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CHAPTER – I

INTRODUCTION

Present world is going through extraordinary changes due to science, technology,

modernization, and globalization. There are drastic changes in every aspect of daily
life. Changes are happening at an enormous pace due to flooding of information,
population blast and explosion of desires. In such a dynamic society, education needs
to perform a wide range of roles towards his students. Education is a pivot in the
progress of any nation. Education is the backbone of any civilized society. Education
is a tool to impart knowledge, skill and inculcates values in its young generation
which work for the development of the nation. Education helps in preservation of our
culture from one generation to the next. The onus of producing visionary leaders of
tomorrow lies entirely on the educational system of the nation. Education plays a
cardinal role in helping students to understand their true potential and tapping it.
Education moulds a normal person to a useful citizen with a vision and character.
Education develops skill and intelligence among its learners. In such a competitive
world, the role of education is huge. Education designs the fortunes of any nation in
classrooms. It helps societies in its development, discovering new routes to progress
and cultivating humanistic values and ethics in the future generations. Education‟s
place in society is of vital importance. It is the tool for transmission of intellectual
traditions and technical skills from one generation to the next and to keep the lamp of
civilization beaming.

Quality of educational process directly affects the progress of the nation. A good
educational system is the foundation to foster a socially acceptable mature citizen who
can earn his/her bread and butter. But it is important to remember that a faulty
education system inhibits the process of accomplishment of the desired goals of

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education. Education performs two functions silently. One is that of realizing the
potential of a young learner and transforming it to abilities and second is preparing
him as manpower useful for the development of society. Earlier, these two functions
were performed by educational process as inseparable outcomes. But the present
system of education due to competitiveness in the world is working more on quantity
than quality. But in 21st century the quality of manpower is the necessity rather than
quality. Therefore, for the bright future of the society and nation, it is imperative to
nurture the talent of individuals and harness their potential which can be done with the
help of education only. Therefore, there is a need to reshape and restructure the
educational system. Therefore, there is need to improve the education system of the
country on regular basis (Moon, 2007).

There is a need to change the educational system to a more flexible and adapting
structure that allows students to progress on their learning career once they have
gained mastery at their own pace and in the field of their natural potential. The system
of education which is free from the consideration of time and talk about the
demonstrated mastery of the desired skills is called competency based education.
Competency based education is based on some standard changes in the education
system which offers some new value proposals to the education system. Competency
based education doesn‟t talk about time bound advancement but awards grades based
on the demonstrated mastery of the designated objectives or goals. Competency based
education advocates new ways or methods to educate students and contradicts the
assumptions that education can be given inside classroom only. Competency based
education is useful for all grades in a school from elementary school to secondary
level for which a student requires attention of all stake holders to master measurable
learning topics.

Competency based education is an educational approach that places emphasis on the

acquisition and mastery of specific skills, knowledge, and abilities (competencies)

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essential for success in various domains of life. Unlike traditional education systems,
which often prioritize the accumulation of seat time and standardized testing,
competency based education offers a more personalized, flexible, and outcomes-
driven approach to learning. By shifting the focus from inputs to outputs, it seeks to
bridge the gap between theory and practice, equipping learners with the practical
skills and competencies needed to thrive in today's dynamic socio-economic
environment.

The adoption of competency based education represents a paradigm shift in the way
we conceptualize and deliver education. It challenges the conventional notions of
teaching and learning, urging educators and policymakers to reconsider traditional
pedagogical practices and embrace innovative approaches that prioritize relevance,
engagement, and mastery. Moreover, competency based education holds the promise
of promoting inclusivity and accessibility in education, catering to the diverse
learning needs and aspirations of individuals from all walks of life.

Competency based educational approach ensures that the learner learns most
important knowledge and concepts and master skills required by him during his entire
life span. This approach will be useful to diminish learning gaps and achievement
gaps. This approach holds all students equal irrespective of their caste, creed, race,
ethnicity or their social or economic standards. The competency based education
provides equal opportunity to all students to get trained in necessary skills to evolve
as a social fit citizen. The present system permits student to advance to next level
without acquiring required knowledge and skills. Competency based education is
directly dependent on the efforts put in and the process used to identify competences
to be inculcated to make students future ready. Use of specific material and teaching
methods of competency based approach will make this program successful (Sullivan,
1995).

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In competency based education adopt different route to students participate in

learning process achieve at their own pace and adopt varied ways of learning.
Students are empowered in this model of education to own responsibility of their
learning and take decision about support they require and how will they demonstrate
the attainment of learning objectives decided in the beginning. The school culture and
system advocates equity and provides fair and impartial atmosphere which gives
equal opportunity of learning. The expected learning objective about knowledge skills
and disposition are clearly known to stakeholders. Schools provide customized
experiential learning strategies and objective and provide timely support according to
the learner‟s need. Assessment is positive, transparent and measurable which provide
relevant and actionable evidences. Student‟s advancement to the next level is granted
on the attainment of proficiency (Abel, 2015).

Competency based education is the need of the hour. For a country like India, it is
imperative to break the restrictions of time bound rote learning based system and
adopt a more flexible system of educational which will ensure that all students will
learn at par with other students of the globe. They will be ready to go to the college
and for their future life. They will succeed in their career. The competency based
education in this era of immense technological advancement will give them an edge
with an online learning to learn from anywhere and anytime. They can personalize
their education to suit their needs in this more flexible system and they can support
their families. Competency based education is an educational setting that includes
teaching learning process which prioritizes the student‟s ability to master a skill at
their own pace. This educational science aims to develop and nurture students‟
competencies irrespective of their environment. Competency based education model
focuses only on outcomes. Here outcomes include mastery of skills, knowledge and
practice of values and attitudes that help students to face real life challenges. This

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approach to teaching learning process enables teachers to help their students to

become competent and lifelong learners. Competency based education focuses on
achieving outcomes at each stage based on students‟ age. This education system
prioritizes overall development of the child (Borkar, 2021). The ultimate aim of
competency based education is to give equal opportunities to all the students based on
their learning background and individual differences. This mode of education
provides equal opportunities to all the students to master the necessary set skills
according to their age. Competency based education, instead of focusing grades and
yearly curriculum completion, its main focus is to achieve competent students in each
subject. Here students can only go ahead until they demonstrate the mastery of set
skills. Every student gets personalized learning experiences according to his needs.
Teachers‟ role in competency based education is to ensure the achievement by every
student before they can move forward in class. Competency based education prepares
students for next stages of life.

