Argumente für Kompetenzen. Eine Analyse von Selbstbeurteilungen im Rahmen eines Validierungsverfahrens für Erwachsenenbildnerinnen und Erwachsenenbildner in der Schweiz

In the context of lifelong learning, the validation of prior learning has become a contested topic. Views differ about whether procedures should be oriented to (work) requirements – verifying that people match a defined competence profile – or be designed to support people in their personal development. In the latter case, the procedures mainly involve self-evaluation while in the first case they are concerned with external evaluation. In this paper a validation procedure is analysed that includes both approaches: there is a defined competence profile, but the core of the procedure is a self-evaluative report that the applicants write themselves. Our research project analysed a random sample of all applicant reports in Switzerland in the period 2007-10. The analysis concludes that the reports were basically understood by the authors as a means by which to convince the assessors that they merited the certificate. The findings show that the main argument for competence is performance and also the argument for personality is important.