Jordan currently does not have a formalised national qualifications’ framework; however, it is a member of the AQF and of the Arab Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education – ANQAHE. Their national framework is still under development and referencing processes have not yet been launched.[1] It should be noted that the learning outcomes in the proposed AQF in 2012 have a similar definition to the Bologna process system.
The ANQAHE defined the three learning outcomes (knowledge, skills, and competences):[2]
“Knowledge – The cognitive representation of ideas, facts, principles, events or happenings. It can be learned from practical or professional experience as well as from formal instruction or study and can comprise description, understanding, thinking, analysis, synthesis, debate and research. In the context of the European Qualifications Framework, knowledge is described as theoretical and/or factual.
Skills – The learned ability to perform a function that in some way responds to or manipulates the physical, informational or social environment of the individual. It incorporates the procedural knowledge required to carry out a task. Skills may be assessed directly or implied from performance. In the context of the European Qualifications Framework, skills are defined as cognitive (involving the use of logical, intuitive and creative thinking) or practical (involving manual dexterity and the use of methods, materials, tools and instruments).
Competence – The effective and creative deployment of knowledge and skills, including general, social and civic, as well as specific occupational contexts. Aspects of competence also encompass the learner’s ability to transcend these through further learning, practice and reflection. In the context of the European Qualifications Framework, competence is defined in terms of responsibility and autonomy.”
In 2019[3], a Strategic Plan for the Implementation of the National Qualifications Framework[4] had been prepared by the committee formed in compliance with the letter of the President of the Accreditation and Quality Assurance Commission for Higher Education Institutions. The Strategic plan will expire in 2023 in which one of the conditions mentions that qualification standards need to be equal to those in educational institutions in other parts of the world and align the framework with Arab and international frameworks. Thus, signing recognition agreements between Jordan and other countries to recognize the Jordanian qualifications will be in place.[5]
The framework management aligns the Jordanian NQF with other frameworks (European framework and Arab country frameworks) by harmonizing the level descriptors in the frameworks and can be used in the harmonization of the Jordanian National Qualification Framework with the European Qualifications Framework as per- the table below.[6]
The ten-level Jordanian framework comprises pre-school education through tertiary education and ending with a doctorate qualification. The framework contains all kinds of academic, vocational, professional, and technical qualifications issued in the Kingdom. Therefore, these qualifications are placed according to the consistency of the learning outcomes in them with the level characteristics that have been developed according to international standards.
[1] National Qualifications Framework Jordan:https://www.etf.europa.eu/sites/default/files/document/Jordan.pdf
[2] Qualifications Framework-ANQAHE: http://www.anqahe.org/uploads/7/3/3/4/73345067/anqahe_aqf_.pdf
[3] The National Qualifications Framework System for the year 2019: http://jnqf.heac.org.jo/Manager/OPSHandler/Resources/Attachment/Form/10198/The%20National%20Qualifications%20Framework%20System%20for%20the%20year%202019–.pdf/The%20National%20Qualifications%20Framework%20System%20for%20the%20year%202019–.pdf.pdf
[4] What is the JNQF?: http://jnqf.heac.org.jo/?v=5.20.10.28.2&url=en/What-is-the-JNQF
[5] Strategic plan for the implementation of the NQF for the years 2019-2023: http://jnqf.heac.org.jo/Manager/OPSHandler/Resources/Attachment/Form/10198/Strategic%20Plan%20English%20(2)/Strategic%20Plan%20English%20(2).pdf
[6] NQF Proposal in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan: http://jnqf.heac.org.jo/Manager/OPSHandler/Resources/Attachment/Form/10199/NQF-HEAC-8-Final1-English%20-%20Revised%20%20DRAFT%2031%20Jan%202019-converted/NQF-HEAC-8-Final1-English%20-%20Revised%20%20DRAFT%2031%20Jan%202019-converted.pdf