This paper is designed to assist management development tutors, course directors, universities and other providers in implementing education and training for aspiring and incumbent headteachers. The purposes of the paper are to focus on 'competence' and to explore the background and theoretical framework of the occupational standards approach, which is one of the competence-based approaches. The main stress of competence falls on 'able to do', rather than just 'knowing'. This idea has been very influential to the business, education, and other professional world. The occupational standards approach stresses the performance required of headteachers in terms of outcomes. This provides a basis for the National Standards for Headteachers, and national training programmes in the UK, e.g. National Qualifications for Headteachers (NPQH), Headteacher's Leadership And Management Programme (HEADLAMP). Examining on this approach is apparently useful in establishing the professional schools and the Master courses for headteachers in Japan. The structure of the paper is as follows : Chapter II presents the background that the occupational standards approach has been introduced to education and training for headteachers. The following points need to be emphasized : first, the shift of the aim of training from learning academic knowledge to improvement of performance, second, the need for quality assurance by setting the standard and the qualification system. In Chapter III, the theoretical framework of the approach is described. This chapter is divided into 6 sections which characterize the approach and each of them is examined : job demands, functional analysis, the process of developing the standard, professional development, assessment and purposes of using the standards. Then finally, I conclude by stating some problems the occupational standards approach has.