The Impact of Slovenian Qualifications Framework: Stakeholders’ Perspective

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of the national qualifications framework on the education and training system in Slovenia in the context of the European qualifications framework for lifelong learning and its influence on the design of the Slovenian qualifications framework. Although the role of the European Union in educational policy-making has received considerable attention, of which national qualifications frameworks are part of, only a few studies have focused on measuring the impacts of the European qualifications framework influenced national qualifications frameworks in Europe. By drawing on the theoretical concept of policy transfer in the analysis of European/global education policies, the study shows how European qualifications framework policy transfer influenced Slovenian qualifications framework development through soft instruments. Furthermore, this study examined the extent to which the Slovenian qualifications framework’s objectives have been achieved according to key stakeholders (n = 50) using a quantitative research approach. The findings indicate that, unlike objectives related to the Slovenian qualifications framework’s reform role, i.e. support for lifelong learning, the objectives related to the Slovenian qualifications framework’s communication role, i.e. recognisability, understanding and transparency of qualifications and coordination of the qualifications subsystems, are mostly being met from the stakeholders’ perspective.