The Competence Turn

Abstract

The Competence Turn marks a shift of attention away from what is taught, with a focus on curriculum content, to what is learned, i.e. the outcomes of education. It is a shift with some considerable history. This chapter explores the approach to curriculum that underpins the Competence Turn and charts the growing use of the term ‘competence’ in education since the mid-Twentieth Century, looking specifically at how it has been pressed into the service of environmental and sustainability education. The final section discusses some hazards that accompany this focus on competence. These can be summarised as: conceptual confusion; the centrality of context; impacts on pedagogy; distractions from fundamental issues concerning the wider purpose of education.