Reflecting on the Perspective Transformation of Competency-Based Education

Abstract

The competency-based education (CBE) originated from the United States, in response to the needs of training soldiers during World War II and of educating competitive younger generations after war. It pursued accuracy, efficiency, performance management, and quality control, with behaviorism behind. Because it connected with neo-liberalism after 1980s and went with the trend of globalization after 1990s, it became an educational movement which emphasized competition, high standards, and outcome-based evaluation. This trend continued to the 21st century and lead to misconducts of educators who suffered from the high-stake competency test. After 1990s, CBE has spread into the international community. The continental European countries met the pressure but did not conform to the American and English tradition. They turn to a holistic perspective about competency which comprehensively includes knowledge, skills, attitudes, ethics, and action. Under the new perspective, the learner is expected to perform in a specific situation with the integration of competencies and to be a life-long learner. The DeSeCo framework proposed by OECD has a similar view to the holistic perspective about competency. The current paper reflects on various philosophies and historical backgrounds behind the traditional CBE, points out their risks and difficulties, and sorts out some new trends that emphasize integrated and balanced perspectives of personhood, appreciate developmental process, and advocate the implications of action and bildung. Under those new approaches, the current paper proposes some suggestions for a new image of students, a new connotation of teaching, a new model for competency-based instruction, a new series of tips for evaluation, and a new expectation of organic integration of school-based curriculum.

能力本位教育（今日稱為素養導向教育）起源於美國，因應二次大戰軍事訓練以及戰後科技與經濟競爭之需求，講求效率、精確、績效管理與品質控制，頗具行為主義色彩；1980年代之後與新自由主義結合，九○代之後全球化浪潮席捲，能力本位教育更強調競爭力、高標準和成效本位，並實施學習成效評量，延續到21世紀，由於高壓控制也導致許多教育人員鋌而走險。大約早在九○年代，能力本位教育就隨著全球化的腳步向全世界擴散，但歐陸國家不走英、美路線，轉向強調整合性的素養與終身學習，將素養視為個體在特定情境中的綜合性整體表現，包含知識、技能、程序、方法、態度、倫理與行動等，且是一個終身發展的動態歷程。經濟合作發展組織提出「素養的定義與選擇」架構，在哲學上也趨向整合觀點，逐漸形成新的取向。本文反省了傳統能力本位教育背後長遠的理論思潮與歷史背景，指出它的風險與困難，再整理晚近發展的趨勢，歸納出三個新的取向：整合與平衡取向、歷程與發展取向、行動與陶養取向，然後據以提出建議，包括新的學習者圖像、新的教學意涵、素養導向的教學模式、素養導向的評量策略以及學校本位課程的有機統整等策略。