The Capabilities Approach as a Lifelong Competency Assessment Framework

The Capabilities Approach is an interdisciplinary tool that is applicable in a number of settings. The approach was developed by economist and philosopher Amartya Sen in his work with quality of life issues in India that led to the creation of the Human Development Index (HDI). Sen’s contribution is in the assessment of quality of life issues. For Sen, human well-being is as important a factor as traditional economic concepts such as GDP and cost-benefit analysis. Moreover, the Capabilities Approach moves beyond human capital theory that views human labor, education, and other activities as tandem to the GNP and instead, provides a human centered analytical concept. The framework helps planners to orientate projects, to measure the satisfaction of target groups, and promote accessibility and egalitarian resource distribution. The effectiveness of the capabilities approach is analyzed in terms of functionings. The dynamic interdisciplinary character of the approach has allowed to be applied as an analytical tool to a number of disciplines. The author argues that the capabilities approach is also applicable to education in a lifelong competency-based learning context that offers a feasible alternative pathway to adult learners by addressing issues of quality, personal aspirations and satisfactions that make education and life worthwhile. Sen’s approach has been criticized for being incomplete. Yet its contribution is undeniable. The Capabilities Approach highlights particular spaces for evaluating individual opportunities and successes that are particularly applicable to a lifelong learning context