Development and Initial Validation of an Assessment Tool for Student Transversal Competences

Abstract

Transversal competences have been receiving an increasing attention in educational research and practice over the last decades. As a part of a wider project for assessment of students’ competences in higher education, a group of experts developed a model of transversal competences for students, consisting of civic, digital, entrepreneurial, global, innovation, and research competences (each with corresponding sub-competences and facets), based on the analysis of theory and previous research. In this paper, we present an assessment tool that was developed and tested for measurement of the competences in this model. The final version of the assessment tool is a self-report survey with 292 behavioural indicators that are evaluated on a 7-point Likert-type scale estimating how characteristic each indicator is of the respondent’s typical behaviour. The initial pool of behavioural indicators was created by the same group of experts based on the analysis of previous research and best practice examples in transversal competence assessment. From this pool, an initial version of the survey with 440 indicators was created and administered to 686 respondents from 8 study domains representing all study levels. Factor analysis of responses revealed a six-factor structure corresponding to the initial theoretical competence model. After further psychometric analysis, the final version of the assessment tool was formulated. Each of the six competences is further divided into 3–5 sub-competences, with each sub-competence consisting of 2–5 facets. Each facet is measured with multiple behavioural indicators describing basic, intermediate and advanced level of the respective competence. The results showed good construct validity of the tool, with the expected competence differences appearing between different study levels, and the expected relations emerging between the competence indicators and average grades. Practical applications and possibilities for further development of the assessment tool are discussed.

Human, Technologies and Quality of Education, 2023

“…However, the limitations of the tools used in the study should also be taken into account. Self-assessment surveys, which are related to assessment forms, are less accurate compared to objective ability tests or behavioural observations because responses of the respondents can be affected by their limited ability to recall specific examples of their behaviour, by distorted memories of their past behaviour, and by a general tendency to assess themselves, their skills, and their abilities higher than they actually are Miltuze et al, 2021;Dimdinš et al, 2022).…”

elf-Evaluation of Future Teacher Professional Competences: a Case Study in Latvia

“…However, the limitations of the tools used in the study should also be taken into account. Self-assessment surveys, which are related to assessment forms, are less accurate compared to objective ability tests or behavioural observations because responses of the respondents can be affected by their limited ability to recall specific examples of their behaviour, by distorted memories of their past behaviour, and by a general tendency to assess themselves, their skills, and their abilities higher than they actually are (Rubene et al, 2021;Miltuze et al, 2021;Dimdinš et al, 2022).…”

Sustainable Growth of Transversal Competences: Exploring the Competence Relationships among University Students

“…Transversal competences were measured using a shortened version of a previously developed self-report survey [9]. To measure each competence, the respondents evaluated multiple behavioural indicators in terms of how characteristic these indicators were of the respondent's typical behaviour on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 ("not characteristic at all") to 7 ("fully characteristic").…”

“…After analysing recent studies regarding students' transversal competences, the crucial competences for university graduates both in the study process and for young professionals and citizens were identified and selected for the present study: civic, digital, entrepreneurial, global, innovation, and research [9].…”