Teaching practices at a Chilean university 3 years after conversion to competency-based education

Background

Over the last 10 years, most traditional Chilean universities have declared an institutional conversion to competency-based education (CBE).

Objectives

This study seeks to determine if those systemic changes are reaching a practical level by analyzing the conceptualizations that university professors have of their teaching practice and whether or not they are in line with CBE guidelines.

Methods

Twenty-two self-written reports describing current teaching practices were taken from professors at a competency-based university. The Content Analysis technique was used, analyzing the frequency and standardization in which certain words or phrases appeared in the text and their relation or counter-relation to CBE, thus determining the conceptual patterns that regulate current teaching methods at the university.

Results

The results show that the most common words used to describe teaching practices were contrary with concepts that should be present in a competency system, including mainly teacher-centered lecture classes that values passing exams over mastering skills.

Conclusion

Professors have not internalized their role in the CBE system in which they currently find themselves. A traditional model of education is still prominent, and if that is to change professors need to receive further training on what CBE is and what is their specific role within that system. If additional steps are not taken to change the conceptualizations on teaching practices that the professors have, the university's conversion into CBE will remain as merely rhetorical and not practical.