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Competency-Based Education: History, Opportunities, and Challenges
Abstract
This briefing paper traces the evolution of competency-based education (CBE) in the United States and abroad from early behaviorist models for vocational training through the more recent development and application of competency frameworks outlining what post-secondary graduates should know and be able "to do" as a result of their education. The paper also identifies factors driving the increased interest in CBE and explores the development and design of current competency-based degree programs. The paper concludes with a discussion of the challenges associated with scaling and sustaining CBE reforms.
... CBE in vocational training contributes to further commercializing education and the school system in the West, by removing from learning programs anything that does not contribute directly to strictly labour market needs, ignoring broader citizenship education (Baillargeon, 2009;Ford, 2014;Gravina, 2017). This criticism, supported by several authors, carries little weight in the face of the tsunami of CBE in vocational education. ...
... 0 Enthusiasm for CBE in non-medical vocational education 43. University faculty support is not unanimous, some professors fearing the change in roles that CBE entails and the decrease in their duties and possibly salaries (Ford, 2014;Gravina, 2017). Others professors fear that vocational training, being strictly limited to the needs of the labour market, might lead to limiting the development of important skills, such as a critical thinking (Ford, 2014;Gravina, 2017). ...
... University faculty support is not unanimous, some professors fearing the change in roles that CBE entails and the decrease in their duties and possibly salaries (Ford, 2014;Gravina, 2017). Others professors fear that vocational training, being strictly limited to the needs of the labour market, might lead to limiting the development of important skills, such as a critical thinking (Ford, 2014;Gravina, 2017). ...
Medical progress over the past two centuries essentially took place because medicine became increasingly grounded in scientific research, reflecting reverence for rigour, rationality, scientific method, and evidence. In the early 20th century, the Flexner report (1910) led to this decisive momentum being driven even more rapidly.
Central to this history is the content of learning, but also the pedagogical framework of the training aimed at the learning of that content. In the 21st century, the learning content of medical training is clearly on the side of evidence and rigour. But what of the pedagogical framework of medical training and, in the case at hand, medical
residency?
In 2009, the University of Toronto piloted a pedagogical approach in medical residency developed by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) entitled Competence by Design (CBD).
CBD is a direct descendant of competency-based education (CBE), a pedagogical movement launched in the United States in the wake of the Soviets’ Sputnik satellite, which was sent into orbit in 1957. Today, the CBE trend is to be found in general education (elementary, secondary, and postsecondary), vocational education, and
medical education.
On what theoretical framework is the RCPSC’s CBE (CBD) based? Was this framework scientifically validated, wholly or partially?
The following pages maintain that the RCPSC’s CBE did not follow an exemplary, rigorous process and is not based on evidence from scientific research, in either general pedagogy or medical education. More specifically, we assert that the Canadian and Québec medical world, in adopting the RCPSC’s CBE, has moved away from
the evidence, necessary rigour, and conscientious caution it usually shows with regard to medical innovations.
As we move forward in this text, we also briefly examine the effectiveness of CBE’s sometimes co-occurring pedagogical methods that can also provide at least a partial alternative to traditional residency and CBE applied to residency (e.g., technology-enhanced simulation, standardized patients, deliberate practice, mastery learning, and competency-based progression).
... La PADC en formation professionnelle contribue à l'accentuation de la commercialisation de l' éducation et du système scolaire en Occident, en évacuant des programmes d'apprentissages tout ce qui n' est pas une contribution directe aux stricts besoins du monde du travail, escamotant une éducation citoyenne plus large (Baillargeon, 2009 ;Ford, 2014, Gravina, 2017 L' emploi de la PADC en formation professionnelle dans des domaines autres que la médecine est de plus en plus la norme. Les recherches expérimentales mesurant les avantages de la PADC en comparaison à une pédagogie plus traditionnelle sont rarissimes. ...
... Un emballement pour la PADC en formation professionnelle autre que la médecine 43. L'adhésion des professeurs universitaires n' est pas unanime, certains craignant le changement de rôle qu' entraîne la PADC ainsi que la diminution de leur tâche et possiblement de leur salaire (Ford, 2014 ;Gravina, 2017). D'autres professeurs craignent que la formation vocationnelle, se limitant strictement aux besoins du monde du travail, conduisent à limiter le développement d'habiletés importantes comme l' esprit critique (Ford, 2014 ;Gravina, 2017). ...
