competency definition article finally done!!

So the article looking at how we define competency in our LIS journal literature is finally published! Now I can move on to the juicy questions, such as why we are approaching competency this way, are there better alternatives to this evaluative mechanism, and what is competency's/framework's relationship to neoliberalism, if any?

Competency article's Abstract:

Information Science (LIS) and are being used not only to describe library positions but also as a means of assessment. This study investigates competency in the LIS academic context using English language peer-reviewed articles from the LIS journal literature for 2001‒2005, with findings tested by the later inclusion of 2011 data. A quadripartite definition consisting of cognitive, functional, behavioral, and meta-competence elements is used as a template against which to explore definition creation and use. Results offer a template for critical analysis of competency as found within the LIS journal literature. The methodology used, one of coding, reveals a commonality to discussions of competency within these articles, reflecting a more holistic understanding than expected. But authors’ highlighted competency definitions tend not to parallel the discussion in their respective articles, as shown by the lack of inclusion of multiple elements from the same quadripartite definition.


Article in our Institutional Repository Scholarship@UWindsor
Article in the Partnership: the Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research