A Competency Definition Based on the Knowledge, Skills, and Human Dispositions Constructs

Abstract

The competency-based learning approach arose from the Bologna signed declaration. However, a competency definition has never been easy and has been evolving and adapted over time, from indicators and learning goals to learning outcomes, which were formulated in terms of competencies. Meanwhile, the competency concept becomes discussed by pears, in particular, associating knowledge, skills, and human dispositions or attitudes into the competency definition. This information will be an essential update to the previous approaches and certainly contribute to achieving more accurate and reliable competencies information for employers and higher education institutions (HEI). This paper aims to reinforce the relevance of these concepts and suggest how each construct of “knowledge, skills and human dispositions” could be approached to formulate a competency. In addition, due to accelerated digital transformation, an example of a digital competency defined by the DigComp 2.0 framework, with proposed information regarding each of the three constructs, will be presented to consolidate this challenge. As future work, it is intended to analyze the eight different levels, and competency profiles defined by the European Qualification Framework (EQF) and assign a profile to each defined competency. In the end, it is expected altogether to contribute to achieving a competency roadmap definition.