This article presents a historical and contemporary account of Lithuania's national public education assessment system and its transformation since the country's declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. We explore how the external examination system has developed in relation to ongoing curriculum reforms over the last 30 years,…

The purpose of the study is to analyze 'systems of reason' that govern the discursive practices constructed in terms of lifelong learning under the name of education reform. This study examined the notion of lifelong learning as a cultural thesis describing modes of life for producing (future) citizens through an analysis of documents from the…

This paper provides information about noncredit instruction in the California Community Colleges and updates the 2009 paper "Noncredit Instruction: Opportunity and Challenge" to incorporate subsequent changes from the last decade. Since the passage of SB 361 (Scott, 2006), noncredit instruction has seen significant changes, including the…

Develops a number of arguments to demonstrate the inadequacy of behaviorally defined objectives as a basis for curriculum planning. Argues that human behavior cannot be adequately accounted for by using engineering technological criteria and claims that the key to designing an adequate curriculum is the concept of a person. (NRJ)

If education by objectives is to be firmly established as an instructional approach, teachers must insist on a validated curriculum that truly prepares students to secure employment and to function effectively in society. This means members of the community responsible for fund allocation and resource selection must also be accountable. (Author/BP)

A physical education program designed to develop individual competency not only in physical activities but also in increased knowledge on the subject of health and fitness is described. (JD)

Outcome-based education is rooted in earlier ideas, such as Tyler's objectives, Spady's outcomes, Glaser's criterion-referenced measurement, Bloom's mastery learning, 1970s accountability concerns, and the 1960s competency-based education movement. Minnesota's experience suggests various practical implementation challenges concerned with…

This chapter of "The Best of the Best of ERIC," Volume 2, contains 18 summaries of documents and journals on competency-based education, all of which are indexed in either "Resources in Education" or "Current Index to Journals in Education." The materials included deal with various aspects of the topic, such as…

Basic definitions, conceptual clarity, and analyses of the organizational and social implications of various competency-based education approaches are badly needed. (Author/EB)

On the premise that each institution must conceive its own role in American higher education, none trying to be all things to all people, guidelines are given for institutional self-examination in areas related to universal access, and seven recommendations regarding nontraditional learning concepts are suggested for decision and action. (JT)

This report focuses on how the Chicago Public School District, schools, and teachers implemented key components of the district's accountability agenda and its effects on teaching. Key findings are as follows: (1) formal sanctions influence school and teacher resource allocation; (2) mismatches between formal sanctions and support result in…

This learning module on performance-based vocational education (PBVE) in South Carolina is one of nine developed for use in training administrators, teachers, and prospective teachers in the utilization of Vocational-Technical Education Consortium of States (V-TECS) catalogs of performance objectives, criterion-referenced measures, and performance…

Competency-based instruction provides the mechanism necessary to implement the democratic and humanitarian philosophies espoused by community colleges. This document discusses the need for competency-based instruction, identifies instructional methods, and provides insights into the curricular ends of this type of instruction. An instructional…

A review of the literature base on competency-based education (CBE) as it relates to vocational education (competency-based vocational education or CBVE) is presented in this information analysis paper. The following topics are discussed: differences between traditional and competency-based education; growth and breadth of CBVE (including…

Competency-based curriculum (CBC) is as old as learning itself, in theory. In practice, its applications have been limited. It came of age in 1968, moving from obscurity to visibility. A source of some discussion is the difference between CBC and experience- or knowledge-based learning, and between CBC and performance based education. The…