IMPLEMENTING KEY COMPETENCES IN PRE-UNIVERSITY EDUCATION WITHIN THE EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK: TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS IN ALBANIA

In the context of educational reforms in recent years, key competences have been placed at the center of the curriculum, requiring teachers to build a more comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach. Therefore, this study aims to explore teachers’ attitudes towards key competences and to analyze how they include and implement them during the teaching process. The study also examines the challenges that teachers face when planning and assessing key competences in combination with those of the subject. Aligned with European Union priorities (2018), key competences, which include critical thinking, digital skills, collaboration, and creativity, constitute an important aspect of educational reforms in recent years.The study is based on qualitative analysis of data collected through semi-structured interviews with 53 teachers in the pre-university system of the Durres region. The selection was based on an equal representation of age, teaching experience and relevant fields of study. A thematic analysis was used to reflect the relationship between themes and factors that influence the development of key competences (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The interviews were recorded, and the transcripts were analyzed independently by two researchers. The findings show that most teachers try to integrate key competences into the teaching process, although challenges related to the lack of adequate re sources and training continue to be present. While teachers emphasize the importance of developing these competences, the results show that these often take a back seat due to the prioritization of subject objectives.