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)

Participants earning a Diploma in Post-Traumatic Stress Counseling in Britain are being evaluated on the evidence of their ability to work safely, ethically, and effectively with real trauma clients. Reflective and ethical qualities are an important part of the assessment. (JOW)

A competency-based approach to medical education emphasizes training over education and limits development of broader perspectives. A more learner-centered approach and a return to dialogue with the discipline of medicine and with teacher-practitioners are advisable. (Contains 30 references.) (SK)

Explores issues entailed in defining good communication including multiple reasonable criteria, competency bias, and communication as a function of context, locus, and abstraction. Claims good communication is a subjective evaluation and not subject to being codified in reductionist models. (NH)

Suggests several areas in Australian adult education and training where a competency-based educational model would have application. Areas include the professional development of staff in educational institutions and industrial training establishments, training of educational administrators, vocational training of college students, and the…

This Brief Report highlights current activities focused on setting standards in education, and examines whether students with disabilities are considered when standards are set. Types of standards are distinguished, including performance standards, delivery standards, and content standards. Information on organizations developing standards in…

Trade and industrial education (T&I) has been using performance-based instructional systems long before competency-based education (CBE) emerged as a creative innovation in other subject areas. Allen devised the forerunner of the present CBE system in 1917 by carefully plotting competencies and delineating job analyses from these, and Fryklund's…

This discussion of occupational education suggests that traditional programs, which award status on the basis of time spent, be replaced with programs that define worth in terms of competence. The paper first looks at some of the socioeconomic conditions underscoring the need for a change from traditional educational practices. Next, the…

The Vermont State Board of Education is required to approve competencies for each vocational program. This has resulted in a comprehensive, broad-based approach that can readily be adapted by local schools. Instructors' committees draft curriculum that reflects core competencies for entry-level employment in a given occupational area. (JOW)

If management's motives are clearly aimed at improved performance for individual and organizational growth, and if the process is applied faithfully both in spirit and in action, a measurable return on investment is virtually guaranteed. Therefore, the author calls for an effort that would integrate the performance-evaluation process into an…

Reviews the current state of assessment of competencies for school media programs, describes a procedure for categorizing assessment strategies, and presents an approach to determine which competencies and assessment strategies are used in professional courses. A case study of a program at Syracuse University and 11 references are included. (EJS)

Describes the requirements mandated on educators by the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (1975) which requires the preparation of an individualized education program (IEP) for handicapped students. Provides three options for instructors using a competency-based vocational education (CBVE) method employing competencies as a part of the…

The author discusses his belief that the emphasis on competency-based, outcome-oriented curricula serves two purposes: (1) it recruits students who also believe in this educational theory; and (2) it provides a framework within which "unlearning" and more significant personal learning can take place. (CT)

Considers how the wedding of competency-based education (CBE), centered on basic skills, and experiential education, advocating that learning requires accompanying experience to be effective, offers creative approach to implementation of CBE. Examples from St. Paul Open School illustrate how minimum competency skills can be incorporated into an…

Discusses the role and use of achievement tests with particular reference to industry. It describes concepts of validity and reliability, looks at problems, and generally gives helpful hints on use. Contains figures illustrating the process of developing instruction and an example of a simple performance test. (CT)