Abstract:

White (1959) introduced the concept of competence into the scientific discussion of motivational psychology in the middle of the 20th century, in thinking about drive-reduction theory and psychoanalytic-instinct theory (p. 318). White (1959, p. 297) defines competence as “… an organism’s capacity to interact effectively with its environment…”. Another influential definition was developed in the OECD DeSeCo-Project following Weinert’s definition of competence: “A competence is defined as the ability to meet individual or social demands successfully, or to carry out an activity or task” (OECD, 2002, p. 8).

The concept of competence is today increasingly a research topic also in other disciplines such as educational science and business administration. Although there are many studies of competence, a considerable number of authors state the ambiguity of the concept of competence (e.g., Blömecke et al., 2015; Hoffmann, 1999; Jacques, 2016; Klieme & Hartig, 2008; Plath, 2002; Short, 1985; Stoof et al., 2002; Velde, 1999; Wilhelm & Nickolaus, 2013).

The ambivalence of the concept of competence is not only a scientific problem, but also a problem in educational policy and practice (Hartig, 2008). Despite the numerous studies in the area of competence, there are only a few literature reviews (Fügemann (2004; Hoffmann, 1999; Klieme & Hartig, 2008; Müller-Ruckwitt, 2008; Norris, 1991; Roeger, 2016; Short, 1985; Stoof et al., 2002; Weinert, 1999) of the many scientific uses of the terms “competence”.

The aim of the present study is to contribute to the analysis of the existing literature reviews. The outcome of this study should be to provide a system of the existing definitions based on the higher-order concepts and the differentia specifica of competence. Such a systematization lays the foundation for a coherent research program and a conceptual clarification.

Keywords:

Concept of Competence, Analysis of literature reviews.