We need to get clear agreement in the United States on what students should know and be able to do. We also need to invest in education. An initiative filed in Colorado earmarks a one-cent sales tax for education. (MLF)

Reviews competency-based models developed by the Ontario Society for Training and Development, American Society for Training and Development, Australia's National Training Board, and Britain's Training and Development Lead Body. Suggests an integrated approach that identifies knowledge, skills, and attributes underlying performance without rigid…

A 1995 Australian study found adoption of competency-based training (CBT) in technical and further education was much slower than planned. A 1997 study revealed wide variation in CBT implementation. Over 10 years the system is becoming workable but it is not yet evident whether it is improving the skills of the work force. (SK)

A baccalaureate nursing curriculum was redesigned around eight core competencies with measurable indicators for each performance-based competency outcome. Effective learning strategies to achieve outcomes and methods to document achievement were also outlined. (SK)

An Australian study assessed the effectiveness of competency-based training (CBT). Key advantages to employers were relevant, job-specific skills; learning and assessing done on the job; standardized outcomes; and accountability. Issues included recognition of the role of expert practitioners, limitations of CBT as workplaces change, and…

Study of the implementation of management National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) in three British organizations identified problems with the competency-based format. Although NVQs are supposedly based on actual workplace practice, candidates work toward criteria that may not match roles and responsibilities and developmental work is…

Competency-based training is not a singular model; it embeds radically different conceptions of competence, depending on whether delivery and assessment of training incorporate industry standards. Models that maintain a tension between the outcomes and processes of education and training, rather than a focus solely on outcomes, are most…

A learned-behavior approach to competency-based management education involves (1) learning and role plying of micro skills; (2) observing, critiquing, and reflecting on use of micro skills; (3) application in real situations; and (4) analysis of application. Micro skills components and inductive learning of behavior provide a useful foundation for…

Suggests that practical and emancipatory knowledge (Habermas, 1971) have been underemphasized in dental curriculum, and that until they are fostered, visions of competency and the joining of theory and practice will be difficult to achieve. Highlights strategies to foster such knowledge within competency-based curricula: problem-based learning and…

Competency-based training tends to a control model of curriculum organization. However, although practitioners may use formal processes (standards, modules), they maintain their own professional knowledge and embedded skill. The question remains whose knowledge, standards, and skills are empowered in a competency-based approach to vocational…

In the 1990s, the meaning of lifelong learning has shifted to focus on economic rather than social goals. Current policy issues in the development of a training/learning culture include competency-based training, demand-side responsibility for training, increased emphasis on learning in the workplace and the role of workplace trainers. (Contains…

Misconceptions about competency-based assessment in National Vocational Qualifications include the following: they focus only on workplace performance; they are appropriate only at vocational-technical, not higher/professional levels; they are concerned only with practical skills; and they do not encourage further development. Case study of…

Reviewed the literature on competency-based medical education to: (1) understand the evolution of this educational paradigm; (2) assess the evidence to date of the efficacy of competency-based education; and (3) provide practical insights into how to accomplish full implementation and evaluation of the paradigm shift. (EV)

Provides an overview of the link between competencies and current accreditation standards and examines the influence of distance education on the accreditation landscape. Suggests techniques that institutional researchers can use to position their institutions advantageously in the contemporary accreditation process. (EV)

Surveys the published literature and Internet-based resources on competencies, and presents resources in five sections: general introduction to competencies in postsecondary education, competencies for entry into postsecondary education, competencies within postsecondary education, competencies for exit from postsecondary education, and…