... L'adhésion des professeurs universitaires n' est pas unanime, certains craignant le changement de rôle qu' entraîne la PADC ainsi que la diminution de leur tâche et possiblement de leur salaire (Ford, 2014 ;Gravina, 2017). D'autres professeurs craignent que la formation vocationnelle, se limitant strictement aux besoins du monde du travail, conduisent à limiter le développement d'habiletés importantes comme l' esprit critique (Ford, 2014 ;Gravina, 2017). ...
Les progrès de la médecine au cours des deux derniers siècles découlent essentiellement de son ancrage de plus en plus accentué dans la recherche scientifique qui se traduit par la révérence de la rigueur, de la rationalité, de la méthode scientifique et des données probantes. Au début du XXe siècle, le rapport Flexner (1910) est venu accélérer cet élan décisif. Au coeur de cette histoire, il y a le contenu des apprentissages, mais il y a aussi le cadre pédagogique de la formation visant l’apprentissage de ce contenu. Au XXIe siècle, le contenu de l’apprentissage de la formation médicale est clairement du côté des données probantes et de la rigueur. Mais qu’en est-il du cadre pédagogique de la formation médicale, et, dans le cas qui nous intéresse, de la résidence en médecine ? En 2009, l’Université de Toronto expérimente, à la résidence en médecine, une approche pédagogique développée par le Collège royal des médecins et chirurgiens du Canada (CRMCC), baptisée la compétence par conception (CPC). La CPC s’inscrit directement dans la lignée de la pédagogie axée sur le développement des compétences (PADC), un courant pédagogique dont la naissance aux États-Unis découlerait du lancement du Spoutnik soviétique en 1957… On retrouve aujourd’hui le courant de la PADC en pédagogie générale (primaire, secondaire, postsecondaire), en pédagogie vocationnelle et en pédagogie médicale. Sur quel cadre théorique de la PADC du CRMCC (CPC) repose-t-il ? Ce cadre a-t-il été scientifiquement validé, en tout ou en partie ? Le présent texte soutient que la PADC du CRMCC n’a pas suivi un processus rigoureux exemplaire et qu’elle n’est pas appuyée sur les données probantes de la recherche scientifique, ni en pédagogie générale ni en pédagogie médicale. Plus précisément, nous soutenons que le monde médical canadien et québécois, en adoptant la PADC du CRMCC, s’est éloigné des données probantes, de la rigueur nécessaire et de la prudence consciencieuse dont il fait habituellement preuve à l’égard des innovations médicales. Chemin faisant dans le déploiement de ce texte, nous examinons également succinctement l’efficacité de méthodes pédagogiques parfois co-occurrentes de la PADC, mais pouvant aussi proposer une solution de rechange, au moins partielle, à la résidence traditionnelle et à la PADC appliquée à la résidence (ex. : la simulation assistée par la technologie, les patients simulateurs standardisés, la pratique délibérée, la maîtrise des apprentissages et la progression basée sur les compétences).
... Competency-based education (CBE) is a growing movement of higher education institutions to educate non-traditional adult learners. Coaching quality influences CBE's success as coaches to share learning responsibility with students (Klein-Collins, 2013;Ford, 2014;McClarty and Gaertner, 2015;StrategyLabs, 2017). Therefore, many institutions have coach development programs to ensure successful CBE (Cunningham, Key, and Capron, 2016;ODHE, 2021;Pearson, 2021). ...
... While traditional instruction focuses on knowledge acquisition, CBE focuses on knowledge application. In CBE programs, high grades mean a high ability to apply the knowledge learned in the classroom to real-world situations (Klein-Collins, 2013;Ford, 2014;McClarty and Gaertner, 2015;Cbenetwork1, 2017;StrategyLabs, 2017). ...
Competency-based education (CBE) is a growing movement of higher education institutions to educate non-traditional adult learners. Coaching quality influences CBE's success as coaches share learning responsibility with students. FlexIT-Pro is a modified CBE program. After years of effective coaching, we developed a FITP Strategic Coaching Model and implemented it. This paper will present the Strategic Coaching Model, the assessment of the model, and the modified version of the model.
... By 2004, CBE had been implemented in only 175 universities in Europe, with the aim of optimizing teaching quality [1]. This pedagogical approach directs the academic program toward the development of effective professionals in the field of work [2]. Moreover, in Peru, CBE has been implemented with the support of the national system of educational evaluation and accreditation (in Spanish "Sistema Nacional de Evaluación y Acreditación de la Calidad Educativa" or SINEACE) [3], guaranteeing compliance with the current University Law (Law No. 30220) [4]. ...