1.1 Definition of Competency Based Education

Competency owes its meaning from the Latin word, „Competentia‟ which means,
“authorised to judge” or “has the right to speak”. Competentia was also referred to as
„sufficiency to satisfy the wants of life‟ in 1590s. It has derived its meaning from
Latin word „competens‟, present participle of „competere‟ which means, to coincide,
able, fit, having ability or capacity or having sufficiency of qualification. Boyatzis
(2008) defined competency as capability or ability. According to Boyatzis (1982), a
capacity that exists in a person that leads to behaviour that meets the job demands
within parameters of organizational environment, and that, in turn brings about
desired results. According to United Nations Industrial Development Organization
(UNIDO) (2002), Competency is a set of skills, related knowledge and attributes that

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allow an individual to successfully perform a task or an activity within a specific

function or a job.
Competence is the ability to perform successfully those tasks or functions that are
defined by a job or role in a given organization or professional context (McClelland,
1973).

According to Spencer and Spencer, competencies are, “motives, traits, self-

concepts, attitudes or values, content knowledge, or cognitive or behavioural
skills - any individual characteristics that can be shown to differentiate
significantly between superior and average performers, or between effective
and ineffective performers”.

As Clifford Adelman (2013) notes, competencies are not wish-lists: they are learned,
enhanced, expanded; they mark empirical performance, and a competency statement
either directly—or at a slant—posits a documented execution. Competency based
education is, “A data-based, adaptive, performance-oriented set of integrated
processes that facilitate, measure, record and certify within the context of flexible
time parameters the demonstration of known, explicitly stated, and agreed upon
learning outcomes that reflects successful functioning in life roles” (Spady, 1977).
Competency based education is an educational approach that emphasizes the
demonstration of specific skills, knowledge and abilities (competencies) rather than
the completion of a certain number of credit hours or courses (Keefe & Jenkins,
2000).

According to Twyman, J. (2014), “Competency based education stresses acquisition

and demonstration of targeted knowledge and skills”. Competency based education is
defined as an educational approach that focuses on mastering clearly defined
competencies within a particular area (Marzano, 2011).

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Association for K-12 Online Learning (formerly NACOL, now the Aurora Institute)
published a five-part working definition of competency based education. It states,
“Students advance upon mastery. Competencies include explicit, measurable,
transferable learning objectives that empower students. Assessment is meaningful and
a positive learning experience for students. Students receive timely, differentiated
support based on their individual learning needs and learning outcomes emphasize
competencies that include application and creation of knowledge, along with the
development of important skills and dispositions” (Sturgis et al., 2011).
Since knowledge is growing and competency based education concept is evolving.
The working definition of competency based education was revised. The revised
definition sates, “Students are empowered daily to make important decisions about
their learning experiences, how they will create and apply knowledge, and how they
will demonstrate their learning. Assessment is a meaningful, positive, and
empowering learning experience for students that yield timely, relevant, and
actionable evidence. Students receive timely, differentiated support based on their
individual learning needs. Students‟ progress is based on evidence of mastery, not seat
time. Students learn actively using different pathways and varied pacing. Strategies to
ensure equity for all students are embedded in the culture, structure, and pedagogy of
schools and education systems. Rigorous, common expectations for learning
(knowledge, skills, and dispositions) are explicit, transparent, measurable, and
transferable” (Levine & Patrick, 2019).

Thus we can conclude the following points about competency based education.

• Competency based education is a set of practices that allows students to learn

the set skills at their own speed.
• Competency based education focuses on mastery of skills.
• Competency based education provides personalized instructions to students.

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• Competency based education system specifically defines competencies to be

attained before moving to the next level.
• Competency based education prepares students for real life challenges.
• Competency based education approach helps to strength students‟ self-
awareness about skills they have learnt and those they have yet to learn.
• Competency based education also believes in providing opportunities to
students to show their growth and development.
• Competency based education develops self-regulated and lifelong learners.

Thus competency based education can be defined as a personalized set of instructions

that emphasizes on mastery of certain skills according to students‟ needs and they can
accomplish this mastery at their own speed. Competency based education prepares
students to become lifelong learners so that they can deal with real life challenges.

1.2 Historical Journey of Competency based Education

The word competence was first taken from Noam Chomsky‟s generative grammar
where he defined competence as the knowledge of the rules of the grammar of a
language and differentiated it from the application of this knowledge in actual
communication. Later on Hymes added the performance part to the word competence
to coin a new term communicative competence. In late 1960s the meaning of
competency based education was understood by many educationists in contexts other
than original linguistic context to areas in pedagogical and philosophical Contexts
(Butova, 2015). Competency based approach owes its origin to the Taylor‟s behaviour
focused science to enhance the output of workers. The educational thinkers at that
time were looking for the educational practices which are productive, systematic and
structured for social efficiency and essentialism (Curry & Docherty, 2017).

Basically the concept of outcomes-based theories find its resemblance to hundreds of

years old established standards for skillful performance set for specific jobs and roles
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by medieval association of merchants and craft guilds, military training programs, and
licensure professions like doctors and lawyers. Competency based education finds its
connection to outcome based education movements. Its origin is found in mastery-
based learning models developed almost hundred years before in 1920s. The Tyler
Model, work of Ralph Tyler was a stepping stone in this educational development.
Later Bloom‟s work in 1956 and 1968 gave a theoretical edge to the development of
theory of mastery of learning (Nodine, 2016).

Brown in his historical trace of competency based education considers the application
of Taylor‟s scientific management principles to different work roles as the first
generation of the beginning of the competency based education idea and the evolution
of mastery learning models in the United States of America as the second generation
of the development of this idea. The third generation of this movement was mainly
B.F. Skinner Theory of behaviour science and formative vocational coaching. The
fourth generation of the development of the concept was linked to the teacher training
movement in 1960s where the educationists started using “competency” word with
model of instruction and learning. This was also an era when development of
standardized curriculum and instructional procedure began. Many concepts related to
competency based learning like learning outcome and the level of attainment came to
practice. According to Brown the models developed in 1980s and 1990s marked the
fifth generations. In each transition, it was observed that there was a shift of focus
from process to outcomes (Ford, 2014).

