| EC REFERENCE TERMS |
| ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING OUTCOMES It refers to the methods and procedures used to determine to which extent the student has acquired the specific knowledge, skills and competencies [2]. |
| COMPETENCE It is the proved ability to use knowledge, personal, social and methodological skills in a work or study environment and also for professional and personal development. In the European Qualifications Framework, competence is described in terms of the assumption of responsibility and autonomy [1] [2]. |
| ECVET European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training is designed to facilitate the transfer, accumulation and recognition of people's learning outcomes, from one VET system to another, or from an informal learning situation to a formal learning context. It requires and promotes transparency of qualifications and learning outcomes, procedures (quality assurance, assessment or recognition), learning processes and pathways, structures. ECVET is based on the division of qualifications into units and on the description of learning outcomes of each unit using the three descriptors of EQF; knowledge, skills, and competences, making clear the EQF level of reference. [http://lifelonglearning-observatory.eucen.eu/whatECVET]. |
| EQF - EUROPEAN QUALIFICATIONS FRAMEWORK The European Qualifications Framework is a translation tool that helps communication and comparison between qualifications systems in Europe. Its eight common European reference levels are described in terms of learning outcomes: knowledge, skills and competences. This allows any national qualifications systems, national qualifications frameworks (NQFs) and qualifications in Europe to relate to the EQF levels. Learners, graduates, providers and employers can use these levels to understand and compare qualifications awarded in different countries and by different education and training systems [3]. |
| ESCO CLASSIFICATION ESCO is the multilingual classification of European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations as defined by European commission and itis part of the Europe 2020 strategy. The ESCO classification identifies and categorizes skills, competences, qualifications and occupations relevant for the EU labour market and education and training. The ESCO classification has been developed in an open IT format available for free on the website, that also offers the ESCOpedia tool for the comprehension of the terminology in use [4]. |
| ISCO CLASSIFICATION The International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) is a four-level statistical classification of occupation groups managed by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). ISCO is a tool for organizing jobs into a clearly defined set of groups according to the tasks and duties undertaken in the job [5]. Its main aims are to provide:
There is a connection between the ESCO classification and the latest version of ISCO (ISCO-08), in fact the ISCO list of Occupation, and its hierarchical structure, is semantically mapped into the ESCO occupations. |
| KNOWLEDGE It is the result of processing information through learning. Knowledge is the totality of facts, principles, theories and practice in a work or study environment. In the European Qualifications Framework knowledge is described either as theoretical or factual [1] [2]. |
| LEARNING OUTCOMES They are statements of what a learner knows, understands and is able to do on completion of a learning process defined in terms of knowledge, skills and competence [2]. |
| LEARNING UNIT - UNIT OF LEARNING OUTCOMES It is the component of a qualification, consisting of a coherent set of knowledge, skills and competence, which can be assessed and validated [2]. The description of qualifications in terms of units of Learning Outcomes is one of the main elements of ECVET. |
| OCCUPATION An occupation is a grouping of jobs involving similar tasks and which require a similar set of skills. Occupations should not be confused with jobs or job titles. While a job is bound to a specific work context and executed by one person, occupations group jobs with common characteristics [4]. |
| QUALIFICATION It is the formal outcome of an assessment and validation process which is obtained when a competent institution determines that an individual has achieved learning outcomes to a given standard [1] [2]. |
| RESPONSIBILITY AND AUTONOMY It means the ability of the learner to apply knowledge and skills autonomously and with responsibility [1]. |
| SKILL It is the ability to apply knowledge and use know-how to complete tasks and solve problems. In the European Qualifications Framework, skills are described as either cognitive (logical, intuitive and creative thinking) or practical (involving manual dexterity, applying and using learned methods, materials, tools and instruments) [1] [2]. |
| VET – VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING Education and training which aims to equipping people with knowledge, know-how, skills and/or competences required in particular occupations or more broadly in the labour market [6]. VET covers both young and adult students and fosters lifelong learning. VET can take place at the secondary, post-secondary, further education and higher education level, and can interact with the apprenticeships. |
| REFERENCE TERMS IN THE CARESS PROJECT |
| COMPETENCY In the CARESS project, the word competency is conventionally used to describe the capability to apply or use a set of related knowledge and skills with responsibility and autonomy, needed for successfully perform "critical work functions" or tasks in a defined work setting; it is a characteristic of an individual which “includes both visible competencies of knowledge and skills and underlying elements of competencies, like traits and motives” [7] [8]. It describes a standard of achievement of learning outcomes required as a qualification for a role, or occupation, or for recognizing a level of expertise in a field. |
| COMPETENCY GAP It is the mismatch between the competencies demanded by the job-market (employers, clients, etc.) and those offered by practitioners and workers. |
| COMPENSATIVE LEARNING MODULES (CLMs) CLMS are learning modules, composed by specific learning units (defined in terms of knowledge, skills and competences – according to ECVET), which target a specific “competency gap” that affects a certain Home Healthcare Practitioner (HHCP). In the CARESS project, the term “compensative” is conventionally used to refer to a learning module that targets a specific homecare professional in a EU country and that is built upon already existing curricula and VET courses, integrating them whenever a “competency gap” is identified. |
