Degree Date

5-3-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Department

Education

Abstract

In this dissertation, I examined how high school students experienced the phenomenon of competency-based education (CBE) and how that impacted their overall view of high school educational systems. Rooted in personalized learning, CBE focuses on mastery of learning versus time spent, performance-based assessments, and rigorous competencies made up of educational standards. While most notably utilized in higher education and trade schools, CBE is making its way in public school systems in the U.S. Current literature looks at the adult perspective of CBE, but the student perspective is missing. This study was guided by a conceptual framework that first acknowledges education and learning as constructivist in nature, and how personalized learning, and ultimately competency-based education pedagogical practices have impacted students’ understanding of the school structures, outcomes, and opportunities at the high school level (9th-12th grade). Through a phenomenological case study, this study utilized a mixed-methods approach to examine quantitatively the general phenomenon of CBE practices versus traditional approaches of schooling. The study then focused qualitatively on a core group of junior and senior students to get in-depth narrative data that provided insight into the how and why of competency-based education compared to traditional schooling. Upperclassmen were chosen as the participants given that in ninth and tenth grade, all students experienced some aspect of CBE at the site. However, by junior year, traditional educational practices were back in place in the majority of the classes. Through this study, it was concluded that students experience CBE through practices in the classroom and not as a systemic shift. Likewise, the majority of students had negative opinions about those practices. Students equated their learning and growth to the grades that they earned. Likewise, students were unable to determine how CBE could be a way to make education systems more equitable beyond the realm of students receiving extra help if necessary. Overall, more research is needed this this area to determine the efficacy of CBE at the high school level.

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