Competences in education: a confusion of tongues

TLDR

Competence learning is increasingly discussed in education and training, yet the term is inconsistently defined and often considered no more than a synonym for skills. The study seeks to clarify how competencies relate to knowledge, skills, and attitudes, and to evaluate the validity of various claims about them.

Abstract

There is a growing interest in the concept of 'competence learning' in various areas of education, training and professional development. Competences are commonly assumed to represent more than the levels of knowledge and skills and to account for the effective application of available knowledge and skills in a specific context. But, with this trend, the term 'competence' is being used in many different ways. How are competencies thought to relate to knowledge, skills and attitudes, and what meaning and validity do various claims about competences have? The competence concept is quite troublesome, and it is argued that the term has no significance beyond that which is associated with the term 'skills'.