SELF-ASSESSMENT OF ABILITIES IN THE EVALU ATION OF VOCATIONAL-TRAINING

The present article explains the usefulness of a source of information which - up to now - has been used rarely and too unsystematically for the evaluation of vocational training and development in organisation s: the self-assessment of vocational abilities. On the basis of theore tical statements made by self-concept research and qualication researc h, a questionnaire for the self-concept of vocational competences (SBK ) has been constructed. The final version of the questionnaire consist s of 57 items, which - according to a factor analytically derived stru cture - are represented by the following dimensions: skills, knowledge (factor 'technical competence'), thinking/problem solving, creativity , ability to learn (factor, 'methodical competence') communication, co operation (factor 'social competence'). Test statistics for items and scales are based on the answers of 152 apprentices. In an exploratory field study (evaluation study) with 103 apprentices - half of them par ticipated in a particular vocational training course for the purpose o f evaluating new training methods - the SBK showed that cognitive trai ning methods have positive effects on the self-concept in the dimensio ns of thinking and problem solving, creativity, ability to learn and c ooperation.