| CURRICULUM It is an inventory of activities implemented to design, organize and plan an education or training action, including definition of learning objectives, content, methods (including assessment) and material, as well as arrangements for training teachers and trainers [6]. In the CARESS project, the term curriculum is conventionally used to describe the set of formal learning credits or qualifications that a practitioner should obtain to perform his/her profession or to attend a specific VET Specialization course in his/her own country. |
| HHCP – HOMECARE PRACTITIONER Practitioners providing health, social and personal care or home aid at clients’ own homes. HHCPs don’t include medical doctors or informal carers. HHCPs activities include nursing, personal care services, rehabilitation (occupational therapy or physiotherapy), social homecare and technical nursing [9]. The CARESS project conventionally identifies 9 main categories of HHCPs. |
| HOMECARE Homecare describes any form of care given at the user’s home; the term homecare covers both medical and non-medical forms of assistance, such as home healthcare, home aid, personal care and social care. |
| HOME HELP It is a service provided by a professional who, under the supervision of a home health or social service agency, or independently as a free-lance, assists an older, ill or disabled person with household chores and provides support to several daily living needs, such as the preparation of meals. |
| HOME HEALTH CARE Home health care is the health care that takes place at home. The term home health care and homecare are often interchangeable; however, home health care refers to medical-related homecare while homecare encompasses all medical and non-medical homecare services [9]. Home health care consists of a wide range of services and supplies that a person receives at home according to a plan of care established usually by a doctor. Home Health Care can include skilled nursing and home health aid services, physical therapy, continued occupational therapy, speech-language pathology services, medical social services, durable medical equipment (such as wheelchairs, hospital beds, oxygen, and walkers), medical supplies, and other services provided at the individual’s home. |
| HOME-BASED PERSONAL CARE Home-based personal care workers provide routine personal care, such as bathing, dressing, or grooming, to older, convalescent, or disabled persons in their own homes or in an independent residential care facility [10]. |
| KEY ACTIVITY A Key Activity is defined as an integrated group of professional competences, which are in their entirety necessary to perform a task relevant to the job profile. The key activities of a profession must together cover all activities necessary for the performance of a profession, regardless of its application context. |
| OLDER ADULT An older adult is an individual who has reached a later stage of life. Usually the term refers to individuals who are 65 years of age or older, but the beginning of old age can vary across countries and is related to life expectancy, legal retirement age, social norms, and so on (65 is often used as a proxy because this is the standard retirement age in many EU countries, but this is changing upwards and only relates to one’s employment situation, not to ones’ health). An older adult/person may be perfectly healthy, but may as well face illness, a mental health condition, disability and/or a loss of autonomy because of an age-related decline in the health status or another chronic health condition. An adult may also reach older age with a pre-existing illness, mental health condition, disability or loss of autonomy, and require increasing support given the progressive deterioration of such conditions. |
| ROLE - SET OF KEY ACTIVITIES It is a set of key activities that are generally carried out by an individual within some organizationally relevant responsibility. This set of activities is related to a corresponding set of desired qualities such as experience, qualifications and personality traits possessed by the individual needed to fill the role. In the CARESS project, it is conventionally associated one or more competency/ies. |
| SOCIAL CARE It is the provision of social work, personal care, protection or social support services to children or adults in need or at risk, or adults with needs arising from illness, disability, old age or poverty. That provision covers a wide range of services and may have one or more of the following aims: to protect people who use care services from abuse or neglect, to prevent deterioration of or promote physical or mental health, to promote independence and social inclusion, to improve opportunities and life chances, to strengthen families and to protect human rights in relation to people's social needs. |
| SUPPORTING PARTNER Stakeholders who profess an interest in the project and a willingness to be updated about its main progresses and results; while manifesting this interest a Supporting Partner can define the level of involvement in the project he/she would like to establish; an high level of involvement implies the willingness of contributing actively to project results, eg. integrating or revising the data in the framework. |
| TRANSVERSAL and PERSONAL COMPETENCES Transversal Competences are those typically considered as not specifically related to a particular job, task, academic discipline or area of knowledge but as competences that can be used in a wide variety of situations and work settings [17]. Personal Competences comprise personal, social and/or methodological abilities which could be put into play in society and at work. In the CARESS project, TRANSVERSAL AND PERSONAL COMPETENCES are described in terms of “competences needed for applying a knowledge and/or a skill in the work context with a certain level of responsibility and autonomy” (see the definition of “Learning Outcome”). |
| VET SPECIALIZATION COURSE In the CARESS project, the expression VET specialization course conventionally refers to a specific Vocational Education and Training course providing a specialized expertise to students (eg. a Master of Science for graduated students or a professional course). |
| WIZARD It is a user-friendly interface that introduces the user to a sequence of dialogue boxes that guide him/her by means of well-defined steps; the performing of complex, infrequent or unfamiliar tasks may be easier with the assistance of the wizard [11]. |