Reframing Engineering Literacy: A Comparative Synthesis of International Competence Frameworks

Abstract

Based on a systematic literature review of international competence frameworks that aim to integrate engineering-related practices into general school education in STE(A)M contexts, this paper examines how central ways of working and thinking in engineering can be located and operationalised within school-based technology education. Using a comparative synthesis, the analysis identifies recurring dimensions across a heterogeneous body of models and classifies the identified approaches into three overarching framework types: (1) design- and problem-solving-oriented frameworks, (2) competency-oriented frameworks, and (3) curricular or domain-specific frameworks. Across these types, a patterned asymmetry becomes visible: procedural elements (engineering design cycles) and cognitive elements (engineering habits of mind) are typically described in teachable terms, whereas the normative dimension (explicit evaluation and responsibility in relation to societal, ecological, and economic consequences) remains underdeveloped and is often treated merely as contextual “constraints”. Rather than proposing yet another national model, the paper develops a synthesis that consolidates distinctive features of existing approaches, discusses their compatibility with the Common Reference Framework for Technology (GeRRT), and argues for a hybrid perspective that links iterative process structures with transferable habits of mind while making normative evaluation an explicit educational outcome.