In its firm commitment to competency-based vocational education, Kentucky has gone beyond its V-TECS catalogs to develop modules that will give teachers almost complete flexibility in individualized instruction. Implementation of the model is fully described. (HD)

Examines reasons for social promotion of students. (IRT)

Asserts that deprofessionalization trends in Britain (funding cuts, privatization, commodification of learning) are morally reprehensible. Calls for the reintroduction of ethical principles that include respect for professional knowledge, skills, and experience. (SK)

In the view of a continuing education unit in a rural health education center in Australia, competency-based training emphasizes what a person can actually do as a result of training. Professional continuing education courses are being developed using accredited guidelines from the national Vocational Education Training Assessment Board. (SK)

Describes an economics department framework that incorporates the William Lee Hansen curriculum proficiencies. Identifies tools students should be able to use to complete specific activities, significant prerequisite changes for upper division courses, and the development of a capstone project to employ student skills and knowledge. (JEH)

Outlines what should be done before and during the analysis and design stages of the ADDIE (analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation) instructional systems design/development (ISD) process to increase the alignment of electronic learning (e-learning) content with performance. Provides an example with a system for developing…

Discusses models and strategies to integrate academics in secondary vocational training programs. Recommends that academic credit move toward being competency-based much like its vocational counterpart. (JOW)

Potential pitfalls in implementing a competency-based, mastery model of computer-based training are mixing self-pacing and classroom instruction, failing to control entry and exit, failing to align curriculum, dealing with conflicting values about teaching, applying conventional test reliability measures to mastery tests, and coping with…

Describes three approaches to performance-based preparation programs for school administrators: administrative internships, practicums involving a school management or leadership project, and practical assignments. Lists competencies a school administrator should have and advantages of performance-based education. (DMM)

In reply to "Educational Foundations for Tomorrow's Information Scientists" (Bulletin of ASIS, June/July 1989), which identifies 10 key concepts as educational foundations for information science, it is argued that paradigms found in computer science education and the dimension of human information processing further complicates the…

Reviews development of competency-based standards for National Vocational Qualifications in purchasing as well as criticisms of the competency-based concept related to higher order skills, subjectivity, atomism, and imprecision. Argues that validity of qualifications lies in practitioner involvement in development; their value is in personnel…

Describes a proposal developed at Wichita State University for a basic library skills competency test for undergraduates to be followed by a multioptioned program designed to enable every student to eventually pass the test. Reasons for the proposal's failure to be accepted are discussed. (Author/LRW)

Suggests that "competence" is a component of power-knowledge practices that regulate adults through a process of self-regulation. Argues that competency-based education is a means of producing consent without using oppression or force in reproducing the social order. (SK)

An interview with the director of the recently established International Center on Outcome-Based Restructuring explains that outcome-based education focuses on defining, pursuing, and ensuring success with the same high-level outcomes for all students. (MLF)

Competing pressures on Australian educational managers include pressure to implement competency-based training, to manage using the industrial model, and to husband resources, conflicting with traditional educational goals, government policies, and demands for accountability. (SK)