Key competencies have become central to international education policy, driving curriculum reform since the early 21st century. This trend continues through initiatives such as STEAM and policy guidance from the OECD, which promote the development of competency-based, high- quality education systems. This study explores the ideological and pedagogical framework of Spain´s Primary Education system through a case study conducted within a naturalistic-interpretative paradigm in the Region of Murcia, one of the first autonomous communities to implement competency-based education. Data were collected through document analysis and semi-structured interviews with teachers in various roles and educational inspectors. The research process included collaborative report development and expert triangulation to ensure validity and rigor. Findings reveal persistent epistemological ambiguities in defining key competences, as well as tensions between behaviorist-economic and constructivist-humanistic approaches to implementation. The study concludes that successfully enacting competency-based education in Spain requires not only curricular alignment but also greater epistemological and pedagogical coherence.
Muñoz-López et al. (Fri,) studied this question.