Competency-based models such as Britain's National Vocational Qualifications should not be adopted for adult education professional development. The values underlying competency models are incompatible with the values of reflective practice, such as ownership of curriculum and entitlement to lifelong learning. (SK)

Competency-based training workshops based on Kolb's experiential learning theory were held for North Carolina adult basic education teachers; 251 attended 1-day sessions and 91 a week-long summer institute. Topics included interpersonal communication, reading, numeracy, language arts, math, assessment, and program evaluation. (SK)

Trainers must understand and be prepared to convince others that writing is a set of work behaviors that can readily be taught by modern, competency-based, adult learning technology. Trainers should focus on learners, define job-related writing behaviors, use behavior to teach behavior, and provide positive feedback. (JOW)

Focuses on the quality of competency standards used to inform curriculum development processes in Australia. Argues that quality issues have received scant attention in the development of standards, leading to the use of inappropriate methods to establish competency standards. (12 references) (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education)…

Results of interviews with students undertaking National Vocational Qualifications/Scottish Vocational Qualifications (1993-1997) support criticisms of the competence approach, especially the emphasis on procedural knowledge and surface-level learning. Costs and bureaucracy of the approach are compounded by the lack of in-depth coverage, impeding…

Summarizes recommendations of a subcommittee of the American Geriatrics Society's Education Committee concerning core competencies for physicians caring for older patients. Competencies are organized into those concerned with attitudes, knowledge (basic science and clinical), and skills. (DB)

A 3-year evaluation is being undertaken to assess quality assurance processes for nursing and midwifery education in England. Issues that must be resolved are (1) the balance between qualitative and quantitative judgments of achievement of standards and (2) the tension between competency-based education and the development of professional…

Interviews with 29 policymakers involved in the development of the National Vocational Qualifications/Scottish Vocational Qualifications identified four factors influencing the reform initiative: pressure for vocational relevance, postindustrial nature of economic change and work, need to make training standards based rather than time served, and…

Community college mechanics students in a competency-based program were compared with those in a cohort-based program. The cohort group perceived a split between theory and practice. The competency-based group was less affected by literacy and language difficulties. They felt success depended on motivation, initiative, and maturity; the cohort…

In Indiana's system of performance-based licensure, beginning teachers must submit portfolios within 2 years of teaching for a 5-year, renewable license. University teacher education programs have implemented portfolio assessment to prepare future teachers for licensure. (SK)

Describes Baltimore Learning Communities, a school reform project that includes a competency-based model based on the competencies identified by the Labor Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS). (JOW)

Examines the critical connections between the skills and competencies that employers seek and student preparation for them. Suggests some of the fruitful connections that institutions might make with employers in the areas of national skill standards and career transcripts. (EV)

We are all accustomed to periodic summative testing for achievement, but in this chapter the importance of requiring mastery of fundamentals as the baseline for evaluation, regardless of the level of the class involved, is discussed.

The Model of Domain Learning (MDL) is an alternative perspective on expertise that arose from studies of student learning in academic domains, such as reading, history, physics, and biology. A comparison of the MDL and traditional models of expertise is made. The key components and stages of the MDL are then overviewed. Discussion concludes with a…

A competence-based approach was applied to a blended learning on line distance training in the Euroinno EU project aimed at vocational training in building automation. The current paper describes the experience gathered during the learning process and the definition of the curriculum. A number of issues emerged during the sessions concerning…