International Journal of Science and Technology (IJST)

Competence without Competitiveness: Integrating Entrustable Professional Activities with Cultural–Historical Activity Theory for Veterinary, Animal, and Health Sciences

Competency-based education in veterinary, animal, and health sciences requires an approach that privileges competence and cooperation over competitiveness. This manuscript proposes and develops a scientific–philosophical model that synthesizes Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) with Cultural–Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) to support workplace-based learning across real settings such as clinics, farms, laboratories, slaughterhouses, and public-health agencies. The argument proceeds from the claim that learning ought to be oriented not only toward transforming objects—improving welfare indices, reducing disease prevalence, strengthening data integrity—but also toward forming subjects and communities capable of redesigning their tools, rules, and media. After reviewing key developments in the EPA literature and in CHAT, we articulate a method of conceptual integration that yields a coherent delegation grammar linked to activity-system analysis. We then narrate the supervision continuum in veterinary terms, exemplifying the five EPA supervision levels, including widely used expanded sublevels, in small-animal, equine, food-animal, public-health, and research contexts. A design for individualization is presented that draws on Self-Determination Theory, Cognitive Load Theory, Deliberate Practice, Desirable Difficulties, and Universal Design for Learning. Finally, we propose a programmatic, formative assessment approach grounded in activity-theoretical analysis, where diverse evidence streams are aggregated into fair, transparent entrustment decisions. The framework is suitable for students, educators, professionals, and researchers, and it is intended to be deployed in real workplaces rather than confined to classrooms.