Internationally, Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) has become a standard component of education policy reforms aimed at meeting the requirements of a globalised labour 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 realised in practice.

Drawing on case study research of RPL practices in four different contexts in South Africa, RPL as Specialised Pedagogy: Crossing the Lines offers a novel theoretical framework for understanding RPL not simply as an assessment practice, but as a specialised pedagogy for navigating knowledge boundaries across different contexts. The book develops a conceptual language for describing what is common and distinctive about RPL practices across different sites and contexts, thus providing a unique contribution to a field that has traditionally been under-theorised. RPL as Specialised Pedagogy will be of significant interest to RPL practitioners and educators, to researchers and students in the field, and to policy researchers and policy makers.