‘Wiki standards’ and Qualifications Frameworks

Abstract

PCF5: Cross-Cutting Theme // How radical is it to consider that any member of the public can post a qualification standard on a website, another can edit the same standard and anyone can update it on a regular basis? Even more radically, can such an approach be accommodated in national-, transnational- or regional qualifications frameworks? In our paper we try to open this debate to a broader audience by taking two opposite positions: Paul, with a background in the Wiki environment, argues that the development and maintenance of standards can be supported through ongoing general consensus, much like a WikiPedia article, and that daily changes to such standards simply reflect the natural daily changes in the world. James, with a background in qualifications framework development, argues that standards can only be developed by expert practitioners located in specific communities of practice. // Paper ID 100