Drs R. (Renate) Wesselink: Comprehensive competence-based vocational education. The development and use of a performance analysis and improvement model

Competence-based education is a popular educational innovation in vocational education. The lack of an accepted definition, however, leaves scope for window-dressing and that makes it difficult to draw definite conclusions about the effectiveness of it. By means of determining eight defining principles, each processed in four stages of realisation the model for comprehensive competence-based vocational education (CCBE) has been developed. This model clearly defines and operationalises competence-based vocational education and reveals that the principles are closely interrelated and concern both the instructional aspect and the content aspect. The model of CCBE offers possibilities to investigate how competence-based vocational education manifests itself in educational practice. Based on the results of these studies it can be concluded that competence-based vocational education is actually taking place in agricultural senior secondary vocational education and universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands; both students and teachers recognise to a certain extent the principles of the CCBE-model. The development towards competence-based vocational education requires different tasks and roles of teachers. According to the teachers are besides being an expert, the roles of coach, developer, researcher and manager important roles. Final conclusion that can be drawn is that the model of CCBE offers footholds to analyse the connection between learning in school and learning in the workplace.