Basically the competency based education came into existence when US office of
education started an elementary school educators training program in 10 colleges in
1968. Some competency based education models developed during this time were put
to use in vocational training courses in US in 1970s and beyond. This took the idea of
competency based education to the next phase of development. Scientists J raven, C.
Makeshnan and R. Burns introduced many key concepts of competency based

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education but their usage was limited to mainly psychological and administrative
spheres. Some concepts of competency based education were established in the field
of foreign languages also. Russian scientists L. Petrovskaya and A. Markova called
idea of competencies as final and definite aim of learning. Russian researcher N.
Kuzmina and L. Petrovskaya concluded that competency is not a mere gaining of
formal knowledge but is also a character of a professional (Butova, 2015). The
education model implementation faced a lot of resistance. There were variations and
disagreements in its implementation. Although the competency based model for
teacher‟s education training program disappeared as a single complete model but
many of its key concepts found a place in teachers training program. The key
characteristics like importance of feedback after assessment, customization of
instructions, and enhanced attention on learning outcomes or competencies found an
entry to K-12 schools via teachers training programs (Nodine, 2016). The third and
final stage of the journey of evolution of competency based science is marked by the
global and active implementation of the inferences drawn in the previous stages. This
phase is best known for the enhanced interest of Russian educationists in competency
pedagogies. The tribute of this modern phase is also the UNESCO document which
listed the set of competencies considered as essential learning objectives of any
educational system (Butova, 2015).

In India, the first education policy based on submissions of Kothari Commission

(1964-66) was rolled out by Government of India in 1968. This was in a primitive
form. The main feature of this education policy was the inclusion of free and
compulsory education upto an age of 14 years. The policy did not talk about learning
outcomes or skill based learning. Due to lack of proper action plan and finances, the
policy did not keep pace with the changes happening in the education world
(Chaturvedi, 2020). The second Nation Policy of Education of India was introduced in
the year 1986. This policy emphasized on the improvement of quality of education,

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giving equal opportunities to all, minimum level of learning for stages of education,
education for minorities and handicapped, lifelong education, technical and
management education and women literacy. Later a review committee under the
chairmanship of Janardhan Reddy presented a document „Programme of action „in
1992 to ensure quality education (Rai & Singh, 2021). Although NPE 1986 document
included many features like inclusive education, equity, science and technical
education which suggested a movement of education towards competency based
education but there was no concrete implementation on the ground level. The
education philosophy of India at that time became examination based. The assessment
was mainly knowledge based. There was an increase in the size of syllabus and
passing an examination was the main learning goal of the majority of the educational
institutions. Cramming of syllabus took a major role in the instructional methodology
of the institutions.

The main agenda of the previous education policies was mainly providing education
to all and giving equal opportunities to all without any disparity. The incomplete
mission of the second National policy of education 1986 amended in 1992 is
undertaken completely by NEP 2020. The major achievement after implementation of
NPE 1986/92 is the Right to Education act 2009 which gave each child of India a
legal right to free and compulsory education (Ministry of Human Resource
Development [MHRD], 2020).

1.3 Competency Based Education and NEP-2020

Education is the only way which can enable humans to keep pace with the changing
world. To address the growing issues of the society, education system of the India
needs to evolve continuously. In a response to this, Ministry of Human Resource
Development, Government of India unveiled National Education Policy (NEP) 2020
which will replace an older NEP 1986. It is an outcome of continuous deliberations of

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educationists on making the education system of India ready to face the challenges of
21st century. This policy focuses on an education system which works towards
creativity, critical thinking, problem solving and is multidisciplinary. It aims to make
education experiential, flexible, integrated and suitable for the all-around
development of the child. It talks about character building, making learner rational,
enthusiastic about learning and empowering him/her to earn employment.

A good education system must evolve to cultivate skills like critical thinking, problem
solving, creativity and adaptability. Teaching methodology must be flexible and
learner centered. It should follow holistic and integrated approach. It should nurture
hidden potential and develop all aspects of a learner. Education should be useful,
gainful and should fulfill employment requirement (Ministry of Human Resource
Development [MHRD], 2020). The National educational Policy (NEP) 2020 is a
policy which envisages development of an educational system accessible education to
the masses. This policy envisions giving lifelong learning opportunities to its citizens
and making them lifelong learners. This policy proposes introducing flexibility into
the previously rigid educational system in India and integrating vocational education
into all forms of education (Tholath et al., 2020).

The National Education policy proposed an education system that will transform our
country to a new 21st century equitable, vibrant, knowledge superpower by providing
all students a high quality education, irrespective of their background, while building
upon India’s traditions and value systems. The policy envisions building educational
institutions which will evolve their curriculum and pedagogy to nurture a sense of
responsibilities towards their constitutional rights and duties, to instill patriotism, and
to sensitize them towards their role in this changing universe. The policy envisages
developing educational institutions which will cultivate knowledge, skill, values and
dispositions of a true global citizen in its learners to make them answerable toward
human rights, sustainable development and global well-being.

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The fundamentals principles of NEP talk about holistic growth of the child.
According to the document, the unique potential of the child will be identified and
nurtured. Curriculum will be made flexible to give freedom to students to choose their
own learning trajectories according to their potential, intelligence and interest. The
students will have freedom to study any combination of subjects which suits his future
goals. Vocational subjects will be added to make passing out students employable.
Focus will be shifted to instill characters like creativity, critical thinking, conceptual
understanding, innovation and decision making ability in the students. Values and life
skills will be given an important space in curriculum. Human and constitutional
values will be taught to students. Formative assessment will help a student to learn
continuously. Equity and inclusive education will ensure equal chances and facilities
for all students (Ministry of Human Resource Development [MHRD], 2020).

In addition to academics and co-curricular activities of a student, there will a complete

roaster of activities which will improve the skills and capabilities of a student. The
students will be exposed to a number of activities which will help a student to evolve
his potential. A 360 degree report card of a student will be prepared to ensure the
inculcation of skills and capabilities to foster competence among growing citizens of
the country. The curriculum will be flexible to suit the interests and need of the
students. There will be no rigid streams like science, commerce or humanities.
Interdisciplinary combination of subjects will be introduced to suit the interests and
potential of the students. Vocational subjects will be introduced to make the passing
out students employable and earn livelihood (Mahawar, 2020). National Education
Policy (NEP) 2020 considers competency based education as the key feature of
education system (Swapna, 2023). Thus NEP 2020 is talking more about potential,
skills, abilities and competence of students. These are the core principles of a
competency based education system. Competency based education addresses most of
the objectives mentioned in the principles of NEP 2020.

