‘Pursuing competencies’ or ‘pursuing scores’? High school teachers' perceptions and practices of competency-based education reform in China

This study used qualitative interviews to examine the perceptions and practices of 40 Chinese high school teachers on competency-based education (CBE) reform. The findings showed that teachers generally agreed with the reform but mainly taught ‘knowledge’ rather than ‘competencies’ and did not know how to teach and evaluate key competencies. The national college entrance examination system was the biggest obstacle to the reform. Parents' attention to student scores discouraged teachers from implementing the reform. Additionally, the teachers had inadequate empowerment, autonomy, time to implement CBE and a heavy teaching burden. Recommendations for implementing CBE reform are provided.