Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/how-do-we-define-director-competence/5013213/
Anyone who has chased a director's shadow for even a brief time knows that being an effective administrator means wearing many hats - from budget analyst to nutritionist to fundraiser. The list is long and varied. Defining competence as it relates to the multiplicity of roles the director assumes each day is a thorny task. It is thorny because as a field we have not defined precisely what we mean by the terms competence, competent, and competency. These terms are overused and misused in our well-intentioned attempts to improve educational practice.Many educators embrace a definition of competence similar to the one put forth by Fenichel and Eggbeer (1990). They believe that competence is "the ability to do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reasons." Fenichel and Eggbeer go on to say, "Competence involves the capacity to analyze a situation, consider alternative approaches . . . evaluate the outcome, and articulate the rationale for each step of the process" (p. 13). Though appealing, the problem with such definitions is that they rest on qualitative judgments that are value-laden. The right thing or the right reasons are highly subjective terms open to multiple interpretations. How does one begin to ...