Key competences for lifelong learning (Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council) - europa.eu, 2006
Key competences in the shape of knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to each context are fundamental for each individual in a knowledge-based society. They provide added value for the labour market, social cohesion and active citizenship by offering flexibility and adaptability, satisfaction and motivation. Because they should be acquired by everyone, this Recommendation proposes a reference tool for the Member States to ensure that these key competences are fully integrated into their strategies and infrastructures, particularly in the context of lifelong learning.
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The Definition and Selection of Key Competencies - OECD, 2005
Abstract: Summary of the results of the OECD's Definition and Selection of Competencies (DeSeCo) Project which provides a framework that could guide the longer-term extension of PISA assessments into new competency domains.
PISA AND THE DEFINITION OF KEY COMPETENCIES
In 1997, OECD member countries launched the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), with the aim of monitoring the extent to which students near the end of compulsory schooling have acquired the knowledge and skills essential for full participation in society. Driving the development of PISA have been:
- Its policy orientation, with design and reporting methods determined by the need of governments to draw policy lessons;
- Its innovative “literacy” concept concerned with the capacity of students to analyse, reason and communicate effectively as they pose, solve and interpret problems in a variety of subject matter areas;
- Its relevance to lifelong learning, which does not limit PISA to assessing students’ curricular and cross-curricular competencies but also asks them to report on their own motivation to learn, beliefs about themselves and learning strategies; and
- Its regularity, which will enable countries to monitor their progress in meeting key learning objectives. PISA assessments began with comparing students’ knowledge and skills in the areas of reading, mathematics, science and problem solving. The assessment of student performance in selected school subjects took place with the understanding, though, that students’ success in life depends on a much wider range of competencies. The OECD’s Definition and Selection of Competencies (DeSeCo) Project, which is summarised in this brochure, provides a framework that can guide the longer-term extension of assessments into new competency domains.
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