A Scoping Umbrella Review of Competency-Based Education: Part I – A Descriptive Analysis of Trends, Practices, and Gaps
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17161/cberj.v2.24118Keywords:
competency-based education, taxonomy of theoretical approaches, scoping umbrella reviewAbstract
Competency-based education (CBE) has been increasingly adopted and popularized across diverse disciplines and professional fields. However, its implementation faces challenges due to the absence of a unified framework. Part I of this study aims to explore different theoretical approaches to CBE and to identify key approaches, emerging trends, and focal areas across diverse educational contexts, fields, and regions. A scoping umbrella review was conducted to synthesize evidence on CBE from systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and other reviews. Searches were performed across five databases by an experienced librarian, focusing on CBE frameworks and outcomes. Only peer-reviewed articles published in English were included. Four reviewers screened articles using Covidence software, resolving disagreements through discussion and collaboration. The umbrella review of 36 articles reveals key trends: (1) most are literature or systematic reviews, (2) published between 2017 and 2022, (3) primarily from the U.S. and Canada, and (4) focused on higher education and medical/health sciences. The review identifies three categories of theoretical approaches: theories, models, and frameworks. This review highlights the evolving theoretical foundations of CBE and its expansion across disciplines. The integration of various theories, models, and frameworks into a cohesive meta-framework emerges as a critical next step.
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Copyright (c) 2025 In-Gu Kang, Raha Moussavi, Courtney E. Castle, Charles Pittack, Scott R. McEathron (Author)
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