Approach to competences, human development and higher education

Abstract

Grounded on human development psychology, this paper presents a conceptual expansion of the understanding about competence. This is a polysemic construct, with a wide range of epistemological, ethical and ideological concepts that reinforce the complexity of training processes, especially in relation to personal and professional training in the context of higher education. This paper defends the notion of competence rooted in intentional mobilization of various resources inherent to human development: psychological processes, behaviors, knowledge, emotions, beliefs, aptitudes, ethical and aesthetic choices that the subject must mobilize. From this conceptual expansion, a categorization of transversal competences and possibilities of assessment are presented. Analyses can support critical actions of psychologists and educators to mediate the development of competences of higher education actors.