In the late 1990s, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), concerned about the rapid social, economic and technological changes that underlie our societies, launched the DESECO Project (Project for Defining and Selecting Competencies), whose aim was: As the acronym suggests, identifying and selecting skills that are considered key to people’s lives and the smooth functioning of society and the economy. Soon, different member states of the OECD, including Spain, addressed this concern and began work on creating a set of qualifications that should be integrated into the formal curriculum of formal education.
Since then, the laws of education, with their own modifications, have proposed a set of basic or key skills for our students to acquire a combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes that they can use in a world that is constantly transforming. become autonomous, effective, efficient and flexible entities in front of society and the business world. These are considered practical, useful and active knowledge (knowledge, know-how and know-how).
With the LOE as amended by LOMCE (Organic Law 8/2013 of 9 December 2013 to improve the quality of education), seven key competences have been considered: Linguistic Communication (CCL); Mathematical Competence and Core Competencies in Science and Technology (CMCT); Digital Competence (CD); Initiative and Entrepreneurial Spirit (IEE); Learning to Learn (AA); Social and Civic Competences (CSC); Cultural Awareness and Expressions (CEC).
Currently, eight core competencies have been established by LOMLOE (Organic Law 3/2020 amending the Education Law of 29 December 2020 and 2/2006 of 3 May):
Competence in linguistic communication: Acquires all kinds of communication and critically in various environments. Multilingual competence: using different languages, spoken or signed, for effective communication, maintaining a positive attitude for the acquisition of different languages. Mathematics and science, technology and engineering competence: the practical application of the use of mathematics, science and technology to provide solutions to current social and development problems. Digital competence: effective and safe use of technologies, ethical and responsible interaction and acquisition of programming language. Personal, social and learning-to-learn competence: the ability to reflect on oneself and the need to cooperate with others, along with learning to organize one’s own learning throughout life. Citizen competence: acquiring global citizenship, among other things, by acting responsibly with judgment and critical vision in a democratic society. Entrepreneurial competence: using and recognizing opportunities, developing own ideas by evaluating the environment with a strategic vision. Cultural awareness and competence in expression: understand and respect the differences of various cultures and achieve artistic and plastic expression that produces new formats, tools or cultural elements.
As a critical contribution to these competencies, some industries have accused them of envisioning flexible students, in short, competencies impregnated with ideology, that adapt to a changing and brutal labor market, under a commercial and economic vision.
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