Bridging the Cognitive-Psychomotor Gap in Competency-Based TVET Technology Education: A Multi-Cohort Study of Solar Photovoltaic Installation and Maintenance

Within Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) frameworks worldwide, Competency-Based Education (CBE) has become a foundational paradigm that prioritizes measurable student capabilities rather than traditional lecture-hour accumulation. Nonetheless, executing CBE successfully remains difficult, particularly in achieving and sustaining coherent alignment among cognitive, psychomotor, and affective learning domains. This article examines a five-cohort longitudinal dataset from the course BELS1245 (Solar PV Installation and Maintenance), situated within a Bachelor of Technology in Electrical Maintenance System program between the academic terms 2021/2022 and 2025/2026 (N = 185 total participants). Using John Biggs' Presage-Process-Product (3-P) framework alongside the principles of constructive alignment, we evaluate academic achievements across three distinct Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) representing intellectual knowledge (LO01), physical installation skills (LO02), and professional ethics (LO03). The empirical results indicate a severe practical-cognitive disconnect. Although student attainment in psychomotor and affective domains was exceptionally strong, ranging from 96.0% to 100.0%, cognitive comprehension collapsed from 92.0% during the initial two cohorts to 51.0% in the third cohort, before leveling off at 55.0% in the fifth cohort. To remedy this performance imbalance and establish holistic professional competencies, several evidence-based Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) measures are recommended, including Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT), multidisciplinary engineering design initiatives, and targeted analytics within Learning Management Systems (LMS).

Competency-based training, Constructive alignment, Pedagogical strain, Practical-cognitive mismatch, Solar energy education

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