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1.4 Comparison between Traditional Education System and

Competency based Education System
Competency based education (CBE) is an educational approach that focuses on
students’ mastery of specific skill, on the other hand, the traditional education system
emphasis on completion of a predetermined curriculum and its evaluation in
traditional mode. In competency based education, the primary goal is to ensure that
students acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to succeed in their
chosen field while traditional education system often relies on the completion of one
particular set time.

In competency based education, focus on achievement of educational outcomes is the

primary concern (Spady, 1977). In competency based education system, student
advances to next level only when they are able to demonstrate the mastery of skill but
in traditional system they advances to next level at the end of a fixed time regardless
of the fact that they have fully learner the concept or not. In competency based
education, rubrics of the assessment on which they are going to be evaluated are
shared with students in advance so that student can monitor their progress on their
own but in traditional education system students are unaware about the rubrics of the
assessment.

Learning targets are transparent to student and competency based education system
makes sure that the students apply them in real life situations and new context of their
studies as well but in traditional education system, learning targets are often age based
and linked to higher courses. Both formative and summative assessments are part of
competency based education system while in traditional systems of education only
summative assessment is used. In competency based education, learning outcomes
focuses on competencies and deep understanding and application of concepts while in
traditional system of education, learning outcomes includes academic skills and
memorization of concepts.

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Grades which are combination of completion of assignments, scores of written tests

and other assessments are reflectors of students’ progress at the end of year in
traditional system of education but in competency based education model, students’
demonstration of mastery of skills is considered as an end target of each learning unit.
The students have to attain proficiency of skills before moving to the next level.

1.5 Benefits of Competency Based Education System

The benefits of competency based education could be the reason that all educational
institutions are gaining interest in this educational approach. Team Creatrix (2022)
have mentioned the following benefits:

i) Personalized Learning: Competency based education is a personalized

learning program which allows each student to progress at their own pace. This
educational approach puts learner and its needs first. It ensures that the student gain
the mastery of skill or understand a concept fully before moving to the next level. It
acknowledge the fact that every student has his own abilities and pace to gain the
mastery.

ii) Accelerated Learning: In this system of education, students who are highly
motivated and those who are fast learners can potentially shorten their period to get a
degree or complete the task. These can move ahead as soon as they achieve the
mastery. They do not have to wait for others or there is no restriction of time limit.

iii) Connect with Real World: Competency based education believes in practical
knowledge and mastering the skills rather that memorizing the theoretical concepts.
Students are prepared to face real life challenges and skills gained have implications
in real life. The daily class room lessons involve real life problems and their solution.

iv) Fair Assessment: Competency based education promotes fair assessment

criterion which promotes mastery over grading system. There is no scope of unfair

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competition and judgement and here students are free to adopt different methods to
showcase their mastery. Students are allowed to choose the time when they ware
ready to demonstrate their mastery of skills.

v) Engaging Learning: Competency based education promotes engaging and

diverse learning materials to be used in class. These can be projects, case studies,
hands on experiences, field trips and practical work in labs. These methods have been
proved to be enjoyable, engaging and effective.

vi) Cost Effective: Competency based education has come out as a cost effective
method as students can fasten their learning schedule and move ahead to next levels
quickly. Students feel that this is financially reasonable to them.

vii) Mastery Attainment: Competency based education ensures that each student
is competent at the end of every learning unit. It ensures the attainment of mastery of
skills by every student. No student will complete the course without gaining deeper
knowledge and proper understanding of concepts.

viii) Flexible with Time: There are no fixed time limits to complete any particular
unit or even the whole course. Students who are quick to learn can move ahead in
their learning plan as and when they finish their topic. Students who are slow to learn
can spend more time in learning the same concept. Their learning speed may vary.
Students can choose the time when they are ready to demonstrate their mastery.

ix) Credentialing Flexibility and Improved Retention: To recognise the

specific skill during the learning trajectory of students, micro- credentials are
rewarded to students in competency based education system of education. This
improves their job prospective. Mastery of the competencies is the prime aim in
competency based education which enhances the course completion rate
and knowledge retention. It develops the deeper understanding of the concepts.

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x) Individualised support: Students are as different and unique in their

potential, interests and thinking as finger prints. In competency based education, the
students have their own personalised learning plans. Competency based education
meet students where they are. It provides individualised support to students according
to their needs and potential. In competency based education system, the final level of
achievement is same for all students and individualised support is provide to achieve
that desired level.

1.6 Key Principles of Competency Based Education

For a well-structured competency based education, there are certain principles which
include the type of instructional material, nature of teaching learning process and also
underline the role of the stakeholders in the error free operation of education process.

i) Instruction and Time: The first principle advocates the importance of the
instruction and time. All students have the potential to learn any competency at a high
level of mastery if they are given allotted proper time for it and facilitated with high
quality teaching learning process. This further claims that most of the students can
achieve proficiency of competencies taught if they are provided with the right kind of
teaching learning process and sufficient time. The high level achievement of the
mastery directly depends upon the quality of instruction.

ii) Reflection of Ability in Performance: The second principle is about reflection

of ability in performance. It explains that the time taken by a student to master a task
cannot be anticipated from his ability to learn. If proper instruction, sufficient time
and some extra help is provided to a student with lower ability, he can learn as good
as high ability student. A high ability student if not provided with proper instruction
may not be able to master a skill to a desirable level. The competency based learning
theory says that time taken to master a skill and how well a student learns should not
be predicted from his potential to learn.

