Self-efficacy and the recognition of prior learning

The Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), a mechanism grounded in the educational transformational policies of the African National Congress to redress the historical legacy of Apartheid, is a relatively new (and often contested) concept in South Africa. This research endeavors to investigate the effect of a module, which forms part of a B.Ed (upgrade) programme and is based on the processes and principles of RPL, on students’ (in-service teachers’) self-efficacy and their skills in terms of the development and execution of work schedules and lesson plans (the RPL-focus of the module). The methodology includes the gathering of quantitative and qualitative data through the administering of pre- and post- self-efficacy questionnaires, assessment of the portfolios of evidence produced by the students, and the feedback obtained from the focus-group interviews. The data indicate a statistically significant improvement in the participating students’ self-efficacy and draw attention to the negative issue of context in previously disadvantaged South African schools. The significance of this research lies not only in the interrogation of an innovative approach to dealing with RPL issues in an academic programme, and its possible influence on teacher self-efficacy, but also in its contribution to the academic debate about the RPL process which is currently taking place both locally and internationall