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Chapter 4 deals with competencies in higher
education.
In the short-cycle and medium-cycle higher education
programmes, there is - generally speaking
- a close connection between the contents of the
subjects of the programmes and the professions
for which they qualify. The long-cycle higher
education programmes prepare for the highest
academic level, and they represent the closest
connection to the scientific environments in
research and professional practice.
A world subject to dynamic change, in which the
production of knowledge and competencies is
becoming more isolated from institutional contexts,
is challenging the natural science subjects
and the teaching subjects in the higher education
programmes to take a position on the core of
inalienable insights which constitutes the subject
and the programme. The core competency in a
subject/programme defines a certain identity and
wholeness, it ensures a quality level, and at the
same time it makes room for freedom of choice
and for raising the profile of the individual subject/programme.
A continuous discussion of this
must take place in order to keep the subject/programme
alive and interesting for students and
recipients (employers and institutions).
The core competency of a subject/programme is
changeable over time, and it can only be established
as a result of choices of subjects and values.
Nonetheless, it is reasonable to talk about
one or other form of identity in any subject/programme
- a core, which contains the potential of
the subject/programme. Inspiration for the
educational institutions’ work when it comes to
deciding on the core competencies in the subjects/programmes
may be derived from the two
traditions which have characterised the pedagogical
debate in the Anglo-Saxon countries and in
Germany.
The appendices have been produced by a
number of key persons from the world of higher
education on the suggestion of the Ministry of
Education. The contributions express the personal
view of the authors. The contributors come
from subjects/programmes such as pedagogy, science,
nursing, teaching, engineering, English,
Danish and History.
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