The purpose of this study was to analyze the influence between the research competences of the context, decision-making and planning in a sample of students of the Industrial Engineering career of a private university in Lima - Peru. In the sample there took part 150 students of the career of Industrial Engineering, 84 men (53.9%) and 66 women (42.8%). The sample were between the 16 to 31 years old (MeanAge = 19.77, SD = 4.50). The results showed, the three competencies are significantly related and at the same time, they are predicted. Nevertheless, it is identified that the decision-making competence mediates the predictive relationship between the investigations of the context with the planning; in this way, it is understood that future industrial engineers can plan well if they have previously developed the competence of contextual research and decision-making.
... L' enseignement à distance est très populaire dans le monde de la formation vocationnelle aux États-Unis et dans le monde, comme Allaire et ses collègues doivent le savoir, entre autres parce que ce mode d' enseignement permet d'augmenter le nombre desservi d' étudiants par un professeur, donc à réduire les coûts pour une institution (Gravina, 2017 ;voir Boyer et al., 2022). Les professeurs universitaires ne sont d'ailleurs pas unanimes face à l'adoption de l'enseignement à distance par leur propre institution, conscients que ce mode d' enseignement, associé à une vision du développement des compétences professionnelles, pourra affecter leur tâche -donc leurs conditions générales de travail -, en diminuant le nombre de professeurs, en réduisant l'amplitude des objectifs d'apprentissage poursuivis et, sans doute un jour, en diminuant leur salaire… (Ford, 2014et Gravina, 2017 ; voir la note 43 dans . ...
Après la première année de la Pandémie, Boyer et Bissonnette (2021) concluent « [qu’] à la lumière des études et des résultats disponibles, il s’avère inapproprié de recommander une transformation profonde de l’école actuelle au profit d’une école virtuelle offrant uniquement un enseignement à distance ». Cette conclusion est similaire à celle d’autres auteurs et chercheurs.
À partir de sa diffusion, le texte de Boyer et Bissonnette (2021) est largement téléchargé. Il est cité dans un article du journaliste Marco Fortier au quotidien Le Devoir en janvier 2021 ainsi que référé sur le site du Scientifique en chef du gouvernement du Québec, au mois de mars 2022, dans un article s'inspirant du dit texte de Boyer et Bissonnette (2021). Les professeurs Stéphane Allaire, Marie-Pier Forest, Nancy Granger, Mélanie Tremblay, Nicole Monney, Patrick Charland, Patrick Giroux (2022a), comme de nombreux autres professeurs universitaires et acteurs du monde scolaire, n'ont pas eu l'heur d'apprécier (c'est bien sûr un euphémisme) le texte de Boyer et Bissonnette (2021) et leurs conclusions.
Allaire et son équipe ont critiqué à plusieurs reprises et sur de nombreux médiums le texte de Boyer et Bissonnette (2021). Le présent texte est une réponse explicite et détaillée aux critiques de Allaire et ses collaborateurs. Nous en profitons pour nommer l'innommable dans le monde scolaire que constitue l'hégémonie quasi totale d'un courant pédagogique : le constructivisme et ses dérivés. Ce courant, associé depuis quelques années au postmodernisme, est sous-jacent à toutes les critiques de Allaire et ses collègues. Ce courant est également à la base de l'aversion du système scolaire, des facultés de l'éducation et du ministère de l'Éducation du Québec à l'usage des données probantes, aux évaluations objectives, à la rigueur et au suivi systématique des effets des actions et des politiques.
Boyer et Morneau-Guérin, dans le présent texte, répondent explicitement et d'une manière limpide aux nombreuses assertions erronées de Allaire et ses collègues (2022a).
Il va sans dire que Boyer et Morneau-Guérin ne souhaitent pas réduire Allaire et son équipe au silence. Bien au contraire, ils les appellent même de tous leurs voeux à s’expliquer plus avant.
... Even though competency-based teacher education in the U.S. can be traced to the 1970's (Ford, 2014), the method has not become of common element of teacher preparation in the U.S. The Ohio model examined for this study is course-based, and the teachers must complete a series of graded courses in a defined academic semester system. These courses contain competencies that must be achieved but these competencies are embedded within a graded course, which is a distinct difference from the Finnish competency-based model. ...
... CBE is both a new and old concept. CBE originally appeared in the 1970s in the United States [14] , in the 1980s in the United Kingdom and Germany, and in the 1990s in Australia. CBE was eventually developed and adopted in a number of nations, including New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom [15]. ...
