21세기 지식기반 사회의 예측할 수 없는 복잡한 상황에서 적절한 능력을 발휘하는 인재를 길러내야 하는 것이 대학교육의 새로운 방향으로 떠오르고 있는 가운데 역량중심 교육(competence-based education)이 현대 지식기반 사회를 주도할 새로운 인재들을 양성해 낼 수 있는 대안적인 교육과정으로 인식되고 있다. 본 연구에서는 역량중심 교육과정을 도입하는데 있어 가장 중요한 핵심역량을 정리하고 선정하는 일을 위해, 학부모와 현장의 목소리에 귀를 기울여 기독교대학을 졸업한 학생들에게 어떠한 역량을 길러주기를 원하는지를 조사하였다. 이를 위해 2016년 2학기를 마무리하면서 설문 조사지를 재학생 738명에게 배부하고 회신을 받았다. 연구에 참여한 학부모는 총 301명이고, 산업체(교회 지도자)를 통해 들어온 응답은 443개였다. 이들에 응답에 따르면 학부모들은 물론 교회나 선교 단체의 지도자 모두 ‘전공분야에 대한 지식’과 ‘리더십’이 가장 중요한 역량으로 지적하였고, ‘가치관과 태도’, 그리고 ‘의사소통능력’ 역시 학생들이 길러야 할 핵심역량으로 응답하였다. 그리고 이러한 연구결과들은 아세아연합신학대학교의 인재상과 교육목표, 그리고 핵심역량의 내용에 대체로 잘 반영되었음을 알 수 있었다.

Individuals who live in today’s societies are confronted with complex demands in various parts of their lives. To experience success, they need a wide variety of competencies. For this reason, competency-based education is often regarded as a paradigm shift from the traditional knowledge-centered education for equipping students for their future careers and life. Schools and universities around the world are struggling with the successful implementation of competency-based education in their curriculums. What is a competency? which competencies will be required for future students? Through DeSeCo(Defining and Selecting Competencies) Project, OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) defines a competency as follows: “a competency is more than just knowledge and skills. It involves the ability to meet complex demands, by drawing on and mobilizing psychosocial resources (including skills and attitudes) in a particular context.” In addition, many experts and educators are trying to identify key competencies in order to prepare their student more effectively. The purpose of this study is to explore the definitions of competency-based education and the components of these competencies, and to investigate the opinions of parents and church leaders in adopting competency-based education in Christian universities. In the fall semester of 2016, a questionnaire survey was distributed via 738 students to their parents and church leaders, and 744 responses were collected (parents: 301, church leaders: 443). The collected data from the needs assessment survey was analyzed with IBM SPSS Statistics 25 using descriptive statistics. By analyzing the answers from parents and church leaders, this study found that the respondents desired ‘expert knowledge,’ ‘leadership,’ ‘values and attitudes,’ and ‘communication skills’ and that these competencies were consistent with the goals of education and the core competencies of Asia United Theological University: ‘faith and personality’; ‘expert knowledge and speciality’; ‘global sensitivity and excellence’; ‘creativity and convergence’; ‘empathetic and communicational leadership’