Metacompetence as an educational goal of future-oriented higher education
Authors: Kebbekus Robert 
Published: June 2024

Societies have faced steadily growing challenges in recent decades. Global climate change, demographic shifts and geopolitical conflicts are constantly creating new framework conditions for companies and organisations that need to be mastered (Faix et al, 2021). In order to be able to operate successfully in the long term, companies and organisations need specialists with meta-skills to recognise, initiate and success-fully implement the necessary transformation processes in social systems (Bergmann, 2016). Furthermore, the social impact means that students are increasingly demand-ing their right to social participation and far-reaching co-determination (Bäuerle et al., 2021). The research question is therefore: "What content and with what methods should students learn in order to be able to solve future problems and challenges in social systems?". An educational project at the University of Siegen serves as a case study to identify didactic methods and learning content that support such skills devel-opment among students in the social sciences. This would enable universities to meet the growing demand for specialists on the one hand and the desire for individual free-dom and social participation among students on the other.Methodologically, this work is based on three theories: the capability approach, social systems theory and learning theory. Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum postulate within the framework of the capability approach that a lack of individual freedom or choice reduces the resulting opportunities for realisation and prevents learning and thus also competence development (Nussbaum, 2012). When working with social systems, the psychological perspective of systems theory in the form of systemic therapy in counselling people and organisations represents a central link between or-ganisations with their actors and an external influence (Simon, 2014). Thirdly, learning research has constantly produced new explanatory models for the process of learning with regard to the development of skills and competences. Competence develops from learning as maturation with the aim of developing an individual problem-solving ability beyond the knowledge learnt (Bergmann, 2006).There is currently a lack of knowledge about how the development of competences to accompany change processes of social systems can be implemented in university education formats and thus forms a research gap (Löw-Beer, 2023).REFERENCESBergmann, G., Daub, J. (2006). Systemisches Innovations- und Kompetenzmanagement, Grundlagen-Prozesse-Perspektiven, Wiesbaden: Gabler Verlag. Bäuerle, L., Hantke, H., Schröder, L., Urban J. (2021). Wirtschaft neu Lernen – eine Einleitung in: Urban J., Schröder, L., Hantke, H, Bäuerle L. (Eds): Wirtschaft neu Lernen – Erfahrungen aus der pluralen, sozioökonomischen Hochschulbildung, Wiesbaden: Springer Verlag.Faix, W., Kisgen, S., Schwinn, A., Windisch, L. (2021). Führung, Persönlichkeit und Bildung. Mit Führungskraft die Zukunft erfolgreich und nachhaltig gestalten. Wiesbaden: Springer Gabler. Löw-Beer, David (2023). Ökonomische Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung – Erkennt-nisse und Forschungsperspektiven. In: Birke, F., Kaiser, T., Oberrauch, L. Remmele, B. (Eds.). Ökonomische Bildung als Allgemeinbildung. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.Simon, F., B. (2014). Einführung in die (System-)Theorie der Beratung. Heidelberg: Carl- Auer Verlag.