What skills and competencies are needed for individuals to lead a successful and responsible life, both in the workplace and in other social environments, and for society to face the challenges of the present and future? What are the foundations (normative, theoretical, and conceptual) for defining and selecting a limited set of key competencies? These are among the important questions, of considerable relevance for fields such as education and training, employment, social affairs and welfare, health, and justice, that provided the starting point for an international and interdisciplinary endeavor carried out by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office and the National Center for Education Statistics, US Department of Education under the auspices of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The current volume, which has resulted from this work, compiles essays from renowned scholars who explore these questions from multiple perspectives (anthropology, economics, history, philosophy, psychology, and sociology), along with commentaries from leading representatives of policy and practice who provide an important complement to the reflection on key competencies. This volume thus presents a multifaceted sketch of issues related to defining and selecting key competencies in an open, still ongoing debate at national and international levels.

This publication contains a number of working papers which examine the growing importance of curricula development, the quality of educational provision and key educational competencies to address identified socio-economic and political priorities. In the light of these challenges, the papers discuss what competencies are considered to be important in contributing to sustainable development, social welfare, cohesion and justice, as well as to personal well-being.

What skills and competencies are needed for individuals to lead a successful and responsible life, both in the workplace and in other social environments, and for society to face the challenges of the present and future? What are the foundations (normative, theoretical, and conceptual) for defining and selecting a limited set of key competencies? These are among the important questions, of considerable relevance for fields such as education and training, employment, social affairs and welfare, health, and justice, that provided the starting point for an international and interdisciplinary endeavor carried out by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office and the National Center for Education Statistics, US Department of Education under the auspices of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The current volume, which has resulted from this work, compiles essays from renowned scholars who explore these questions from multiple perspectives (anthropology, economics, history, philosophy, psychology, and sociology), along with commentaries from leading representatives of policy and practice who provide an important complement to the reflection on key competencies. This volume thus presents a multifaceted sketch of issues related to defining and selecting key competencies in an open, still ongoing debate at national and international levels.

In these complex and challenging times, students, teachers and employers are all interested in the development of generic abilities as these typically make the difference between good and indifferent employees, successful and unsuccessful learners. This book explains why generic capacities have become so important and argues that the process of acquiring them is both lifelong and developmental.

This volume lays out relevant normative, definitional and conceptual criteria for defining and selecting key competencies in an international context.

This six-volume handbook covers the latest practice in technical and vocational education and training (TVET). It presents TVET models from all over the world, reflections on the best and most innovative practice, and dozens of telling case studies. The handbook presents the work of established as well as the most promising young researchers and features unrivalled coverage of developments in research, policy and practice in TVET.

Social competences have played a crucial role in the international search for generic, over-arching skills, key qualifications and core competences since the 1970s. By the end of 1990, social cohesion and integration had gained new momentum in this discourse because of their importance for the functioning of global market economy and industries. Moreover, the concept of social capital affects and changes the role of social competences in vocational and continuing education. This volume presents a collection of papers which reflect and describe these changes and their political, economical and pedagogical backgrounds and implications. The topics include economisation of social competences, social competences as key qualifications for employability and entrepreneurship, social challenges in eroding welfare societies, gender and social competences, and the ideological and economical context of the social competences discourse.

It is time to move your competency assessment process beyond meeting regulatory standards to creating excellence The Ultimate Guide to Competency Assessment in Health Care is packed with ready-to-use tools designed to help you develop, implement and evaluate competencies. More than that, you will find a new way of thinking about competency assessment - a way that is outcome-focused and accountability-based. With over 20,000 copies sold world-wide, it is the most trusted resource on competency assessment available.

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.

The Institute of Medicine study Crossing the Quality Chasm (2001) recommended that an interdisciplinary summit be held to further reform of health professions education in order to enhance quality and patient safety. Health Professions Education: A Bridge to Quality is the follow up to that summit, held in June 2002, where 150 participants across disciplines and occupations developed ideas about how to integrate a core set of competencies into health professions education. These core competencies include patient-centered care, interdisciplinary teams, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, and informatics. This book recommends a mix of approaches to health education improvement, including those related to oversight processes, the training environment, research, public reporting, and leadership. Educators, administrators, and health professionals can use this book to help achieve an approach to education that better prepares clinicians to meet both the needs of patients and the requirements of a changing health care system.