This presentation focuses on a topic that is often overlooked when programs are created – evaluating their impact on the end user. The lunch and learn will introduce participants to a new tool that was the final outcome of a year-long project partnership between the Coady Institute (St. Francis Xavier University) and the NS Career Development Association. The project examined the scope, outcomes, and impact of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) programs and projects within the province of Nova Scotia over the last 10 years, specifically in the career development, immigrant resettlement, and post-secondary sectors. The overarching objective of the project was to determine what the true indicators of success are for these types of programs, and to then develop an impact evaluation framework that can be adapted to practitioners' own RPL programs.
Presenters:
Dr. Paula Romanow has had an interest in RPL going back to the 1990s. From 2012 to 2019, she sat on the Province of Nova Scotia’s RPL Advisory Committee. She is particularly interested in researching RPL as an equity-informed practice, as well as in developing evaluation frameworks for RPL programs. Dr. Romanow took a leading role in the development of the NS Career Development Association’s Certified Career Development Practitioner (CCDP) program, the only RPL-based model for CCDPs in Canada (and arguably, globally), which is now the model for a national CCDP certification program. Currently, Dr. Romanow serves as the Canadian Association for Prior Learning Assessment (CAPLA’)s Co-Vice Chair, and Lead – Education and Training. She recently retired from the Coady Institute, St. Francis Xavier University and has entered the world of self-employment with her company Bramblefield Research and Consulting, which specializes in participatory research and evaluation methods, especially those rooted in RPL.
Teresa Francis is the NSCDA’s Director, Learning and Professional Practice. She has a deep belief in the power of recognizing learning to transform lives, communities and economies. Over the past 30 years, she has led and contributed to a wide range of RPL initiatives in Nova Scotia, across Canada and in the Caribbean. A career development professional, facilitator, counsellor and manager, Teresa has applied (and gained!) her skills in not-for-profit, secondary and post-secondary settings. Areas of strength include Career Development and Transition, Instructional Design/Delivery, and Program Development/Management. Teresa holds an M.Ed. (Counselling) from Acadia University, a B.Ed. and BHEc. from Mount Saint Vincent University, and is a Registered Counselling Therapist.
