CLOCK is an international community of professional practitioners, primarily in the creative industries, cultural, craft and interdisciplinary sectors including creative-digital and creativity and health. We believe that social justice requires the recognition of non-formal learning in its own right, as opposed to merely using this as a mechanism for a token few to be able to match their non-formal learning skills to specific course outcomes for access to higher education.
It is clear to us that there is huge untapped value and potential for further capacity development uncovered by the experience of non-formal learners around the world who have experienced the CLOCK recognition process to achieve a post-graduate level award without any previous qualifications, or even the lack of secondary education.
CLOCK provides a route for non-formal learners with low or no formal qualifications to be recognised as operating at Higher Education levels including Masters’ and PHD levels as adults, in their 30’s-50’s. CLOCK’s strategy provides non-formal learners with the opportunity to be recognised as Sector Experts that innovate, advocate, lead and influence in their specific sector. They are equipped through this process to be able to fully articulate and evidence their non-formal learning at leadership levels and to challenge any preference for the formally, higher educated in positions of authority in our communities, industries and economies.
CLOCK has built and tested an architecture and process at all educational levels that enables efficient, effective recognition at a fraction of the cost of formal education provision. It is time for non-formal learning to be counted as the ‘3rd way’ to be recognised, validated and celebrated alongside Higher Education and Vocational Education. The recognition of non-formal learning will drive the social inclusion agenda and will necessarily act as a catalyst for change in outmoded, compulsory and last century models of formal education.