Competency-Based Learning: An Approach Integrating the Domain of Complex Tinking Competency in a Group of Mexican Students

Abstract

One characteristic of competency-based education is the integration of knowledge, attitudes, and skills that enable individuals to make better decisions and face the challenges of their professional demands. Given this, universities must develop training models that contribute to this integration; otherwise, they cannot ensure that their students are perceived as genuinely competent. Therefore, this article aims to report in depth how the acquisition and development of the competency of complex thinking were configured in a group of students at a Mexican university with a competency-based educational model to corroborate the integral development of necessary cognition, attitudes, and skills considering the gender variable. Based on a multivariate descriptive statistical analysis, this study sought to identify particular characteristics of the sample to understand the acquisition process and student perception of their competency and sub-competencies considering the development of their various components, knowledge, and domains. In conclusion, although the results show that a moderately balanced perception of development has been achieved, there are still areas of opportunity in some aspects, as in the case of the procedural component, especially among female students. In general, the population does not perceive that the knowledge and attitudes they have developed allow them to develop useful processes or skills in professional practice, which may affect their confidence to lead projects or even enter the labor market once they graduate.