Sheila Dunn

Head of Quality Enhancement and Recognition

Contact information

s.dunn@scqf.org.uk
@Sheila_SCQF

What is your role within the SCQFP?

I am the Head of Quality Enhancement and Recognition. This means that I am responsible for the activities relating to the quality and integrity of the framework, such as the support given to new and existing credit rating bodies (CRBs). This includes workshops, advice and guidance on credit rating and Recognition of Prior Learning, as well as managing the quality assurance models to ensure the integrity of credit rating activities. I also work on activities concerning the SCQF and its relationship to other frameworks in the UK and beyond, and was a member of the European Qualifications Framework Advisory group prior to the UK’s exit from the EU. I am a member of the Apprenticeship Approval group in Scotland.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I like the fact that the work is really varied and the organisations I work with are of different types, sizes and come from a range of different sectors. So every day can be a learning day for me!

I enjoy talking to people about the benefits of the SCQF and having the opportunity to champion lifelong learning and the need for parity of esteem of learning, no matter where and how that learning takes place.

Career so far

I have worked in education in Scotland in a number of roles over 30 years. I started as a research fellow in higher education researching quality systems in education. I moved onto roles in quality assurance in further education (FE), and also for a short while at QAA Scotland where I was involved in the first launch event for the SCQF.

My links to SCQF continued in my next role in FE where I set up and managed the SCQF credit rating process in the college. I then took that experience and growing interest in SCQF and embarked on my role with the Partnership, joining in 2012.

Glossary Term

Authority

Appears at Level 12 only where it is used in the phrase ‘demonstrate substantial authority’, reflecting a recognised high level and depth of expertise/expert knowledge and understanding, along with confidence. It does not mean ‘exercise authority over staff and resources’ etc, as that could clearly apply at earlier levels.

Glossary Term

Exercise

Used in connection with management and/or supervisory responsibility, denotes a requirement of a formal, substantive role.

Glossary Term

Directive

Applied to ‘supervision’, signifies a task or activity that is guided.

Glossary Term

Graphical Data

Encompasses maps, plans, diagrams, tables and graphs.

Glossary Term

Synthesis

Combine discrete elements into a coherent whole.

Glossary Term

Analysis

Examine in detail with a view to explanation and interpretation.

Glossary Term

Present

Set out, put forward, deliver information using a variety of mediums as appropriate.

Glossary Term

Hypothetical

Supposed, assumed for the sake of argument.

Glossary Term

Straightforward

Clear and uncomplicated activity, but not as demanding or systematic and therefore not as advanced as ‘routine’.

Glossary Term

Creativity

Often used in combination with ‘originality’. There is overlap in definition, but the defining characteristic of creativity appears to be imagination.

Glossary Term

Originality

Often used in combination with ‘creativity’. There is overlap in definition, but the defining characteristic of originality appears to be independence.

Glossary Term

Professional

Used throughout as an adjective and applied to terms including level, skills, techniques, practices, contexts, and issues where it bears broad interpretation as ‘behaving appropriately/doing things properly and well and to notions of accepted, (including externally) prescribed standards’, as well as narrow, relating to a specific occupation designated as a profession. In this latter sense, the term applies in all contexts including academic study, eg footnoting properly.

Glossary Term

Unfamiliar

New territory for an activity.

Glossary Term

Routine

Used as an adjective throughout and applied to terms including skills, tasks, elements, practices, contexts, methods and problems where it describes activity that is standard, usual, unvarying, customary, common.

Glossary Term

Everyday

Slightly more advanced and beyond personal but a known experience/activity encountered/applied regularly - less advanced than ‘familiar’.

Glossary Term

Familiar

Often encountered or experienced; common; something one has a good knowledge of - more advanced than ‘personal’ and ‘everyday’, not as advanced as ‘routine’.

Glossary Term

Personal

An experience relating only or primarily to the person – one would expect to start here then widen out into the rest of the world, so not as advanced as ‘familiar’.

Glossary Term

Critical

Fully informed, capable of supporting in-depth analysis and assessment.

Glossary Term

Discerning

Using judgement to recognise differences but not fully equipped/informed to analyse and discuss them in depth, so less advanced than critical.

Glossary Term

Awareness

Consciousness, including a background consciousness. Can be a starting point for further exploration.

Glossary Term

Appreciation

A sense, perception, a hold, fix or grasp of one or more of the various aspects of a subject/discipline/sector.

Glossary Term

Understanding

A thorough and firm grasp of a subject/discipline/sector or an element or elements of it, derived from education/study, experience and reasoning in appropriate combination. Can be defined as ‘know why’, as opposed to ‘know that’. More holistic knowledge of processes and contexts, so more advanced than appreciation and knowledge.

Glossary Term

Simple

Undemanding activity not necessarily part of a formal structure - not as advanced as ‘basic’.

Glossary Term

Knowledge

Facts, ideas, theories and concepts in a subject/discipline/sector acquired through experience and/or education – a surer grasp than appreciation so more advanced.

Glossary Term

Basic

Activity is early stepping stone on a structure or framework that can be built upon – more advanced than ‘simple’.