International Council for School Leadership
Enabling K12 Schools for Competency-based Education
THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF
COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION MODEL
For a seamless implementation of the National Education Policy 2020
Principle 1
Rigorous, common expectations for learning (knowledge, skills, and dispositions) are explicit, transparent, measurable, and transferable.
CBE requires schools to define rigorous, demonstrable, common expectations for learning in terms of “Learning Outcomes” that are explicit, transparent, measurable, and transferable.
According to the NCF 2023, these outcomes should be derived from competencies (knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behavior) that students are expected to achieve for the aims of education to be fulfilled.
The NCF provides an illustrative list of competencies and learning outcomes so that schools can contextualize and create their unique list of competencies and learning outcomes for their students.
Principle 2
Strategies to ensure equity for all students are embedded in the culture, structure, and pedagogy of schools and education systems.
"Equity" is the underlying theme of the NEP 2020. Schools must provide an environment of care, equity, and respect. There should be no form of discrimination based on religion, caste, gender, community, beliefs, disability, or any other factor.
All students must enjoy equal access and equal opportunity to achieve learning outcomes. Schools must create an environment that enhances the potential and interests of each child and not just those with the best chances of success.
Equity must be promoted and practiced through content, pedagogies, and assessment practices at all stages of school education.
Principle 3
Students learn actively using different pathways and varied pacing.
The NCF emphasizes that students must be active participants in the learning process as opposed to passive receivers of information.
Schools must provide opportunities for students to engage with the world around them, practice metacognition through reflection, and apply their acquired competencies to solve real-world problems. They must be equipped to explore and expand their knowledge.
Schools must allow students the flexibility to learn using their own learning strategy at a pace they find comfortable.
Principle 4
Students are empowered daily to make important decisions about their learning experiences, how they will create and apply knowledge, and how they will demonstrate their learning.
The NCF advocates that students must be empowered to make decisions regarding their learning. They must be allowed to make decisions on which tasks they would prefer to do to demonstrate their mastery of the required learning outcome. They should also be able to choose how they want to complete the task and demonstrate their mastery.
In fact, the NCF also advises schools to make students an integral part of the decision-making processes for those aspects that impact student learning.
Principle 5
Assessment is a meaningful, positive, and empowering learning experience for students that yields timely, relevant, and actionable evidence.
The NCF mandates that the focus of assessments should be on specific ways of reasoning and not merely the recall of facts. Assessments should be planned toward achieving specific competencies and learning outcomes. This makes assessment meaningful.
Formative assessment, with periodic summative assessments, must be conducted by schools to obtain relevant and actionable evidence of the progress of each learner.
Assessments must provide students a positive experience as they find out the gaps in their learning and ways to eliminate those gaps.
Principle 6
Students receive timely, differentiated support based on their individual learning needs.
CBE focuses on individualized learning. Schools need to support the learning of each child based on individual interests, learning styles, and aspirations.
The NCF in section 1.1, emphasizes that the core of education is the achievement of competencies by an individual. Throughout the NCF, the stress on individualized learning is eminent as it promotes the holistic development and mandates that each child's progress and performance will be documented through the complete educational journey.
Principle 7
Students progress based on evidence of mastery, not seat time.
CBE promotes anywhere, anytime learning as long as students are able to demonstrate attainment of mastery for the desired learning outcomes.
NEP 2020 recommends that schools provide students with opportunities for self-directed learning and online learning in addition to traditional classroom instructions.
This paves the way for schools to implement effective hybrid learning models by creating the required cultures, curriculum, content, pedagogies, and assessments.