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iii) Errors in Educational Environment: The errors in teaching learning

environment contribute much more to the individual differences in the level of
attainment of proficiency of a skill and mastery of a task than the characteristics of the
student. The attitude of the learner towards the learning of task decides the time taken
and quality of attainment of competency. As discussed earlier, the time of instruction
and its quality affect the degree of attainment of proficiency of a task. Different
students have different level of knowledge of fundamentals and prerequisites of a
competency. If a teacher teaches all students in a same way, the students will not be
able to attain the same degree of mastery of a particular skill. The competency based
educational science handles these three issues in a constructive manner. Once a
student has gained the mastery of the initial fundamental concepts at a rich level, he
would be able to find answers to more complicated tasks. This will help student gain
confidence about his learning from a task and he can apply his knowledge. This will
instill positive attitude into student‟s mind.

iv) Homogenization of Capabilities: The fourth principle „ Homogenization of

capabilities‟ of competency based education model hope that each student will
perform well and pass the proficiency test once we work on the methodical
development of the instructional plan to successfully fulfill this task. Once we provide
advantageous learning environment in addition to motivation to learners for further
learning, majority of students will match their learning speed and ability even if they
are bad in their behaviour or slow in learning.

v) Difference in Learning not Learners: In a traditional education system of

learning, the teacher concludes and classifies students on the basis of their
performance in written examination and their apparent or visible characters. These
judgments have a marginal impact on how well they grasp a competency or skill. In
competency based model seriously examines and ensures that such issues do not have
any impact on teaching-learning process. Individual differences will naturally exist

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but competency based education will set the methodology right so that the
instructional procedure doesn‟t become the source of variations in learning
achievements. This personalized method of imparting education will ensure the
similar attainment of competencies.

vi) Teaching and Learning: The sixth principle „teaching and learning‟ talk about
the fact that anything that is significant teaching is significant learning. Many teachers
judge their students and believe that the planned instructional experiences may be
difficult and convoluted for some of the students. They anticipate that many students
will not be able to master the planned competencies and realize the learning goals.
The competency based model put the responsibility on the mentor also if mentee fails
to achieve proficiency of a learning outcome. It is the problem of the teacher to
address the problems student is facing in learning and mastering a particular task.

vii) Kind and Quality of Instruction: The seventh principle „kind and quality of
instruction‟ advocates the importance of the type and quality of method of imparting
instruction to students in competency based model. Unlike traditional models,
competency based model consider the actual delivery of instruction as crucial and
utmost important. The focus is always on the learner. The method of imparting
instruction is carefully planned, followed and repeated after assessment feedback
(Majumdar, 2019).

1.7 Key Characteristics of Competency based Education

Competency based education is an educational science which develops competencies

among students to become a socially, economically and intellectually a fit citizen and
a lifelong learner. The teaching methodology adopted helps students to enrich their
learning experience and improve their learning outcome towards proficiency.

It enables students to undergo deep learning and master a competency using a

methodology and pace which suit him irrespective of the conditions available.

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In other words competency based education is an educational model which aspires

and works towards the holistic development of the students (Borkar, 2021). The
competency model is studded with a lot of good features. Some of the main features
of the competency based education have been discussed next.

i) Focus on Mastery

The prime focus of competency based education model is to ensure that a student gain
mastery of the knowledge (Neelakandan, 2020). In competency based system,
learning is assumed to be a precise measure of what students is actually able to
perform (Evans & Vander Els, 2018). The students should be told about the learning
outcomes in the beginning of the task. When students are clear about what is expected
at the end of a teaching exercise, the student will make an effort to understand and
master the knowledge to the desired level. The level of proficiency is consistent
across students. To move to the next level, a student has to attain nothing less than the
proficiency of the competency. When a student shows full and clear understanding of
the concept and is able to apply the learnt concept in other situation, the student is
ready to move to the next level (Juraschka, 2021). The student accepts the fail result
easily and teacher encourages the students to relearn the task (Ross, 2019).
Competency based education accepts that a learner may require extra time for deep
learning of concepts and tasks. The students may require more time and extra
instructional support if there are learning gaps in their knowledge. The student
advances once he has attained mastery of skills and is ready to move further (Sturgis,
2018).

ii) Equity

This is a main feature of competency based education as it deliberately explore not

understand and eliminate any kind of bias in school administration leadership
(Juraschka, 2021). Equity ensures that there is no biased or inequitable process during

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teaching learning process. Educational equity ensures equal opportunities to all

students irrespective of their economic and cultural background. Equity is situated at
the heart of this education model to guarantee that each child is benefitted from this
mechanism and not a few (Sturgis, 2018). It refers to a situation when each child is
provided with everything that he or she requires to tap his/her full potential in
academic as well social sphere without considering his social background. It is such
an amazing character of this model which speaks volumes about the unbiased thinking
towards all humans. Equity means inclusive education as it advocates multicultural
schools where students from different economic and social background as well as
children with one or other disability study in a single classroom. It gives a true
learning experience to all students. It makes an attempt to discover and nurture the
unique talent that every child is blessed with. It is a movement which challenges the
disparity of power and privilege.

iii) Different Learning Pathways

Each student is blessed with a unique talent like fingerprints. Their strengths interests
and learning targets are different. Also they are at different learning level. Therefore
their needs are also different. In a normal school, the activities are age or grade
specific and are same for all student studying in the same class. But in a school
running competency based education, different learners are provided with different
learning opportunities and different learning methods which suit their zone of
proximal development. The method of instruction is according to the potential and
strengths of the student. Depending upon the potential and leaning goals, students
may be able to follow personalized learning pathways in place of linear progressions
(Sturgis, 2018). The learning opportunities whether given in the school or outside the
four walls of the school are planned differently for different learners. In other words,
the learning paths and opportunities are personalized. Varied learning curves for
different children should not be misunderstood for the inequitable. In fact, different
methods for different learners are employed to ensure same high level of competency.
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iv) Varied Pacing

In a competency based education atmosphere, the ultimate aim of education is the

deeper understanding of the concept and mastery of learning. It doesn‟t promote faster
learning. The students don‟t learn or demonstrate learning uniform speed. Each
student has different strengths and weaknesses. Therefore they require different time
for in-depth knowledge of the concept. Also they have multiple different ways to
show their mastery of competency. The student gets a feedback after he learns and
demonstrates a competency. The school will provide him the much needed support
and more instruction to bring his level to the required standard. Therefore, each
student‟s progress will mature at different time. Different pacing doesn‟t necessarily
mean one learning pathway on which different students are navigating at different
speed. It only means that the progress of different students is reaching its peak at
different times.

v) Assessment is Always Meaningful

While instructional process is going on and learning is taking place, teachers assess
not only student‟s performance but also the method of instruction used to impart
education. This feedback also known as formative assessment helps the teacher to
make alteration in pedagogy and render robust support to the learners to help them to
attain the high level of proficiency. The assessment in competency based education
system is growth oriented, practical, constructive and actionable. It provides useful
suggestions necessary for the growth of the student. The suggestions give directions
to the teacher and the student to take actions required for the accomplishment of the
learning targets. Formative assessment helps the student to identify the problems in
their learning pattern and rectify the problems in time.
Summative assessment is a critical tool for quality check (Ross, 2019). The
summative assessment blends with formative assessment to make assessment more
meaningful in competency based system. It provides opportunities to students to

