The authors offer a plan for a competency-based education program. Teachers need to follow three steps: (1) identify competencies needed by graduates, (2) plan and provide learning activities to develop the competencies identified, and (3) verify acquisition of competencies. (Office of Vocational Education, State Dept. of Education, P.O. Box 1131,…

A well-planned competency-based internship program makes certain a student has acquired sufficient classroom competence to insure successful internship performance, provides students with a detailed plan for the internship and a systematic and comprehensive means of evaluating their own progress, and gives students experience in self-directed…

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…

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)

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…

The Kentucky Competency-Based Adult Education (KCBAE) curriculum was developed over a 3-year period and ultimately distributed to all Kentucky adult education and literacy programs in 1995-96. Sixteen competency/duty areas define the subject content. Although each duty area is divided into three skill levels (beginning and intermediate adult basic…

Competencies essential for organization development consultants, internal and external, have evolved over 20 years, based on literature and feedback from nearly 2,000 practitioners and academics. Further research is being conducted to determine what competencies are essential for internal and external organization development consultants today and…

This guide, developed in Oregon, lists competencies essential for students in computer-assisted drafting (CAD). Competencies are organized in eight categories: computer hardware, file usage and manipulation, basic drafting techniques, mechanical drafting, specialty disciplines, three dimensional drawing/design, plotting/printing, and advanced CAD.…

Presented in this continuing plan for education are listings of competencies that students enrolled in the public elementary and secondary schools of Mississippi are expected to achieve by the time a particular grade level or subject area in the field of science is completed. Included are the needs assessment, goals and priorities, objectives, and…

This paper compares and contrasts minimum competency testing and transferable skills in order to identify the important questions and issues to be considered by educational planners in developing programs intended to prepare students to meet the demands of both work and life. Each of the seven sections addresses a specific question related to…

Designed to help articulate vocational education student progress from one level of training to another and to employment, this electronics education guide lists competencies for soldering; performing basic operations with test equipment; servicing basic logic circuits; servicing DC power supplies; servicing solid state amplifiers; and servicing…

Argues that the concepts of competency and performance must be separated. Contends that a student's actual competency level is not accurately reflected through standard performance measurements. Demonstrates how competency levels might be assessed more accurately through the use of multiple sources of data and innovative assessment programs. (BSR)

In Australia, an extensive system of competency-based training (CBT) has been established. Business, education, and unions contend that CBT is more equitable in matching training with task needs, broadening the range of abilities, and enabling portability. But little evidence shows that it reduces divisions between vocational education and general…

During the past three decades, empirically supported strategies have been demonstrated for the training of competencies - highly specific skills and behaviors that are needed to complete a critical job task. The present article reviews several examples of competency-based training in human service programs and provides guidelines for the…

Many countries have implemented versions of competency-based training in which competency standards or statements serve to provide standardized learning and skill development outcomes for vocational education and training. It seems that a main attraction that motivated the introduction of such competency-based systems was the assumption by some…