1. Nordic Conference on sustainable adult education and learning in organisational settings Assessment and transformation of competences Bjarne Wahlgren Aarhus University
Now you probable think: Why competence again? My purpose with this lecture is to show, that the concept competence has a wide and important impact on our understanding of teaching and evaluation and assessment of learning processes – and in the end om the research.
In adult education we use the concept ‘competence development’ – and competence is the central issue in the National and the European Qualification Framework. It is important when you talk about assessment of prior learning.
However, what is the importance when we talk about competences? What is the core and new perspective in the concept? Let us see on a common used definition.

2. Competence
“The proven ability to use knowledge, skills and personal, social and/or methodological abilities, in work or study situations and in professional and personal development.” (European Commission, 2008)
We can notice that competence contains different abilities: knowledge, skills personal, social methodological
We can notice it plays a role in work, study situations and in professional and personal development
However, the most important issue is marked with red: competence is the ability to use – not to reproduce, to store or to restate or replicate or recapture

3. Competence
“Professional competence is seen as a generic, integrated and internalized capability to deliver sustainable effective (worthy) performance (including problem solving, realizing innovation, and create transformation) in a certain professional domain, job, role, organizational context, and task situation” (Mulder, 2014/17)
This definition also pin points the performance. Mulder relates the concept to sustainability.
Competence must be integrated and internalized in the person
You can find a lot of different definitions of competence, in the policy documents, in research articles and in texts books. However, they can be summarized in a sentence

4. Competence: the ability to accomplish required tasks and roles to a standard in a context
The ability to perform
To a standard
In a context
First statement: Competence includes acting
It is essential that you have competence in a certain context. You are not competent in a general way but in relation to some specific problems or situations
Let us see on some concrete and actual examples. I will begin with an example from the university level.

5. An example of competence: university level
Competence in evaluation: “The student must have capabilities to plan, implement, and accomplish evaluation in the educational system - unassisted and in cooperation with others” (from the study program at Aarhus University)
The acting and performance aspect is central. However, the example points out some new aspects – marked with blue. A special requirement: both unassisted but also in cooperation. How can we assess whether the student can accomplish evaluation with others?

6. An example: vocational education
Two out of 26 competences for obtaining qualifications as a chef (cook):
Compose and elaborate recipes, prepare different kinds of meals based on the seasons ingredients – with a beginning creativity
The student must be flexible and be able to cooperate with colleges, customers and other persons involved, independent of the ethnic background of those
(From the study plan to Chef drafted by The Danish Ministry of Education)
What is beginning creativity? By asking this question we become more aware of what we mean with the requirements and what the teaching must accomplished.
The aspect of tolerance is an integrated aspect of the competence. How can we assess this aspect?

7. Competence includes general (generic) competences
E.g. flexibility, creativity
E.g. personal and social competences
E.g. tolerance
Second statement: competence is complex

8. Requirements for a qualified assessment
What is expected to be done? (The content)
What is good performance? (The level)
In which context does the performance take place?
What is the person expected to do!
How well do the person performs?
In which contexts? Is it a general competence or a specific one?

9. An example: assessment of social competence
The content: communicate, cooperate, act with social understanding, work independently
The level: beginner, trained, experienced
The context: a specific situation in a kindergarden, a garage, or a care home
Everybody talks about the importance of personal and social competences. However, how can you tell whether a person has and has improved the social competence?

10. Assessment of social competence: three levels
Beginner: The young person is able to provide food for the children and is able to handle simple conflicts, e.g.: ‘please remove your feet from the table’!
Trained: The young person is seated among children, providing food for the children while reacting to various situations at the table, such as table manners, whether the children drink and eat sufficiently.
Experienced: the young person is responsible and can accomplish the tasks that are included in a meal, i.e. providing food for the children, attending to the children’s table manners, taking care that the children drink and eat sufficiently and solving conflicts, among all children within the group.
(Aarkrog & Wahlgren, 2017)
Everybody talks about the importance of personal and social competences. However, how can you tell whether a person has and has improved the social competence?

11. Social-pedagogic competence
How good do you think you are at:
Giving feedback?
Guide a student you don’t like?
Talk with the student about personal problems?
Spot a student with problems?
Handle conflicts between the students?
Create social relations among the students?
Read the social interaction in the classroom?
(Wahlgren, Mariager-Anderson, Sørensen, 2016)
A quantitative perspective. An index with a high level of reliability and validity.

12. Why assessment? Assessors have tacit knowledge
However, this knowledge is not the same
An actual example: a driving test
The difference between inspectors (the assessors) was great
25% to 75 % who passed the test
Discussing quality improves the quality
You find a similar difference between the hair dressers and the chefs. Not to mentioned the well-fare workers.
It has several consequences: for justice, for prior learning, for the teaching and the teachers, and for the curriculum.

13. Competence based education
The learning situation must include practice
The learning situation must integrate knowledge and acting
The teaching must qualify the students to transfer scholastic knowledge to practical situations
The learning situation must include reflections on the transformation process (meta-learning)

14. Assessment of competence and sustainability?
A sustainable training can be used and improved while it is used. The learner must be able to act competently – in a long lasting perspective. The learner must be competent.
It requires that the educational system is able to assess competence. Do the students really develop competence?
The students must learn to be able to transfer knowledge and skills to practice in a meta-learning perspective.
– in wide meaning of this concept
– not only skills and theoretical knowledge
– not to tests or exams

15. References
Aarkrog, V. & Wahlgren, B. (2015). Assessment of Prior Learning in Adult Vocational Education and Training. International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training, 2(1),
Wahlgren, B. & Aarkrog, V. (2015). Validity in Assessment of Prior Learning. US-China Education Review A, 5(10),
Wahlgren, B., Mariager-Anderson, K. & Sørensen, S. H. (2016). Expanding the traditional role of the adult education teacher – The development of relational competences and actions. Teaching and Teacher Education, 60,
Aarkrog, V. & Wahlgren, B. (2017). Developing Schemas for Assessing Social Competence among Unskilled Young People. International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training, 4(1),