Mapping Competency Acquisition in Higher Education and Its Influences: A Meta-Study

Abstract

In the 10-year research program "Modelling and Measuring Competencies in Higher Education (KoKoHs)" that ran from 2011 until 2020, more than 100 theoretically sound models and corresponding tests were developed to analyze the level and development of students’ competencies. Using these newly developed assessments, generic and domain-specific competencies of more than 75,000 students at more than 350 German universities in numerous disciplines (e.g., economics, teacher education) were measured in 39 interdisciplinary collaborative KoKoHs projects. Method: In these measurements, a nationally and internationally unique database was created that contains information on the level, acquisition, and development of competencies, as well as corresponding personal and contextual influences, among students at different stages throughout their studies. A comprehensive meta-analysis of the students’ competencies as well as of the central factors influencing the acquisition of competencies in higher education had not been conducted so far. The existing KoKoHs data had only been analyzed in isolation within the individual KoKoHs projects until then. Accordingly, the obtained results related only to the individual project level. To address this research deficit, the meta-study presented in this paper conducted a research synthesis, i.e., a systematic and structured meta-analysis of the KoKoHs database. Results: The meta-study describes the acquisition of competencies in higher education across domains and provides empirical evidence on generalizable versus specific influencing factors and, thus, evidence-based practical knowledge for higher education practice and policy.