RPL as Specialised Pedagogy: Crossing the Lines

Internationally, Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) has become a standard component of education policy reforms aimed at meeting the requirements of a globalized labor market on the one hand, while responding to demands for widening access to further and higher education on the other. However, despite the promises of RPL to enable ‘optimal inclusion’, this ideal is not easily realized in practice. Drawing on case study research of RPL practices in four different contexts in South Africa, RPL as Specialized Pedagogy: Crossing the Lines offers a novel theoretical framework for understanding RPL not simply as an assessment practice, but as a specialized pedagogy for navigating knowledge boundaries across different contexts.