Background: Organizations are becoming increasingly concerned about their workers' ability to execute tasks effectively. This paper examines and describes the impact of competency-based education and training on employee performance and presents a competency-based evaluation. This paper includes a thorough assessment of the existing literature in order to establish a Competency-based Education and Training Model that can be utilized to enhance workers' competency and, as a result, organizational competency. Materials and Methods: This research examines the literature on the interplay between competency-based education, competency-based training, and competency-based assessment in order to develop a comprehensive Competency-based Education and Training Model. Results: The Competency-based Education and Training Model was developed to give researchers and practitioners a dynamic model that allows organizations to continually analyze and grow their employees' competencies. Conclusion: The value of competency-based education (CBE) and competency-based training (CBT) is fully examined in this work. They were defined and discussed in a variety of disciplines in order to examine their role and significance. Later on, competency-based education and training are described, along with some of the evaluation techniques. The goal of this research was to create a Competency-based Education and Training Model that researchers and practitioners can use.
... In many studies, the terms "competence" and "skills" are used interchangeably [2,3]. From our point of view, these concepts have a clear difference. ...
This article provides a brief analysis of the most demanded engineering competencies, it is shown that in the sum of educational results it is necessary to ensure a reasonable ratio of knowledge, competencies, and skills, since all of them to one degree or another ensure the success of engineering activities. The definitions of competencies and skills are given, the main problems of competence-based training are listed and possible ways to solve them are shown. The emphasis in the development of competencies is placed on the organization of project activities of students in groups. At the same time, it is important to ensure the planned student activity and the assessment of its individual types. An example of criteria for assessing various types of student activities in a situation of assessment is given, special attention is paid to operationalization and planning of assessment stages. An example of a level scale is shown, which allows using the aggregate of points for various types of activity to assess the level of competence formation based on the results of the task.
Après la première année de la Pandémie, Boyer et Bissonnette (2021) concluent « [qu’] à la lumière des études et des résultats disponibles, il s’avère inapproprié de recommander une transformation profonde de l’école actuelle au profit d’une école virtuelle offrant uniquement un enseignement à distance ». Cette conclusion est similaire à celle d’autres auteurs et chercheurs.
À partir de sa diffusion, le texte de Boyer et Bissonnette (2021) est largement téléchargé. Des éléments du contenu sont cités dans un article du journaliste Marco Fortier au quotidien Le Devoir en janvier 2021 et le texte est référé sur le site du Scientifique en chef du gouvernement du Québec, au mois de mars 2022, dans un article sur internet. Les professeurs Stéphane Allaire, Marie-Pier Forest, Nancy Granger, Mélanie Tremblay, Nicole Monney, Patrick Charland, Patrick Giroux (2022a), comme de nombreux autres professeurs universitaires et acteurs du monde scolaire, n'ont pas eu l'heur d'apprécier (c'est un euphémisme) le texte et les conclusions de Boyer et Bissonnette (2021).
Allaire et son équipe ont critiqué à plusieurs reprises et sur de nombreux médiums le texte de Boyer et Bissonnette (2021). Le présent texte est une réponse explicite et détaillée aux critiques de Allaire et ses collaborateurs. Nous en profitons pour nommer l'innommable dans le monde scolaire que constitue l'hégémonie quasi totale d'un courant pédagogique : le constructivisme et ses dérivés. Ce courant, associé depuis quelques années au postmodernisme, est sous-jacent à presque toutes les critiques de Allaire et ses collègues. Ce courant est également à la base de l'aversion du système scolaire, des facultés de l'éducation et du ministère de l'Éducation du Québec à l'usage des données probantes, aux évaluations objectives, à la rigueur et au suivi systématique des effets des actions et des politiques.
Boyer et Morneau-Guérin, dans le présent texte, répondent explicitement et d'une manière limpide aux nombreuses assertions erronées de Allaire et ses collègues (2022a).
Il va sans dire que Boyer et Morneau-Guérin ne souhaitent pas réduire Allaire et son équipe au silence. Bien au contraire, ils les appellent même de tous leurs vœux à s’expliquer plus avant.
