Edited by
Prof Dr Eveline Wuttke, University of Frankfurt, Germany
Prof Dr Jürgen Seifried, University of Mannheim, Germany
Dr Andreas Rausch, University of Bamberg, Germany
In many countries and across various levels of education, we recently find a trend towards the measurement of outcomes of educational efforts, usually in terms of competences. While there is a rather long tradition of competence measurement in fields of general education such as mathematics and languages, there are only few instruments for domain-specific vocational and professional competences. Thus, papers in this issue focus on competences required in a particular domain instead of general dispositions.
In general, the use of the term competence puts an emphasis on the successful application of knowledge in challenging real-life situations. Yet, traditional testing is often focused on the mere reproduction of a body of knowledge. Contributions to this issue are based on a broad understanding of competence that goes beyond knowledge reproduction.
Technology-based methods of assessment allow for an authentic simulation of real-life working situations and thus should facilitate a valid attribution of competence. Papers in this issue refer to technology-based methods of assessment and address issues of scientific criteria.
Altogether, this thematic series brings together contributions with an innovative perspective on modelling and assessing work-related competences in varying vocations and professions. Papers are based on a sound theoretical foundation, present an innovative assessment and resulting data in a comprehensible manner, and draw coherent conclusions for research and practice.