Demokratie als Lebensform. Mein Achtundsechzig

Transnational Competence: A Transformative Tool? A Comparison of German and Irish Political Trade Union Education Programs

“…Oskar Negt, an important German social scientist and labor educator, has a similar conception. He defines competence as a triangle of “abilities, bodies of knowledge and methods of thought” which an individual develops and applies throughout a lifetime (Negt 2010, 222, our translation). Competence can be acquired anywhere, at any time and in any way, at best through experiencing the tension between “theory and praxis” (Negt 2010, 234).…”

“…He defines competence as a triangle of “abilities, bodies of knowledge and methods of thought” which an individual develops and applies throughout a lifetime (Negt 2010, 222, our translation). Competence can be acquired anywhere, at any time and in any way, at best through experiencing the tension between “theory and praxis” (Negt 2010, 234). Based on these notions, we define “TC” as a complementary composition of knowledge, attitudes and skills that enables human beings to interact autonomously and responsibly beyond national boundaries, as equals and in kindness.…”

“…Koehn and Rosenau (2002, 116, emphasis in original) would, hence, agree to seeing TC Profiles “along a continuum” between incapable and proficient , including the intermediate states of pre-competent and adequately competent . Later, Koehn and Rosenau (2010, 17) added the need for ongoing personal development: “aspirations to become transnationally competent require commitment to a lifelong learning process,” or what Negt (2010, 177, our translation) prefers calling “ life accompanying learning.” In other words, TC is not the goal. Rather, the journey toward improving personal performance in cross-border situations is the destination.…”

“…Additionally, the TC framework arguably incorporates the six competencies which Negt (2010) suggests are crucial for comprehending connections: that is, identity, technological, justice, ecological, economical, and historical. Also, the conceptualization of TC proposed by Kehrbaum (2010) can be integrated in Koehn and Rosenau’s framework, which includes action-related, social, methodological, technical, and political skills.…”

“…. is also a struggle for a democratic education” (Merrill and Schurman 2016, 5): democracy needs to be learned (Negt 2010; Pohl and Hufer 2016). Today, however, democracy is everything but stable.…”