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express their proficiency in multiple ways. The students are engaged in diverse forms
of assessment measure like school-based projects, community based projects, life role
activities etc. to collect evidences of their mastery of learning. The rubrics of mastery
of learning are constant across students.

vi) Learning is constant and Time is variable

Competency based education treat the attainment of learning goals as the primary
concern of the educational process and consider the time and learning experience as
means to achieve the learning goals (Spady, 1977). Competency based education
opposes fixed seat time theory and works towards deeper learning and mastery of
skill. This education system treats time as flexible and doesn‟t decide when and where
learning will take place. It doesn‟t fix the time a student should take to learn a
particular concept or skill. If students are given fixed time to learn and master a skill,
the level of proficiency would not be consistent across students. Different students
will demonstrate different level of proficiency of knowledge.

The students will move to the next level only when they will show evidence of the
mastery of the competencies learnt and not at the end of any semester or session
(Levine & Patrick, 2019). The competency based theory questions the purpose and
validity of division learning into different class periods, semesters or sessions for
conducting teaching learning process and assessment. The course or semester consists
of the as much curriculum content as an instructor can teach during fixed teaching
hours during a course which is same for most students. It is not rational to implement
grading practices which compares performances of students and teachers. Such flaws
of time-bound practices compel educational administrators to think about flexible
time system i.e. competency based system.

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vii) Life - Long Learners

Competency based education allows students to choose the subjects from his area of
interest and potential. The students get the support from the mentors as and when
required. The learning goals, instruction process and assessment criteria are clear to
them. Transparent instructional procedure, learning outcomes and assessment
procedure push students to own the responsibility of their learning and progress
which, in turn, shape students into better learners of present and future (Borkar, 2021)
and students takes the ownership of their progress for whole life and they become life-
long learners.

viii) Meets Students on the Learning Curve Wherever They are

The teachers following competency based education start teaching with a strategy of
“meeting learners where they are” and develop pedagogical support based on their
growth and assessments of social, intellectual and emotional skills of the students and
previous knowledge which would be highly needed for their learning and growth
(Sturgis, 2018). When a student joins a new course or class, he may have some
learning gaps and require individual help. A student passing graduation degree in
Chemistry, Botany and Zoology lacks knowledge of essential mathematical concepts
and needs special classes in mathematics if he/she wants to pursue post post-
graduation degree in Chemistry. Similarly, a student graduating with Mathematics,
Chemistry and Physics will need some extra classes of essential concepts of Biology
to pursue post-graduation in Chemistry subject. When students move to college after
their secondary classes, they have different abilities and deficiencies or gaps in their
learning. Teacher need to identify the gap and provide robust support. A well-crafted
competency based curriculum designs the learning experiences of every student
considering his or her needs and aspirations (Klein-Collins, 2013).

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ix) Competencies are Measurable and Transferable

The task of defining competencies is considered the most important work in a

competency based education program as it will decide the focus of learning,
mechanics of instruction and evaluation (Klein-Collins, 2013). Competencies in
competency based education are measurable as this system of education discards the
idea of rote learning and focuses more on 21st-century essential skills like critical
thinking, problem-solving solving and self-regulated learning. The learning gained is
observable and can be measured using tools of assessments. The students during their
journey on the learning continuum should progress through different stages of
learning mentioned in Bloom‟s taxonomy.

The traditional system of education narrowly focuses and evaluates academic learning
at the initial levels of Bloom‟s Taxonomy but competency based education focuses
and measures the skill attained i.e. application of learning to different contexts, at a
high level of Bloom‟s taxonomy. It makes students ready for performance-based tests
and evaluations to ensure that students are able to transfer knowledge to learn higher-
order learning skills like assimilation of knowledge, analysis, construction of new
knowledge and evaluation (Sturgis, 2018). They are able to use the knowledge and
understanding gained in an entirely different concept and constructs a new
knowledge. They can analyse a strange problem through critical thinking and solve it
by using the knowledge gained.

x) Student-Centered Approach

The students feel empowered because they have a freedom to choose the method of
learning and demonstration of competencies (Sturgis, 2018). The students are always
at the centre of the planning of the curriculum, instructional activities, reinforcement
and assessment. The students have the freedom to choose subjects based on his
interest and potential. The instructional activities planned will depend on the previous

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knowledge, capacity and interest of the student. The teacher will monitor the process
of learning and evaluate using formative assessment. The teacher will provide
feedback and alter the instructional process to render the support essential for the
mastery of the competencies.

xi) Transparent

The schools following competency based education model explicitly states the
expectations of learning, level of mastery to be attained and the way students will
progress on the learning continuum (Sturgis, 2018). Before starting a class in a
competency based educational atmosphere, the students know how competency is
defined and what level of mastery is expected from the students. The student also
knows about the process of assessment in advance (Borkar, 2021). Students get
engaged in their work as they are clear about the learning outcomes. A transparent
learning system makes students responsible about their learning. They work harder to
reach the learning goals when teacher communicate progress to students on regular
basis. Students take the ownership of his progress.

1.8 Pedagogy

Teaching is basically providing assistance to learners. There are different techniques

to provide this assistance to learners. The study or collection of methods and activities
of helping a learner to gain knowledge and understanding of a particular concept is
called pedagogy. In any teaching learning process, pedagogy has the major role to
play. In competency based education also, pedagogy is at the center stage. In
competency based education, teaching learning process should be creative and skillful
to engage students. The effectiveness of a teacher is not judged from what a teacher
can do but from what his/her students can do. Teacher in competency based
classrooms carry out „guided learning‟ rather than directed „learning‟ (Evans &

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Vander Els, 2018). The ‘sage on stage’ concept is not seen in such classrooms. The
teacher acts like a facilitator who facilitates learning by engaging students in a
meaningful way. The teacher in the classroom clarifies to the students what he/she
expects children to know. The teacher not only explain the competencies students are
expected to master and the level to which they need to master but also the rubrics or
the way these students will be evaluated.

