Key competences
The European Commission works with EU Member States to develop the concept of 'key competences' – the knowledge, skills and attitudes that help people gain personal fulfilment, employability and enable them to take part in society. These include the 'traditional' competences like mother tongue, foreign languages, basic competences in maths and science, and digital competence, but also the more 'transversal' ones such as learning to learn, social and civic competence, initiative taking and entrepreneurship, and cultural awareness and expression.
In 2006 the EU adopted the European Framework of Key Competences, a reference tool to help Member States to adapt their school curricula to modern needs.
The framework builds on changes happening in a number of countries so that instead of listing inputs (the knowledge that schools are to impart) they specify outcomes (the knowledge, skills and attitudes that pupils are expected to have developed at different stages of their education). Four of the eight key competences defined in it are transversal; this raises questions such as how they will fit into a school curriculum based upon traditional 'subjects', and to what extent schools will need to reorganise to help pupils acquire this kind of skill, both inside and outside 'lessons'.
A group of experts from Member States meets regularly on key competences to examine in depth specific aspects of curricula and implementation. So far, they have worked on issues related to the implementation of those cross-curricular competences that require new approaches to organising learning in schools, new types of learning material, and assessment procedures that support the learning process.
Read more about the EU's expert group on key competences.
More information
- The Commission has made further proposals on Key Competences in its Communication "Improving Competences for the 21st Century: An Agenda for European Cooperation on Schools".
