DEMOCRATIC VALUES AND PURPOSES - THE OVERLOOKED CHALLENGE OF COMPETENCE

Interest in professional development based on competence-based educati on and training (CBET) is growing. Competence models undoubtedly pose some important, constructive challenges to traditional arrangements fo r developing knowledge and expertise at all occupational levels. Howev er, CBET's impact goes far beyond this. Its processes profoundly affec t how teachers and learners view learning, assessment and the purposes of education itself. CBET is also symptomatic of wider changes in not ions about ownership, pluralism and breadth in post-compulsory educati on and training. It therefore poses a profound and forceful ideologica l challenge to particular educational values, and to the way teachers approach their professional role. This article uses post-16 teacher ed ucation as a focus for exploring some of these wider effects. It revie ws recent critiques of CBET and argues that many are preoccupied with attempting to improve its efficiency at the expense of examining the w ider political and ideological context in which it is being implemente d. In order to counter the drift towards a narrow utilitarian curricul um in all sectors of the post-compulsory system, analyses of CBET will need to show its powerful effect on some important democratic traditi ons in learning and education. This would provide the basis for a more coherent model of professional development than the limited and fragm ented choices currently on offer.