Skills acquisition is complex and cyclic rather than linear and modular as in competency-based training methods. It depends not only on mental attributes that infuse meaning but also on personality dimensions, learning styles, and self-concerns. This raises ethical questions about policies emphasizing competency-based methods. (SK)

This report by the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry identifies desired attributes of students graduating from schools and colleges of optometry. Introductory information includes information on the report's development and assumptions. Personal and professional attributes are then listed followed by a list of 10 knowledge-area…

Discusses current issues in quality assessment in higher education in the United Kingdom especially the development of discipline based generic threshold standards to ensure that graduates have the requisite levels of skills. Considers the necessary characteristics of such standards and suggests that standards should be part of quality assessment.…

Develops a framework showing how to organize curriculum and instruction around competencies in vocational education, introducing the Educational Development and Assessment system used in the Netherlands to highlight procedures used and experiences found in integrating assessment and instruction in a vocational education institution. Lessons…

Urges educators to make the Ohio Proficiency Tests work for their program rather than against it. Claims that by placing the learner outcomes of the test into an inquiry-based context, it is possible to structure classrooms so that teachers do not compromise teaching and learning but students still do well on the tests. (NH)

Analyzes, within the historical context of functional literacy, a Connecticut Department of Education policy paper linking adult basic education and work force development. Calls for broader basic education that links instrumental knowledge with autobiographical insight and meaningful sociocultural knowledge using collaborative methodology. (SK)

Describes the three-step process used to develop a competency-based curriculum at the Caruth School of Dental Hygiene (Texas A&M University). The process involved development of a competency document (detailing three domains, nine major competencies, and 54 supporting competencies), an evaluation plan, and a curriculum inventory which defined…

Strategies and techniques based on the Multicultural Counseling Competencies must be grounded in principles that establish counselor training programs as learning environments and that reframe curricula through competency-based objectives. Outlines a framework for infusing multiculturalism into curricula through the application of specific…

Thoughtfully constructed standards provide valuable direction for curriculum and instruction. But to bring about significant improvement in education, standards must be linked to students' learning experiences and to classroom assessments. The author describes the table of specifications, a planning tool for analyze standards for instruction and…

Lay people and scientists alike assume that, especially for young children, facial expressions are a strong cue to another's emotion. We report a study in which children (N=120; 3-4 years) described events that would cause basic emotions (surprise, fear, anger, disgust, sadness) presented as its facial expression, as its label, or as its…

Competence-based teacher education provides new knowledge within the knowledge triangle of education, research and innovation. Communicative competence is of the greatest importance which individuals need for personal fulfilment and development, active citizenship, social inclusion and employment (European Commission, 2004). The successful…

The authors utilized interviews, competency surveys, and document review to evaluate the effectiveness of a one-year, cohort-based faculty development pilot program, grounded in diffusion of innovations theory, and aimed at increasing competencies in community engagement and community-engaged scholarship. Five innovator participants designed the…

In this article, findings from a recent one-year research project that investigated the use of games in a variety of school settings are described and discussed. The project involved four schools and 12 teachers designing classroom activities around specific games to support learners both within the formal national curriculum and in the context of…

This study describes an approach to learning and teaching that is structured as a project-based context-driven inquiry. The approach is positioned at the interface between knowledge-generation and use, and grounded in a generic notion of responsibility for the future of bodily life. The intention is to move the debate beyond the exhausted language…

Fourteen counselors-in-training participated in an experiential cross-cultural learning during a multicultural counseling course. This article provides an example of the implementation and depicts the learning moments that took place during the training. Transcripts of the simulation sessions and the student feedback from the training are…