Cinematic Pedagogy and Competency-Based Education: Reconfiguring Teaching and Learning in the University

Abstract

Contemporary universities are increasingly expected to move beyond transmission-oriented teaching towards learner-centred approaches that develop demonstrable competencies, including critical thinking, communication, creativity, collaboration, problem-solving, and the application of knowledge in situated contexts. Competency-Based Education (CBE) foregrounds practical application, learner agency, and authentic demonstration, while scholarship on film and education recognises cinema’s potential to facilitate experiential, visual, and multimodal learning. However, limited attention has been given to how cinematic form itself can function as a pedagogical framework for enacting CBE in university classrooms. This paper addresses this gap by conceptualising cinematic pedagogy beyond the use of films as instructional materials, positioning it as learning organised through narrative, visuality, performance, sound, editing, interpretation, and critical engagement. It examines how cinematic pedagogy can reconfigure university teaching and learning within a competency-based framework and facilitate the development and demonstration of learner competencies. The study adopts a qualitative interpretive, literature-based design, synthesising scholarship on CBE, film pedagogy, multimodal learning, visual literacy, reflective practice, and higher education. Findings indicate that cinematic pedagogy promotes experiential, participatory, reflective, and multimodal learning, enabling learners to interpret complex situations, communicate perspectives, collaborate, solve problems, and connect theory with lived realities. The study has implications for curriculum design, pedagogy, learner engagement, and authentic competency-based assessment.