Non-formal education and the knowledge certification process

a reflection on the necessary foundations of the Certific Network

Abstract

Based on theoretical research, the aim was to reflect on the meanings, appropriations and foundations of non-formal education based on an analysis of the Certific Network. To this end, three questions were established to be answered throughout the text: what is non-formal education and what meanings can be found in the literature; what theoretical concepts underlie the professional certification process proposed by the Certific Network; what principles should be considered so that the Certific Network represents a true instrument at the service of the critical and emancipatory training of Brazilian workers. The results highlighted the importance of establishing, with clarity and conviction, critical theoretical foundations for understanding non-formal education, as well as the importance of establishing, in the process of recognition and certification of knowledge, guiding principles for a conscious practice committed to training that is not reduced to its technical dimension, but that contributes to the formation of the worker as an intellectual and political figure. The conclusion reinforces the need to observe, in the development of the professional certification process, the meanings and functions attributed to the policy, in order to not allow its dissociation from the transformative social perspective derived from its foundations.