Challenges to the Assessment of Competence and Competencies

Challenges to the assessment of competence and competencies in professional psychology are discussed in this article. These include difficulties in defining competencies in precise and measurable terms; reaching agreement within the profession about the key elements of each competence domain; establ...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Professional psychology, research and practice research and practice, 2007-10, Vol.38 (5), p.474-478
Main Authors: Lichtenberg, James W, Portnoy, Sanford M, Bebeau, Muriel J, Leigh, Irene W, Nelson, Paul D, Rubin, Nancy J, Smith, I. Leon, Kaslow, Nadine J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Culture
Human
Measurement
Professional Competence
Professional Development
Professional practice
Professional Standards
Psychologists
Psychology
Psychology Education
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Challenges to the assessment of competence and competencies in professional psychology are discussed in this article. These include difficulties in defining competencies in precise and measurable terms; reaching agreement within the profession about the key elements of each competence domain; establishing an armamentarium of tools for assessing all components of competence, including the knowledge base, skills, and attitudes (and their integration); determining appropriate agreed-upon minimal levels of competence for individuals at different levels of professional development and when "competence problems" exist for individuals; assuring the fidelity of competency assessments; and establishing mechanisms for providing effective evaluative feedback and remediation. But even if these challenges can be met, perhaps the single biggest obstacle would be convincing those who are skeptical of the value of the culture shift toward the implementation of comprehensive competence assessments across the professional life span.
ISSN:0735-7028
1939-1323
DOI:10.1037/0735-7028.38.5.474