Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

Every educational process involving reform, change or innovation, is resolved basically –although not exclusively– in the classroom; therefore, teachers have the great responsibility of revising and transforming their practices in accordance with the principles, foundation and goals underlying the new designs, in order to ensure that learning occurs more efficiently and effectively. The paper presents an in-depth study of how a competence-based study programme should be expressed in the classroom, and the methodological and educational strategies that must be privileged by teachers to facilitate the students’ achievement of previously identified learning issues and attainment of socially suitable performances. The challenges faced by an institution while implementing a curricular renovation are also analysed since this is always regarded as an uncertain source of instability, and doubt and among those who must adopt it.

Even though changes in educational systems are constant and not always justified, proposals that assume an authentic teaching revolution take place periodically. Such is the case of competencies understood as curricular goals, whose achievement by all students is linked both to equity as a social goal, and to the quality of educational systems, since they assume the knowledge to understand and resolve current everyday life problems, while laying the foundations for further learning during the course of their lives. The article quotes the proposal of competencies for compulsory education that the author has been working on in Catalonia, as an advanced alternative in its manner of identification and evaluation.

This paper analyses the concept of “competencies” within the framework of the complex learning and performance demands presented by current society, particularly in the sphere of knowledge. It considers different ways of conveying the concept (at an international level), despite focusing mainly on its cognitive components and the capacity to organize the cognitive resources in specific situations. It illustrates the use of competencies (also referred to as standards) in the initial stages of teacher-training, its application in actual teaching, as well as in the framework of curricular material that serve as descriptors of progress in key learning areas. The article emphasizes the need for a broad discussion on what requires to be clarified regarding these processes, with the participation of all the actors involved.

The seminar Theory and Practice of Educational Knowledge basically focused on two main problems: knowledge and the subject that is reproduced or built by the educational activity. This paper is based on the premise that every curriculum implies a determined epistemological proposal, therefore, the idea is to put a stress on the notions of subject construction and knowledge construction in the framework of the current context of national and global education, which seeks the implementation and consolidation of a competencies based curriculum . In order to achieve this, the view of knowledge construction based on Edgar Morin’s formulation and the notion of subject construction of Hugo Zemelman’s will be confronted with current debates on the concept of competence, using Ronald Barnett’s arguments as baseline.

This paper attempts to answer the question: What are we talking about when we say competence-based teacher training? The argument guiding the answer is a two-fold analytical perspective: on the one hand, it links the relationship between ?teacher-subject (subjectivity and social role), political and social school experience (role of the school in society), and knowledge or educational information pertaining to the teaching role. The above leads to propose two guiding models for teacher training: one “for submission” and one “for autonomy”. On the other hand, there is the ethical issue of teacher training in a neo-liberal development context, which leads to a critical formulation of the competencies discourse, since, with it, teacher-training –which pertains to the humanistic sphere– is subjected to political regulation by the individualistic and commercial laws of the market. In conclusion, we return to the initial question and identify the “training for submission” model with the competencies discourse, and the “training for autonomy” with the possibility of setting up knowledge and languages linked to the construction of democratic and humanistic individuals.

This article approaches the current scenario of Higher Education and the external demands to achieve internal transformations and participation in the process of curriculum harmonization between LatinAmerican and European universities. It discusses and analyses application of the competencies approach, its scope, typologies and classification, using various sources as its points of reference. It describes and analyses the curriculum construction based on competencies, and the phases required to develop from the definition of the competencies profile, the results obtained with this learning, the selection and organization of contents in modular systems, the required educational strategies and the evaluation of competencies. The weaknesses of applying this approach to university teaching and the challenges and internal transformations that its management requires for redesigning the professional careers, are also approached.

This paper puts forward that the key to improve educational quality is to move ahead from functional education towards a competence based education Preparation of this article involved an analysis of the concept of competence: its characterisation, classification, and how it relates to an entrepreneurial context, which notwithstanding the above, may constitute a valid offer for the school. Likewise it proposes elements that may be relevant for designing a model for educational improvement based on competence. The model allows the educational system to move forward from an educational system centred on the “what to do school”model to a “how to do” model.

This study intends to reflect upon the integration of the higher education process as a strong tendency towards competence-based education is generated, this can bring both positive and negative consequences when seeking to increase graduates employability. The concepts mentioned are reviewed and a more indepth analysis is made; namely, changes in the work environment regarding the way in which work and career development are perceived, describing the integration opportunities offered by orienting educational efforts towards the attainment of a realistic personal and work identity, and to the awareness of the personal role in self-development. This in turn raises several challenges that we are currently facing in higher education in Chile.

During the last 20 years there has been an increase in the number of educational scientists devoted to vocational training, who demand a shift towards a competency oriented approach. The traditional scientific discipline must adapt to the new globalization requirements. In many countries; e.g. Germany, there is an intensive discourse regarding adult education, which is broadening the traditional approach by including new competencies and “informal learning”. In post-modern societies, one notices “a disappearance of limits in teaching”, with the risk of stopping half way: Competencies are described as subjective abilities, while maintaining their subordination in the conceptual hierarchy. However, (new) brain research verify that which teaching has always claimed: Learning is a process that must have a subjective beginning. In this context, the systemic-constructivist approach offers us a broad and deep perspective, the all-encompassing systemic development of adult education.

Educational systems have been increasingly incorporating the curricular model based on the development of professional competencies; this is even more evident at the level of initial teacher training studies. However, some centres have implemented this orientation in a rather non-criticalyl, without analysing the benefits and/or limitations such proposal involves. Thus, the purpose of this article is to reflect uponthe strengths and weaknesses that incorporating this model could bring about and the possible social risks that the adoption of such model could generate in the teaching institutions and, hence, in future professionals.