Competence-based Vocational and Professional Education

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxxiv

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2. Introduction

   • Martin Mulder, Jonathan Winterton

   Pages 1-43

3. Theory: Conceptual Foundations, Concerns and Perspectives

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 45-45

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   2. Developing Domains of Occupational Competence: Workplaces and Learner Agency

      • Stephen Billett

      Pages 47-66

   3. Competence, Qualification and Action Theory

      • Matthias Vonken

      Pages 67-82

   4. Competence and Professional Expertise

      • Arnoud T. Evers, Beatrice I. J. M. van der Heijden

      Pages 83-101

   5. Competence, Capability and Graduate Attributes

      • Len Cairns, Margaret Malloch

      Pages 103-123

   6. Using an Epistemological Perspective to Understand Competence-based Vocational and Professional Education

      • Richard G. Bagnall, Steven Hodge

      Pages 125-144

   7. Mindful Working and Skilful Means: Enhancing the Affective Elements of Vocational Education and Training Through the Ethical Foundations of Mindfulness

      • Terry Hyland

      Pages 145-164

   8. Competence-based Education and Teacher Professional Development

      • Christopher Day

      Pages 165-182

   9. Beyond Competence, Thinking Through the Changes: Economy, Work and Neo-liberalism

      • James Avis

      Pages 183-202

   10. The Integrated View on Competence

       • Paul Hager

       Pages 203-228

   11. Competence and the Alignment of Education and Work

       • Martin Mulder

       Pages 229-251

4. Competence-based Education as a Global Innovation

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 253-253

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   2. Competence-based Education in the United States

      • R. Kirby Barrick

      Pages 255-272

   3. Competence-based Education and Assessment in the Accounting Profession in Canada and the USA

      • J. Efrim Boritz, Carla Carnaghan

      Pages 273-296

   4. NVQs and Approaches to Competence in the UK: Contexts, Issues and Prospects

      • Peter Stokes

      Pages 297-315

   5. Competence Development and Workplace Learning: Enduring Challenges in the Interplay of Policy and Practice in the UK

      • Karen Evans, Natasha Kersh

      Pages 317-335

   6. Competence Domains and Vocational-Professional Education in Germany

      • Susanne Weber, Frank Achtenhagen

      Pages 337-359

   7. The Competence Development Agenda in France

      • Françoise Le Deist

      Pages 361-380

This book presents a comprehensive overview of extant literature on competence-based vocational and professional education since the introduction of the competence concept in the 1950s. To structure the fi eld, the book distinguishes between three approaches to defi ning competence, based on 1.functional behaviourism, 2. integrated occupationalism, and 3. situated professionalism. It also distinguishes between two ways of operationalizing competence: 1. behaviour-oriented generic, and 2. task-oriented specifi c competence. Lastly, it identifi es three kinds of competencies, related to: 1. specific activities, 2. known jobs, and 3. the unknown future. Competence for the unknown future must receive more attention, as our world is rapidly evolving and there are many ‘glocal’ challenges which call for innovation and a profound transformation of policies and practices. Th e book presents a range of diff erent approaches to competence-based education, and demonstrates that competencebased education is a worldwide innovation, which is institutionalized in various ways. It presents the major theories and policies, specifi c components of educational systems, such as recognition, accreditation, modelling and assessment, and developments in discipline-oriented and transversal competence domains. Th e book concludes by synthesizing the diff erent perspectives with the intention to contribute to further improving vocational and professional education policy and practice.

Joao Santos, Deputy Head of Unit C5, Vocational Training and Adult Education, Directorate General for Employment, Social Aff airs and Inclusion, European Commission:
 “This comprehensive work on competence-based education led by Martin Mulder, provides an excellent and timely contribution to the current debate on a New Skills Agenda for Europe, and the challenge of bridging the employment and education and training worlds closer together. Th is book will infl uence our work aimed at improving the relevance of vocational education to support initial and continuing vocational education and training policy and practice aimed at strengthening the key competencies for the 21st century.”

Prof. Dr. Reinhold Weiss, Deputy President and Head of the Research, Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB), Bonn, Germany:
 “This book illustrates that the idea and concept of competence is not only a buzzword in educational debates but key to innovative pedagogical thinking as well as educational practice.”

Prof. Dr. Johanna Lasonen, College of Education, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA:
"Competence-based Vocational and Professional Education is one of the most important multi-disciplinary book in education and training. Th is path-breaking book off ers a timely, rich and global perspective on the fi eld.Th e book is a good resource for practitioners, policymakers and researchers."

• Adult education
• Behavior-oriented competence
• Competence approaches
• Competence assessment
• Competence conceptualizations
• Competence framework
• Competence model
• Competence-based education
• Education to work transition
• Entrepreneurship competence
• Higher education
• Intercultural competence
• Labour market development
• Labour market needs
• Situated professionalism
• Task-oriented competence
• Technical education
• VET
• Vocational training
• Work-related education

• Education and Competence Studies Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands

  Martin Mulder

Martin Mulder (1951, the Netherlands; MA Education Utrecht University, 1982; PhD University of Twente, 1992) has been a Professor and Head of the Education and Competence Studies Group (ECS) at Wageningen University, the world-leading university in agrifood and environmental sciences, since 1998. His research has evolved from curriculum studies to corporate training, human resources development, vocational education, competence development and learning.


At Wageningen University he leads a teaching and research programme on competence development in the agrifood and environment sector that was recognised as being of excellent and world-leading quality in 2015. 


He is editor of the Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension (JAEE) and member of various editorial committees in the field of education and training. He has (co)authored and edited hundreds of academic and professional articles, chapters and books, for academic,policymaking, and practical audiences, and has served on various scientific boards in his field. He has presented his work all over Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia.


He is and has been active as chair of various Divisions and Networks of the Netherlands (NERA), European (EERA), American (AERA) and World (WERA) Educational Research Associations, mainly in the field of vocational, professional and higher education. He is founder of the Vocational Education and Training Research Network (VETNET) of EERA.


He has received various awards for his achievements, of which the most recent ones are: the 2008 Outstanding Paper Award of the Journal of Workplace Learning, the 2011 Honorary Membership of VETNET, the 2015 Award in Recognition of Exceptional Service of the Association of International Agricultural and Extension Education, the 2016 Agricultural Extension Education Leadership Award of the Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India, andthe 2016 Certificate of Appreciation of the SIG WPL of the AERA.

Policies and ethics