Experiential learning recognition identifies, evaluates and validates the knowledge which has been obtained outside the classroom. It is a concept based on equity as it takes into consideration that a person is the sum of her experiences. It prevents discrimination against people who did not or could not follow the traditional educational route. It can protect those who have accumulated a lot of knowledge but are less eloquent in the enunciation of that knowledge. Experiential learning recognition helps to facilitate a person's entry into formal education or the labor market.

In the United States, the Council for the Advancement of Experiential Learning (CAEL) has been the guiding source of information on this subject. It has clarified the needs of various clienteles and developed procedures for granting recognition. Its involvement has assisted in the definition of more than 200 types of portfolios in the U.S. A portfolio is a document through which experiential learning is evaluated in a concrete and professional way. In Canada, Le Centre d'information et de recherche en reconnaissance des acquis (CIRRAC) is undertaking similar work.

Portfolios are beginning to play an important role in adult education. Many adults wish to return to school and to obtain a diploma but do not want to repeat in the classroom what they have already learned extra-institutionally. People who want to have access to a different line of work or get a promotion or simply give a new direction to their lives can prove their prior learning through a portfolio development course. In a course such as this, the participants analyze what they consider to be the major learning experience of their lives. This exercise also allows them to notice when positive learning resulted from an experience which, at first, seemed quite negative. Following this introspection, they are able to define their potential, match their knowledge and skills to their goals, and present evidence to support the claim that learning has occurred. The claim can then be assessed by a college examiner or by a prospective employer.

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