Author: mmulder

Martin Mulder is Emeritus Professor of Education and Director-Owner of MM Consultancy for Education and Training. He published widely with his colleagues and students about issue related to competence development, vocational and professional education, higher education, teacher education, and learning technology.

Martin Mulder is Emeritus Professor of Education and Director-Owner of MM Consultancy for Education and Training. He published widely with his colleagues and students about issue related to competence development, vocational and professional education, higher education, teacher education, and learning technology.

Claudia Geel nieuwe Master Onderwijskunde

Op 17 december heeft Claudia Geel op succesvolle wijze haar eindwerk gepresenteerd voor de afronding van de Master Onderwijskunde. Het eindwerk voor de afstudeeropdracht omvat een beroepsproduct in de vorm van een advies, een verantwoordingsrapport en een logboek. Het advies is gebaseerd op onderzoek en de implementatie van een innovatie.

Het thema van de afstudeeropdracht betreft inzicht in het eigen leerproces op het gebied van het creatief schrijven binnen de bovenbouw van een basisschool.

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Anja van der Velde-Dekker nieuwe Master Onderwijskunde

Op 17 december heeft Anja Van der Velde-Dekker op succesvolle wijze haar eindwerk gepresenteerd voor de afronding van de Master Onderwijskunde. Het eindwerk voor de afstudeeropdracht omvat een beroepsproduct in de vorm van een advies, een verantwoordingsrapport en een logboek. Het advies is gebaseerd op onderzoek. De thematiek van de afstudeeropdracht betreft het ontwikkelen van een nieuw leerling-rapport op een basisschool. Een werkgroep in de betreffende school is al een aantal jaren bezig geweest met het ontwikkelen van een nieuw rapport, maar boekte betrekkelijk weinig vorderingen. Daarom is er voor gekozen om dit punt ook mee te nemen en om te bezien op welke wijze het eigenaarschap van innovatie bevorderd zou kunnen worden.

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Myrthe Malipaard nieuwe Master Onderwijskunde

Op 18 november 2021 heeft Myrthe Malipaard op succesvolle wijze haar eindwerk voor de Masteropleiding Onderwijskunde (MEd) verdedigd. Myrthe was een van de eerste studenten die is afgestudeerd volgens de regels van het nieuwe afstuderen op beroepsproducten. In dit geval ging het om een Advies dat tot stand gekomen is op basis van een onderzoek. De essentie van het nieuwe afstuderen is de praktijkgerichtheid en authenticiteit van afstudeeropdrachten te vergroten. Het gaat daarbij ook om de doorwerking van het resultaat in de eigen organisatie.

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Research of Dr Carla Oonk on Boundary Crossing accepted for publication

The International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education informed us as author team (Carla Oonk, Judith Gulikers, Perry den Brok & Martin Mulder) that the manuscript ‘Stimulating Boundary Crossing Learning in a Multi-Stakeholder Learning Environment for Sustainable Development’ is accepted for publication. Congratulations Dr Carla Oonk with this major achievement! Once the paper is published online, a summary of the paper will be shared here.

Theorising Competence Development

It was a great pleasure to give the webinar on October 27 for the around 45 experts who are interested in the work of REAL (the Institute for Researching Education and Labour) of WITS University in Johannesburg, South-Africa. The webinar would originality address competence theory, research and practice, but it was turned into ‘The Challenge of Theorising Competence Development: A Focus on the Public Sector’, because most questions were about that. Thank you Presha Ramsarup for the invitation and facilitation. Thanks Kate Mlanzi for your introduction, and I am sorry you lost connection, and could not finish. I am sorry Stephanie Allais for the bad connection and that you could not make it. REAL recorded the webinar, and will put it on the YouTube channel of the Institute. That way, interested colleagues who were not able to attend can see the recording. Here you can download the PPT.211026 Theorizing Competence

Various questions were put upfront for which I prepared answers. One was about the theoretical value of the concept of competence. That was the same question raised by colleagues at the former chair group of Education and Competence Studies at Wageningen University, some 20 years ago. At that time, the answer on that question was not very clear yet. But during the last years, after more reflection. I came to the conclusion that the competence concept:

  • Explains variation in performance (see the AMO-model of Appelbaum)
  • Triggers motivation (see the CAR-model of Deci & Ryan)
  • Points at improvement potential (see the theory of worthy performance of Gilbert)
  • Articulates domains of teaching (based on job profile research)
  • Holds course of learning (see the core competence theory of Prahalad & Hamel)
  • Provides communication language (about learning and development priorities)
  • Defines expectations frameworks (for professions, educational programs, careers)
  • Includes application of knowledge in practice
  • Stresses the importance of the attitude dimension in education

There were also questions during the session. One question kept coming to my mind, which was the question about the meaning of competence in a country like South-Africa, with its history of apartheid and fundamental social injustice. This question reminded me to my work on future competence for the VUCA world, VUCA meaning Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. In my Farewel address (2016 Mulder – Farewell Address) in 2016 I elaborated on this.

However, whilst I am mostly speaking and writing about professional competence, there is a whole other reality than the VUCA world as just mentioned. What if VUCA would be the acronym of: Violence, Unjustice, Criminal, and Abusive? How many children, adolescents and adults are living in that world were they have to fight for survival, be smart to escape from that world (if possible at all), and/or shape a better life (if they can)? What would the meaning of competence be for them? In that discussion the human capability of Nussbaum comes in, which is stressing the rights people should be able to exert. For people in that other VUCA world, competencies can also be defined. There is a linkage between competencies for the future and competencies for challenging life circumstances. Discussions about these competencies should be embedded in narratives regarding the historical social-cultural developments of regions, nations and localities. Actually, discussions about world-wide implementation of the concept of professional competence and competence development, should also be held against the background of those historical social-cultural developments, and work cultures in organizations and the factors in play regarding the informal economy, creating livelihoods and small-scale entrepreneurship.