Europos kvalifikacijų sąranga (toliau EKS) sukurta ir įgyvendinta siekiant dviejų tikslų: sukurti efektyvų įrankį kvalifikacijų palyginimui Europos Sąjungos šalyse (ir už jos ribų); to pasėkoje skatinti kvalifikacijų perkėlimą tarp šalių, darbuotojų ir besimokančiųjų mobilumą, siekiant gebančių konkuruoti žmogiškųjų resursų, efektyvios Europos darbo rinkos ir europinės profesinio rengimo erdvės tobulinimo. Siekiant šio tikslo, EKS kūrėjai ir įgyvendintojai susidūrė ir ateityje gali susidurti su iššūkiais, kuriuos kelia svarbūs kvalifikacijų struktūros ir turinio skirtumai sektoriaus veikloje įvairiose ES šalyse.[...]

The article analyses theoretical aspects of parameters that determine the development of the Framework of Qualifications, on the basis of the development of Lithuanian National Framework of qualifications. The purpose and aims of National Framework of Qualifications are defined, activity specifications and their manifestation in different qualification framework levels are described and the distribution of functional, cognitive and general competencies and the meaning of these competencies in qualification framework levels are analysed.

The article defines the concept of national qualifications system, its aim, objectives and analyses the situation of national qualifications system and international context, compares the models of foreign international qualification systems and, on the basis of this analysis, proposes theoretical models of qualification systems.

The paper discusses the concepts of learning outcomes (LOs) and learning achievements (LAs) and proposes a categorization of those concepts’ impact on education systems. It starts with the thesis that there are two fundamental conceptualizations of LOs; one typical for centralized education systems and the other for decentralized ones. In centralized systems, more importance is given to inputs: to the LOs that are comprehended as embedded in education programmes. In decentralized systems, more importance is given to both LOs comprehended as stand-alone elements, and also to learning achievements of individual learners. However, modern trends toward greater decentralization have increased the importance of LOs and LAs, but the processes of (de)centralization generally do not go in one direction at all levels. Contemporary national qualifications frameworks are based on the notion of LOs; therefore analysis of the national frameworks contributes to better understanding of different conceptualizations of LOs and their relationship with LAs. Based on these considerations, an analysis of the Slovenian Qualifications Framework is done.