An Historical and Comparative Study in Competence-Based Education: focusing on the levels of concept, system and curriculum

This article is concerned with competence-based education in both historical and comparative perspectives. By interpreting the concept of competence-based education and other related terms at three different levels: concept, system, and curriculum, the article addresses the change in these factors at both secondary education and higher education through case studies. The article consists of the following sections: the emergence and change in competence-based or competency-based education and training in secondary education and its influence on the practice of competence-based education at the level of higher education from historical and comparative standpoints; a comparative perspective of competence-based higher education focused on the levels of concept, system and curriculum and the major characteristics of two representative approaches to competence-based education since the 1960s; and analysis and discussion of the ongoing competence-based learning in first-cycle education in the Bologna process based on the Tuning Project. The article concludes by discussing a number of issues. First, the meaning of competence related terms, especially competence-based education and learning as used at different educational levels and in different sectors of higher education over the last 40 years. Second, the behaviouristic approach and the holistic, or integrated, approach to competence related education as typically represented by the Anglo-Saxon countries and the European continental countries respectively. The current reform in first cycle education in EU countries is based on the latter approach in particular. Third, it should be emphasized that even when the same term related to competence-based education is adopted at the level of concept, there still exist considerable differences in usage and application at the levels of both system and curriculum. Finally, while it seems that implementation of competence-based education in undergraduate education has become a global trend, in practice various issues need to be dealt with, such as the relationship between general education and competence-based education