New Perspectives in Science Education

The definitions of competence, as a process to define and select competencies for the lifelong learning, has revealed the importance of context in which the competence is learned and performed. New perspectives in learning, such as authentic learning and authentic assessment, also builds on the concept of context as becoming facilitator to learning and, most important, to persons' performance to prove one's capability in relation to tasks, persons or groups. The context (physical and social) becomes the dimension to ensure the authentic assessment (Gulikers, Bastiaens şi Kirscher, 2004), a "here and now" evaluation of what a learner knows and is able to do in a specific context, at a specific time. The models of competences developed to assimilate in national educational policy the concept of competence (in curriculum development or assessment planning) are more explicit in including context as an important feature in designing learning experience. So if context is the fundamental dimension to support competence development and performing, we will focus on demonstrating that learning facilitation is shifting towards context facilitation to ensure learning in the constructivist approach – personal, authentic and durable.