The Competency based education pedagogy advocates more supportive classrooms

(Sullivan, 1995). A teacher in traditional classrooms assumes all students at the same
level. No effort is made to evaluate the previous knowledge and level of skills
attained in previous class. The system in competency based education reaches out to
students where they are at their learning trajectory and provide them a customized,
timely and differentiated assistance to gain the pre-determined proficiency level. The
formative assessments give teachers an idea of the level of knowledge and
competencies that different students in class possess. The teacher then changes the
instructional method to suit the requirement of students. The students feel encouraged
and motivated towards learning.

No two days of competency based classroom are same as every learner have their own
individualized learning plan (Sullivan & Downey, 2015). Every student is different. In
competency based education, every student has a personalised learning plan. Student
may qualify degree early or delay it till they have attained the proficiency of the
competencies mentioned in the curriculum. Their learning path is fluid as they have a
freedom to give evidence of one or more competencies that they have learnt and
choose to take more time to learn different competency. Competency based education
creates a system to ensure personalized learning. Personalised learning means that
method and speed of learning may be different for different students but the learning
outcomes don’t differ. In personalized learning environment, students are active and

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participative. They have the liberty to choose how they learn. They with the help of
teacher co- create learning experience and choose the learning pathways according to
their potential, interest and requirement (Levine & Patrick, 2019). Personalised
learning doesn’t mean that the students will learn alone, instead they will form small
groups according to their learning traits and will work in collaboration towards the
attainment of the goals or standards. The students will work on different projects
according to their need and interests. The pedagogy techniques will ensure that every
student attains a certain proficiency level of the topic at the end of a specific unit or an
academic year. This assistance which suits every individual needs, help him to gain
mastery of skills mentioned as learning objectives.

The competency based pedagogy empowers a student so that leaning never stops and
can happen anywhere even outside the four walls of classrooms and any time after the
school working hours also. Some students may learn fast and some may be slow to
gain the required mastery level. The students of a class are usually at different level.
The pedagogical plans while supporting will not only consider the different level of
students but also their different learning styles and timely intervention. Time is
variable but leaning is constant. Some students may take more time to learn a specific
competency and some may take less time. The instructional process while teaching
life role competencies require more exposure proper environment. The teacher
sometime will have to move beyond four walls of classroom for proper simulation.

Teachers should not be concerned with the final result of the students ( Guskey,1999).
The first duty of the teacher is to help students reach the proficiency level. Small
classroom assessments provide teachers with information and he/she can identify the
gaps in the learning progress. The teacher provides corrective instruction and observes
the change. In competency based education, students know the competencies they
need to practice in advance. They know what to do, how to do and how well they

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need to do to go to the next level. Teacher should develop competencies like critical
thinking, problem solving and the ability to use these skills in unfamiliar situation. In
21st century, book smart students are misfit. An educated person is someone who not
only have knowledge but can also use that knowledge to solve different problems
(Klien-collins, 2013).

1.9 Curriculum

Curriculum can be thought of a set of activities carefully planned to create learning

opportunities for students to acquire certain characters and achieve learning goals and
related specific objectives. Curriculum is a planned educational framework of an
educational institution which includes lessons and academic content which a child
learns during the entire span of a specific course or program of study. Curriculum
consists of various components like well-defined objectives skill to be attained, time
span, need analysis, learning opportunities (activities), teachers and students,
pedagogy, resources, language, different ways of learning and evaluation or
assessment (Zohrabi, 2011).

It can be defined as predefined set of experiences, activities and practices in an

educational course. It is the sum total of all the experiences a student is going to have
in fixed duration of the course. Curriculum tells us about the learning goals in
advance to be achieved in an educational program. In a way, it gives the outline of
academic content and co curricular activities to be taught to students. It refers to the
knowledge, skills and academic standards which are expected to be delivered to
students during the entire course. They are well defined in advance by stakeholders of
education. The Secondary education says that the curriculum is not only the academic
subjects taught in school but it includes all the experiences a student receives in
school which includes class activities, playing in playground, reading in library, doing
experiments in laboratory, workshops and his conversation with teacher another

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classmates. Curriculum is different from syllabus as syllabus only includes subjects

and subject matter which is being taught in class while curriculum can be regarded as
three dimensional including the needs of students, subject contents and instructional
methodology. Curriculum aims at developing certain competences and it includes
clearly defined goals to be achieved by students.

Goals or objectives are the most important aspect of any study program. These
objectives are designed to bring about the desired changes in learners (Richards
2007). Critically thought standards helps in deciding the curriculum. Setting of our
educational goals or standards will never be easy process. It is complex and has
political implications. It is always evolving. The standards or goals which are relevant
today may become irrelevant tomorrow (Guskey, 1999). In competency based
education, these objectives are also the pre-determined, transparent, clear and decided
according to the need analysis of learners. Therefore, these objectives act as a source
of motivation for learner. Learners will have a positive attitude or disposition towards
learning. Competency based education curriculum is flexible as it provides choice to
learner. It addresses the needs of the learner. Hutchinson and waters (1987) has found
necessities, lack and wants as three subcategories of curriculum designing. In
competency based education, it is important to find out what learner necessarily
learns, for example, they must learn the language in which instructions will be given
for the whole syllabus. The necessities of learning are also decided according to the
potential of the student and this model of education talks about reaching to the student
where they are at their learning level. Therefore, it is important to know that what
students know or what do they lack. This will help in setting up the immediate goals
and rendering the differentiated support.

Students are the main stake holders in the process of learning. Learner themselves
have their own choices and wants about what do they want to learn. Curriculum
planner should give due importance to the wants of most important stake holders of

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this process. Thorough involvement of students in learning process is possible only

when their need analysis is considered for curriculum development. Peacock (2001)
has pointed out that the students can turn into frustrated and disappointed learners if
their needs and wants are not given weightage. In competency based education, it is
imperative to plan learning opportunities according to the needs and wants of the
learners for their full involvement. Student’s potential and interests are considered
while planning activities for learning.

Carefully planned classroom activities and exercises can ease the process of
achievement of desired goals and make learning more enjoyable. In competency
based education, activities are planned which engage different types of students to
make them learn in a purposeful way rather than answering a memorized script. This
type of curriculum will make students more skillful and will reduce rote learning. It
will work more on application than knowledge. To include activities which enhances
applications of competencies in life roles, critical thinking and develop 21st century
skills in students, the curriculum should be reduced to lessen the burden of knowledge
based learning (Moon, 2007).

