Def<strong>in</strong>iti<strong>on</strong> and Selecti<strong>on</strong> of <strong>Competencies</strong>4 ESSI <strong>OECD</strong> SFSO
Def<strong>in</strong>iti<strong>on</strong> and Selecti<strong>on</strong> of <strong>Competencies</strong>ForewordRapid changes <strong>in</strong> ec<strong>on</strong>omic, social, and political life, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g thoserelated to <strong>the</strong> advent of new technologies and <strong>on</strong>-go<strong>in</strong>g globalizati<strong>on</strong>,pose major challenges <strong>in</strong> today’s world. Individuals, communities, workorganizati<strong>on</strong>s and nati<strong>on</strong>s <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly recognize that <strong>the</strong>ir future wellbe<strong>in</strong>gdepends <strong>on</strong> high levels of knowledge, skills, and competencies.This recogniti<strong>on</strong>, toge<strong>the</strong>r with an <strong>in</strong>creased focus <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> outcomes ofeducati<strong>on</strong>, has led policymakers to seek out <strong>in</strong>formati<strong>on</strong> about skill levelsof <strong>the</strong> populati<strong>on</strong> and about <strong>the</strong> effects of educati<strong>on</strong>, tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g, and<strong>in</strong>formal learn<strong>in</strong>g <strong>on</strong> those skills.To <strong>in</strong>form <strong>the</strong> policy-mak<strong>in</strong>g process, <strong>OECD</strong> is develop<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>ternati<strong>on</strong>allycomparable <strong>in</strong>dicators of skills and competencies, and of <strong>the</strong>irroles <strong>in</strong> promot<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>dividual, social, and ec<strong>on</strong>omic well-be<strong>in</strong>g. To thisend, <strong>OECD</strong> Member countries are collaborat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> development ofa range of <strong>in</strong>struments designed to deliver reliable and policy-relevantmeasures <strong>on</strong> learn<strong>in</strong>g outcomes and <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> distributi<strong>on</strong> of skills <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>populati<strong>on</strong>.While <strong>the</strong> development of <strong>the</strong> empirical comp<strong>on</strong>ents of <strong>the</strong>se effortsis well underway, <strong>the</strong>re is a clear need to fur<strong>the</strong>r advance <strong>the</strong><strong>the</strong>oretical underp<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>gs of <strong>the</strong> assessment of skills and competencies.As a c<strong>on</strong>tributi<strong>on</strong> to such work, <strong>the</strong> Swiss Federal Statistical Office haslaunched, with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> framework of <strong>the</strong> <strong>OECD</strong> <strong>in</strong>dicators project, athree-year program, entitled Def<strong>in</strong>iti<strong>on</strong> and Selecti<strong>on</strong> of <strong>Competencies</strong>:Theoretical and C<strong>on</strong>ceptual Foundati<strong>on</strong>s (<strong>DeSeCo</strong>), with <strong>the</strong> aim ofidentify<strong>in</strong>g a set of competencies that are needed by both children andadults to lead resp<strong>on</strong>sible and successful lives <strong>in</strong> a modern, democraticsociety and for society to face <strong>the</strong> challenges of <strong>the</strong> present and <strong>the</strong>future. The program also seeks to advance <strong>the</strong> development of a comm<strong>on</strong>,overarch<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>oretical framework for <strong>the</strong> identificati<strong>on</strong> of keycompetencies that can provide a basis for more accurate and appropriatemeasurement of competencies and <strong>in</strong>terpretati<strong>on</strong> of empirical results.Internati<strong>on</strong>al and <strong>in</strong>terdiscipl<strong>in</strong>ary collaborati<strong>on</strong> are key elements of<strong>the</strong> program; dist<strong>in</strong>guished scientists, policymakers, and lead<strong>in</strong>g representativesof ec<strong>on</strong>omic and social <strong>in</strong>stituti<strong>on</strong>s are c<strong>on</strong>tribut<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong>work.SFSO <strong>OECD</strong> ESSI 5