The title of this document is a deliberate play on the title of the biennial reports on the progress of Bologna produced by the European Students' Union, "Bologna With Student Eyes." It is a way of paying tribute to student involvement in the Bologna reforms, and marking a parallel student working participation in the state system "Tuning" study groups in the U.S. This monograph, an expansion of the previous Bologna Club essay, draws on hundreds of documents in 8 languages, interviews with principal actors in 9 countries, and suggestions from two rounds of European reviewers, to bring to a broad academic audience in the United States an analysis of what European higher education authorities, academic leaders, faculty, and students have learned over the first decade of their considerable efforts, particularly in the challenging matters of: (1) student learning outcomes (set in what are called "qualification frameworks"); (2) the relationship of these frameworks to credits and curriculum reform; (3) the construction of new paths to student participation in higher education, including refinement of "short-cycle" degrees analogous to our Associate's, and combinations of e-learning and part-time status; (4) the reflection of all of this in the documentation of student attainment called "Diploma Supplements," and the expansion of this documentation in a lifelong "Europass' (5) the establishment of a "zone of mutual trust" through an all-encompassing culture of quality assurance, and an international accreditation register; and (6) consolidating and hence clarifying the myriad of academic credentials offered across 46 countries into common "cycles," which, in combination with qualification frameworks, a common credit system, and quality assurance, assures the recognition of degrees across national borders. These highlights help clarify, for North American readers, what Bologna is and what it is not. Some of them are extraordinarily relevant to challenges that face U.S. higher education, and are particularly applicable to accountability and access issues--in ways we simply have not considered. This document urges us to learn something from beyond our own borders that just might help us rethink our higher education enterprise. Thirteen Chapters comprise this report. They are: (1) A Tapestry of Change; (2) The Core of Bologna, Line I: Qualification Frameworks; (3) The Core of Bologna, Line II: Qualification Frameworks from the Ground-Up: the "Tuning" model and its Analogues; (4) The "Bologna-Code:" Learning Outcomes and Competences; (5) The Core of Bologna, Line III: The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS); (6) The Core of Bologna, Line IV: Closing the Loop with The Diploma Supplement; (7) Coda to the Accountability Loop: Quality Assurance; (8) The Core of Bologna, Line V: A Different Kind of Visit With Degree Cycles; (9) The Social Dimension of Bologna: Providing Multiple Pathways; (10) The External Dimension: Bologna Faces the World; (11) The Larger Language Landscape; (12) Bologna 2020: What is Left to be Done?; and (13) What Should the U.S. Learn?: Epiphanies for Our Eyes. Appended are: (A) Our European Colleagues; Our Translation Assistance; (B) 2007 Status of Core Bologna Features and Enabling Legislation in 46 Countries; and (C) Institutions from Which Diploma Supplements Were Received and Examined. (Contains 14 figures and 4 tables.) [For the document, "Bologna with Student Eyes, 2007," see ED500451.]
Among the many critiques of competency-based approaches to education and training (CBT) is a strain which draws on Foucault's analysis of 'disciplinary' power and knowledge. Foucault offered an interpretation of modern institutions, such as prisons, armies and schools, which revealed subtle mechanisms of surveillance and systems of knowledge that shaped the self-understanding and activity of participants. Robinson (1993) and Edwards and Usher (1994) were among the first researchers to call attention to the disciplinary potential of CBT. But Foucault went on to argue that discipline is a component in an overarching system he called 'governmentality'. The analysis of governmentality augments the analysis of discipline by foregrounding the effects of knowledge of populations and modes of power that operate at a distance. In this article, the disciplinary critique of competency-based systems is extended by demonstrating the relevance of Foucault's analysis of governmentality to a contemporary national system of CBT. The authors use a case of 25 years of CBT in an Australian vocational education institution as a scaffold for the argument. This case is germane because it presents a succession of practices of CBT which allows us to trace and scrutinise a shift from a disciplinary to a governmental framework.
In this article the author discusses the importance of defining generic competences in alignment with the European definitions. As a case study the generic competences defined by Laurea University of Applied Sciences are compared with European definitions of generic competences. The purpose is to open up the various perspectives within this thematic field of interest and reflect on them according to the objectives of the European Higher Education Area. The comparative matrix of generic competences enhances the comparison of learning outcomes in higher education institutions, facilitates credit transfer and the acknowledgement of prior learning.
The roads of incoming information to the US higher education system about the Bologna Process are varied and numerous. They include not only the on-line and traditional trade press, but also conferences of national organisations. Whether anyone remembers much of that information, on the other hand, is an open question, as a limited survey undertaken by the author reveals. The mainstream media are not interested in Bologna, governance authorities are exclusively focused on internal issues, and the US research literature on Bologna, while growing, is still minimal. However, some of the research was picked up by the Lumina Foundation for Education, which sponsored the first US experiment with Bologna-related reforms through a Tuning project involving three state systems and six disciplines; and a second round of this venture should begin soon. Out of this effort came Lumina's sponsorship of the first rounds of discussions concerning the potential for a national degree qualifications framework. This evolution indicates another mode of communication in the US system: a combination of personal relations and private foundations with a bold enough agenda to elevate and move both Bologna knowledge and practice to the centre of US consideration.