When it comes to learning and development, the acronym “KSA” can mean a couple of different things. The first is “knowledge, skills, and abilities.” This version of KSA was used heavily for years by the U.S. Government as part of their candidate screening process. It refers to the skill sets an individual must possess to be considered for a specific position.
Another KSA, “Knowledge, skills, and attributes,” represents the cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains presented in Bloom’s Taxonomy. This version of KSA probably hits a little closer to home for most learning professionals. Knowledge, skills, and attributes, as discussed here, can be defined as follows:
Knowledge: The information required to effectively accomplish a step, task, or job. Knowledge involves storing and recalling information and refers to learning names, facts, processes, and principles. Examples include “know computer nomenclature,” “know the sequence of operations,” “know the components of a car,” etc.
Cognitive Domain: Involves knowledge and the development of intellectual skills. This includes recalling or recognizing specific facts, procedural patterns, and concepts.
Skills: The ability to perform an activity that contributes to accomplishing a step, task, event, or job. Examples include “being able to disassemble a computer,” “creating a filing system,” etc. Skills can be defined as expertness, practiced ability, facility in doing something, or dexterity.
Psychomotor Domain: Involves physical movement, coordination, and use of the motor-skills. Development of these skills requires practice and execution, measured in speed, precision, distance, process steps, or techniques.
Attributes: The competencies required to perform an observable behavior or behavior that results in an observable product or established ways of responding to people or situations based on our beliefs, values, and assumptions.
Affective Domain: Concerns how we deal with things emotionally, such as feelings, values, appreciation, enthusiasm, motivations, and attitudes.
As you can probably guess, what the “A” in KSA originally stood for has been debated for decades and actually varies between the use of “abilities,” “attitudes,” and “attributes.” I even find myself switching between abilities and attitudes. My advice is to not sweat the small stuff. However, for those who like researching origins, I did a little digging and found that the usage of knowledge, skills, and abilities together as one concept can be traced as far back as 1956 to a discussion regarding the cognitive domain in the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. The Classification of Educational Goals (Bloom et al., 1956) as noted below.
“We initially limited ourselves to those objectives commonly referred to as knowledge, intellectual abilities, and intellectual skills” (p. 15).
OK, that actually comes out to be “KAS,” but you get the idea, and besides, I think “KSA” rolls off the tongue easier. I also found this statement interesting because it leads me to believe that the phrase “knowledge, skills, and abilities” may have been used before 1956. I always enjoy a good research treasure hunt, so I’ll keep digging. If you know of any earlier uses of the phrase “knowledge, skills, and abilities,” let me know.
I’ll verify your source and update this article accordingly. (Along with giving you credit for the find!)
Happy Hunting!
Cheers,
Dr. D