Ripensare la scuola attraverso le competenze: progettazione sistemica, compiti autentici e democrazia

This paper examines how the competence paradigm is reshaping contemporary schooling, highlighting its impact on educational models, instructional design, and the teacher’s formative role. In an age marked by complexity, uncertainty, and global challenges that intertwine ethics, technology, and democracy, education can no longer be confined to the transmission of abstract knowledge; it must instead prepare individuals to act in the world consciously, reflectively, and responsibly. Through a theoretical-practical analysis articulated around three key conceptual areas—competence as a transformative device, systemic design, and authentic tasks—the article outlines a generative school model capable of integrating knowledge, experience, and values in a learning process oriented toward active and socially responsible citizenship. It shows how, in a competence-based school, the teacher becomes an intentional mediator and promoter of meaningful learning environments, able to mobilize cognitive, emotional, and ethical resources. Finally, the authentic task emerges as a foundational teaching practice for democratic education, enabling students to learn by transforming reality and collaboratively building the common good.