Developing Professional Competencies in Higher Education: Classroom Practices in a Brazilian Setting

This article reports on results from a qualitative study that sought to explore the teaching and learning of professional competencies in undergraduate international business management courses in Brazil. When synthesized as the mobilization of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and other cognitive resources (personal values, beliefs, personal characteristics, etc.), competencies are an important link between education and the labor market. Using a case study methodology, this paper considers the relationship between educational theories that sustain competencies and classroom activities that support the development of certain professional competencies in higher education classroom settings. Findings highlight the need for higher education students to take a central role in their learning and stress the value of training for professors to shift beyond transmissive teaching approaches towards structured activities that promote student engagement and learning.