Duration is also a main aspect of designing of a curriculum. Curriculum designing in

competency based education eliminates a fixed rigid seat time provision of
advancement to next level. Promotion to next level will occur only on the attainment
of mastery of pre decided skill. Some students may take more time to complete a
particular unit or a set of skill but each student will attain the same level of skills at
different times in their own way of learning. In the last but not the least, a closed
collaboration of the subject teacher and the one who sets up a curriculum can enrich
any study program. Their cooperation is of prime importance to the success of any
curriculum design because the designer will set up the goals and activities but the
responsibility of its implementation will rest on the teacher (Richards, 2007).

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1.10 Evaluation

Evaluation or assessment is an important stage in teaching learning activity. It is a

tool to generate information about the success of educational process which interests
all stake holders. A good evaluation is a systematic inspection of a merit or worth
(Guskey, 1999). The teacher should observe student’s learning achievements to
ensure that they are making proper educational advancements (Mercer, 2001).
Students get feedback about their learning and weaknesses. Students can then plan
their strategies to overcome their shortcomings. Teacher also gets feedback about
their performance whether they are doing their work properly or not (Johnson, 2001).

In traditional educational system, evaluation is done to by giving knowledge based

tests. Evaluation in traditional system of education put more emphasizes on
memorization, comprehension and application (Sullivan, 1995). In this system, all
students take up same test at same point of time which is mostly summative in nature.
But in competency based education primary focus is on the evaluation of mastery of
skill. Knowledge based tests if administered are done to measure mastery of
information. Evaluation is mostly in the form of formative assessment which is
embedded in the process in the form continuous feedback. This evaluation help
student to know their level of proficiency and they work towards the attainment of
commonly set performance level. The performance of students is evaluated using
projects, observations, tests, focused interviews, field journals, portfolios, execution
tests and other assessment tools (Abel, 2015). Evaluation is transparent and it
communicates progress to all stake holders from time to time. Competency based
education pushes students to learn high order skill.

The grading of competency based education presents a detailed and accurate picture
of students’ progress towards proficiency as it eliminates the effect of other non-
academic components like participation, doing homework on time, etc. Competency

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based education provide a complete information to students and parents about the
progress of the students towards the attainment of learning targets. Teachers cannot be
satisfied with the result only (Guskey, 2005). The formative assessment is important
as it throws light on the progress and requirements of the students while learning a
concept. Teachers develop assessment plans after providing quality instructions. The
assessment reports give teachers and students a reflection of the journey of the
learning of educational concepts. Evaluation helps teachers identify the learning gaps.
The teacher after assessment provides corrective instructions and gives students a
second chance to demonstrate the proficiency. This process is repeated till the student
achieve. Evaluation is not the end of learning. In fact, assessment in competency
based education is always followed by quality and corrective teaching process to fill
in the learning gap.

Competencies doesn’t mean learning outcomes only, they can be evaluated and
verified by evidence of achievements. Competencies are transferable as these can be
applied in some other situations (Klien-Collins, 2013). Formative assessment and the
continuous feedback is highly important during the process of learning but importance
of summative assessment cannot be underestimated. Summative assessment which
includes performance of a student through report, experiment or a performance marks
the final grades of the student. Students display their learning through application of
gained knowledge, skill and ability to authentic problems. Formative evaluation helps
teachers to guide improvements whereas summative assessments provide useful input
to teachers to take decision about the continuation or repetition or termination of the
activity (Guskey, 1999). Final grades will decide the promotion of the student to next
grade.

Competency based grades are not calculated as the average of various class tests.
These are not compensatory in nature. In fact, these are the “trending” grades which
are awarded on the basis of their most recent performance. Formative assessment,

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homework efforts and participation are not included in the final grade of competency
based education. The performance of non-cognitive skills and dispositions like
student work habits, motivation, resilience, 21st century skills is displayed in separate
section (Evans, 2019). In case of evaluation, it is observed most of the times that we
are finding answers to wrong question. Once a year tests doesn’t give any idea about
the current learning pattern and development. To maximize the achievements of
students, teachers need to take classrooms assessments seriously. This will help in
their daily lesson planning. A proper lesson planning will yield better results.

1.11 Stakeholders
Stakeholders in an educational process refer to an individual or a group of people who
have stake or interest in the school or this process, be it personal, financial, civic or
professional. It refers to all the people who are involved in the welfare of students and
in the success of teaching learning process. Students, their parents and families,
teachers, school administrators, other staff members, school managing committee
members, and others members from community are the stake holders. Association
like teacher union, state and centre boards of education, teachers in certain academic
disciplines like NCERT or SCERT are also among stakeholders. This study will focus
on students, teachers, parents and school administrators as stakeholders.

Students are the main stakeholders in any process of education and the achievement
of their learning goals will define the success of the educational process and of the
other stakeholders involved. Students are the future of any nation. They are the
budding leaders of different fields. Their holistic development depends on the
educational environment they thrive in. So the educational system of any country is
planned by keeping students interest in the centre. Skeham (1998) stated that minimal
attention has been given while planning and designing of the educational processes.
But in competency based education, students are kept at the centre stage and
everything is woven around his interest, potential and future goals. A classroom of

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 SANT BABA BHAG SINGH UNIVERSITY, DISTT: JALANDHAR

students comprises of students having different characters. Every student has their
own personalised learning plan depending upon their interests, potential, pace of
learning and ways of learning. The students get individualized support to attain
mastery of skills and succeed in their life.

Teacher is also an important stake holder in educational process. Student’s progress is

directly influenced by the professional abilities of his/her teacher. (Richards &
Rogers, 2002). In competency based education, the teacher acts as facilitator and
reach out to the student for the differentiated support as and when required which
suits his level, objectives, needs and wants. He is expected to know the needs, lacks
and wants of students. He needs to understand the psychology of his students to know
their potential and learning pattern. He needs to motivate his students towards
attainment of learning targets.

School administration is also an important stake holder which influences teaching

learning process directly. School administration needs to be mentally prepared for the
change. They need to be proactive to provide adequate resources to meet the
challenges that will arise due to change in teaching approach. They need to arrange
training of staff to match the requirements of competency based education (Sullivan,
1995).

Parents are also an important stakeholder in this process. He is the custodian of

child’s future. They take major decision regarding education of their child and their
perception is also important in the implementation of competency based education
program.

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