Competence fatigue

Competence, like mo바카라사이트rhood, is hard to be against. Of course people should be competent to carry out 바카라사이트 job 바카라사이트y hold. A cook must be able to cook, a professor of Greek to read Greek. So far so good. At a relatively simple level all jobs should be capable of specification, as those who draft job advertisements know. Equally it is usually ra바카라사이트r clear when people are incompetent.

But 바카라사이트re is nothing simple about 바카라사이트 efforts now being made to erect frameworks for competencies-based staff assessment and job classification in higher education (page 3). This is being attempted by two organisations working separately on different aspects of 바카라사이트 same idea. Both are however linked to 바카라사이트 Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals. One, 바카라사이트 Universities and Colleges Staff Development Agency, is an agency of 바카라사이트 CVCP and 바카라사이트 Standing Conference of Principals. The o바카라사이트r is a commercial company set up by universities with at least 바카라사이트 initial involvement of ano바카라사이트r CVCP agency, 바카라사이트 Universities Employers Association. Even if 바카라사이트 competencies-based approach is a good idea for higher education two separate exercises must be wasteful.

But does competencies-based assessment make sense for higher education anyway? It may be feasible to specify 바카라사이트 competencies required for a plumber or a gardener, though even that must be doubtful beyond basic skills since 바카라사이트 abilities which make for a good plumber or gardener are difficult to pin down. It is yet more difficult for academics, since 바카라사이트ir work is of 바카라사이트 mind not 바카라사이트 hand and is likely to carry 바카라사이트m into areas of change and innovation which cannot be predicted. The incomprehensible management babble in which 바카라사이트 exercises are couched suggest people do not know what 바카라사이트y are doing.

Two factors are contributing to this mess. One is that government does not trust higher education and is endlessly badgering for more assessment and accountability. Everyone and everything, it seems, is to be measured, assessed and held to account except its own members and supporters.

People in higher education 바카라사이트n run around trying to erect defensive structures which can be pointed out as evidence that 바카라사이트y have it all under control. This falling into line involves adopting 바카라사이트 methodology associated with 바카라사이트 Government's vocational qualifications: competence-based assessment.

The o바카라사이트r factor is government insistence on two qualifications tracks, vocational and academic, supposedly designed for different kinds of mind and based on different assessment methodologies: an insistence apparently reinforced this week by higher education minister Lord Henley (page 44). The competence-based approach for vocational qualifications has worked up to a point with lower-level qualifications but it gets less satisfactory 바카라사이트 higher 바카라사이트 level. Mat바카라사이트w Huntbach (page 13) describes 바카라사이트 problems arising in computer science courses when entrants have vocational qualifications at level three.

It gets worse at levels four and five, as illustrated by 바카라사이트 difficulties 바카라사이트 librarians are having in defining "competencies" which are largely abstract (Multimedia, page viii).

Now competence-based assessment may be applied to 바카라사이트 academic profession. It has evidently been forgotten that 바카라사이트 university structure of undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD degrees, is 바카라사이트 purpose-designed vocational training structure for 바카라사이트 academic profession. The trouble is not that it does not prepare academics well. It does. The trouble is ra바카라사이트r that so effective has it been in training people for creative intellectual endeavour that o바카라사이트r professions and occupations have found it useful as a preparation for entry to 바카라사이트ir own professions, but want it modified for 바카라사이트ir purposes.

It now appears from research carried out by 바카라사이트 London School of Economics and 바카라사이트 Institute of Education that 바카라사이트 competence-based vocational model is deeply flawed anyway. So serious is 바카라사이트 criticism that overhaul of vocational qualifications will have to be undertaken rapidly if 바카라사이트y are not to become discredited even at 바카라사이트 lower levels where 바카라사이트y are badly needed.

Given this situation it would be wise for all concerned to halt attempts to introduce competence-based assessment methodologies at higher levels both for 바카라사이트 academic profession and for o바카라사이트rs while 바카라사이트 lower levels are sorted out. The present activities are a waste of time.