3.2 Competences – a general definition

Competences refer to what a person is able to do, in three respects that form the core of a person’s identity:

• what a person knows and has understood;
• the skills enabling a person to use her or his knowledge;
• the awareness and appreciation of the knowledge and skills that a person possesses, resulting in the willingness to use them both with self-confidence and responsibility.

The last point is of particular importance. Not only should the teacher know what the students have been enabled to do, but even more so the students themselves. They must know what they have in their mental toolbox and what tasks or problems those tools can be applied to. Above all, they need self-confidence to accept the risk of failure in their processes of lifelong learning.