A European qualification framework for social sciences: how does law fit in?

In this article from the Autumn 2009 issue of Directions Julian Lonbay (University of Birmingham) discusses progress made in developing an overall qualifications framework for legal education in Europe.

Currently a small working group is discussing how to develop law indicators within Europe. Contact j.l.lonbay@bham.ac.uk if you would like to help frame a UK viewpoint on this that can be taken into account as the qualification framework for law is created.

Editor’s note: for more on this topic see Tuning legal studies: can we find ‘commonality’?, an article from the Autumn 2005 issue of Directions

European higher educational policy slowly emerges from complex decision making models. A European Higher Education Area with its attendant qualification framework was developed under the Bologna process and now covers 46 countries. A European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning (or EQF) has been developed under the Lisbon process by the EU member states using the open method of coordination (OMC) – a ‘soft law’ approach to social policy making that relies on the development of guidelines, benchmarks and indicators under the supervision of the Council of the European Union.

National qualifications are mapped to the EQF making them more understandable and improving cross-border mobility for individuals holding such qualifications. There are eight EQF levels spanning the full set of qualifications, from basic (Level 1, for example school leaving certificates) to advanced (Level 8, for example doctorates) levels, and from general/academic to professional qualifications. The three highest EQF levels correspond to higher education levels as defined within the European Higher Education Area and to highly specialised professional qualifications. The system includes the results of all types of learning and concentrates primarily on ‘outputs’ rather than learning inputs such as the duration of studies.

Level 6, corresponding to university undergraduate level education, has general descriptors at the European level defined as follows:

Knowledge required:

• advanced knowledge of a field of work or study involving a critical understanding of theories and principles

Skill set:

• advanced skills demonstrating mastery and innovation required to solve complex and unpredictable problems in a specialised field of work or study

Competence:

• manage complex technical or professional activities or projects, taking responsibility for decision making in unpredictable work or study contexts and for managing professional development of individuals and groups

The corresponding descriptors from the equivalent first cycle of the Bologna qualifications framework are:

Qualifications that signify completion of the first cycle are awarded to students who:

• have demonstrated knowledge and understanding in a field of study that builds upon their general secondary education, and is typically at a level that, whilst supported by advanced textbooks, includes some aspects that will be informed by knowledge of the forefront of their field of study
• can apply their knowledge and understanding in a manner that indicates a professional approach to their work or vocation, and have competences typically demonstrated through devising and sustaining arguments and solving problems within their field of study
• have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (usually within their field of study) to inform judgments that include reflection on relevant social, scientific or ethical issues
• can communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialist and non-specialist audiences
• have developed those learning skills that are necessary for them to continue to undertake further study with a high degree of autonomy

The descriptors for a sectoral qualification framework specific to law are in the process of being created. Their emergence is necessary to help enable the required ‘mapping’ or ‘referencing’ of national qualification frameworks to the EQF. The openness of the processes from which they emerge means that interested parties can have an influence. Some of the work is being carried out under the Tuning project based in Bilbao and Groningen.

For law, a set of ‘learning outcomes’ is needed from which reference points and cycle descriptors could emerge and be used in creating a qualification framework for law. The Quaacas (quality, accreditation and assessment) group of the European Law Faculties Association (ELFA) has had a first stab at developing a pan European set of learning outcomes for law:

Quaacas learning outcomes in law: specific competences

1. Demonstrate knowledge of principal features of the legal system including general familiarity with its institutions and procedures.
2. Demonstrate knowledge of legal principles and values in a wide range of topics extending beyond the core curriculum.
3. Demonstrate some in depth knowledge of specialist areas.
4. Demonstrate critical awareness in the analysis of the legal order.
5. Ability to identify and apply primary legal sources.
6. Ability to identify and apply all legal sources of relevance for a specific legal issue.
7. Ability to identify societal concerns and values behind legal principles and rules.
8. Ability to identify contemporary debates and engage with these while accurately reporting the applicable law.
9. Ability to make a distinction between reasoning founded on law and policy-based arguments.
10. Ability to identify and work with principal aspects of a foreign legal system.
11. Ability to act independently in planning and undertaking complex legal tasks.
12. Ability to identify and comprehend legal issues.
13. Ability to identify relevant legal (including procedural) issues from a large body of unstructured facts.
14. Ability to create new or imaginative solutions through approaching a problem by using legal material in different ways.
15. Ability to decide whether factual circumstances are sufficiently elucidated for a legal decision.
16. Ability to render a reasoned legal decision.
17. Ability to draft legal provisions (legislation, contracts).
18. Ability to conduct legal research for giving legal advice.
19. Ability to be aware of the need for a multidisciplinary view of legal problems.
20. Ability to conduct academic legal research.
21. Ability to present knowledge with range of professional presentation skills (oral and written).
22. Ability to write fluent and technically sophisticated prose, using legal terminology accurately.
23. Ability to read a range of complex works within and about law and to summarise their arguments accurately.
24. Ability to work in cross-disciplinary teams as the legal expert of the team and contribute effectively to its task.
25. Ability to advise an interested person on the possible outcome of a case, and outline alternative strategies leading to different solutions.
26. Ability to identify and collate relevant statistical or numerical information and use it in a report.
27. Ability to use relevant IT tools, ie wordprocessing, standard information retrieval systems, Web resources, and ability to specify technological tools needed for personal support.
28. Ability to reflect on own learning.
29. Ability to seek and make use of feedback.
30. Awareness of the ethical dimension of legal work.
31. Ability to use a foreign legal language.

The responses to the Quaacas consultation did not cover all EU member states and in some countries the responses were patchy. The law learning outcomes however were the basis for a more successful Latin American venture which has set out learning outcomes for law in South America, and the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe adopted a Recommendation on training outcomes for European lawyers (PDF file) in 2007.

Last Modified: 4 June 2010