to a better formal recognition of these competences, for example in employment. It will develop methods and tools to make these learning outcomes visible, valid and authentic. The project wants to enhance the value of these skills and competences acquired informally and therefore make them more attractive for men too. EVC Wiki
The University of Ghent (BE) and CESOR launched an expert network on APL instruments. The knowledge and expertise concerning development and quality control of APL-instruments will be made accessible to the work field.
More information on this research project by order of the Flemish government (only in Dutch). Portfolios in Flanders
The University of Antwerp (BE) concluded an inventory and analysis of the use of portfolios within APL in Flanders. 30 portfolios in the domain of education, the professional context and the social sector were described and analysed in the project. The conclusions of the research will help the The Flemish Department of Education to formulate common criteria for APL-portfolios. The FamCompass was discussed during the concluding conference and is described in the final report.
You can download the report of the project from the university website (only in Dutch). Back to menu
7. Project website: www.famcompass.eu
The project website gives you all the details of the work in progress. Stakeholders and institutes participating in the testing of the FamCompass have access to the draft versions of the instrument.
Do you find the development of the FamCompass of great use for your organisation? Do you see other possible users of the FamCompass in your country and your networks? Please let us know and forward this newsletter to possible stakeholders.
Don't hesitate to contact us and give us your feedback. Together we can develop a user-friendly FamCompass that will benefit many.
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