Svårigheter i att definiera begreppet kompetens

Abstract

This article discusses theoretically and philosophically difficulties in defining the notion of competence. 'Competence' is a key-concept in today's educational discussion, where it combines both a psychological meaning of an inner disposition, and a sociological meaning as a category that organises tasks and power-relations in public and private institutions. A short historical overview shows that 'competence' has a complex etymology that explains these different layers of possible usages and the different ontological and epistemological assumptions that arise from them. Still, the article argues that an ambiguous notion is not a notion with an indistinct meaning. In concrete situations, 'competence' just has different meanings. Inspired by Wittgenstein, the article takes a philosophical view on science and methodology and argues that the strive to define 'competence' unequivocally can be understood in different ways. Notions have to be defined unambiguously to make empirical measurements possible. But definitions are running the risk to ignore important meaningful usages for the sake of what is empirically possible to measure and what kind of political interests there are in measuring certain aspects of a complex notions. Finally, it is argued that an ambiguous notion implies risks of undermining critical voices in the discussion about global educational policy.

Towards competence-oriented higher education: a systematic literature review of the different perspectives on successful exit profiles

“…The debate about the concept of competence has been ongoing within the educational sector for decades, varying by extent and focus (Mulder and Winterton, 2017). The concept also holds different meanings in science and practise (Costley, 2001;Schaffar, 2019). There is a paradigmatic difference between the concepts of "competency" and "competence" that have been provided with a variety of explanations.…”

“…They call attention to the potential of an individual's human capital to implement and demonstrate a particular competence. Schaffar (2019) recently discussed this ambiguous notion of competence as "a key concept in today's educational discussion, where it combines both a psychological meaning of an inner disposition and a sociological meaning as a category that organizes tasks and power-relations in public and private institutions" (p. 111). By this regard, a clear definition depends on a concrete context and can be interpreted in different ways (Hodge and Lear, 2011).…”

Professional Competence of Vocational Teachers: a Conceptual Review

“…Professional competence definitions are future oriented, since they bring up issues of authority and legitimization, highlighting the tendency for control. The future orientation is attributed to the general concept of competence as well (Schaffar, 2019). More specifically, Illeris´competence definition (2013, p.38) includes qualities like "flexibility", suggesting that the concept expresses the need for propensity for change.…”

“…Following Becker's view, concepts are in dialogue with empirical research and, thus, linked to evidence. Conceptual analysis as a scientific method in philosophical research attempts to grasp the logic and nature of the concept to add clarification in scientific research (Schaffar, 2019). On the other hand, in empirically oriented research, it aims at grasping the use of concepts in scientific research to see how the researcher defines and uses the concepts in research (for example Zlatanovic et al, 2016).…”

“…As a final point of reflection that relates both to the methods and the concept meaning, the importance of the language needs to be acknowledged. As indicated also by Schaffar (2019), since the context has proven to have a major role in the definition and the concept development, language and the cultural environment where the concept is used may influence the understanding to a large extent. Further studies, adopting a linguistic and sociocultural perspective can shed more light on the issue.…”