A Study on Teaching Competencies of Teacher Candidates

A Study on Teaching Competencies of

Teacher Candidates

Assist. Prof. Dr. Süleyman Sadi SEFEROGLU Hacettepe University Faculty of Education

Department of Computer Education and Instructional TechnologyAnkara, 06800, TURKEY

e-Mail: sadi_at_hacettepe.edu.trWeb: http://yunus.hacettepe.edu.tr/~sadi/

International Conference on Education (ICE05) 6-9 December 2005, National University of Singapore

Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6-9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore -2-

Content

Introduction Purpose of the study Method

– Study group– Data collection instrument– Data analysis

Findings Conclusion


Introduction

Relationships between progress and schools/education

The quality of the instruction The qualified teachers The role of teacher training institutions The quality and standards


Introduction: Situation in Turkey

Restructuring teaching profession Beginning of the Turkish Republic (Early 1920s) Normal schools Village Institutes movement (1940s) 2 Year Colleges (1970s) 4 Year Colleges (1980s) Restructuring by Higher Education Council


Introduction: The Role of MONE

Teaching Competencies Commission Content of Teaching Competencies

– Instructional competencies, – General social knowledge and skills competencies,

and– Field-specific knowledge and skills competencies.


Introduction: The Role of MONE

The purpose of teaching competencies: Determining teacher training policies Pre-service training of teachers Selecting and appointing teachers Supervising and evaluating teachers In-service training Professional development of teachers


Teaching Competencies: Instructional competencies

1. Knowing the Students2. Planning Instruction3. Material Development4. Instruction5. Managing the Instruction6. Measurement and Evaluation7. Guidance8. Developing Basic Skills9. Helping Students with Special Needs10.Teaching Adults11.After School Activities12.Personal Development13.School Improvement14.Developing School-Environment Relations


Purpose of the study

Investigating the extent to which teacher candidates believe they possess the teacher competencies specified by the Ministry of Education.

Method


Method

This study, which investigates opinions of senior year students at Faculty of Education of Hacettepe University, in Ankara, Turkey, is a descriptive study.

It aimed to examine candidates’ opinion on the extent to which they believe they possess the teacher competencies.


Study Group

Departments f %

Computer Education and Instructional Technology

45 27,6

Early Childhood Education 35 21,5

Elementary Education 33 20,2

Mathematics Education 30 18,4

Science Education 20 12,3

Total 163 100,0

The study group consists of students from 4 departments at Faculty of Education of Hacettepe University.


Study Group

The distribution of the participants in terms of gender shows that 65% of them are female, and 35% are male.

Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technology (27,6%) has the highest and Science Education (12,3%) has the lowest number of participants.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

ComputerEducation and

Inst. Tech.

Early ChildhoodEducation

ElementaryEducation

MathematicsEducation

ScienceEducation

Departments

Per

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e


Data Collection Instrument

The teaching competencies developed by MONE – “instructional competencies”, – “general social-cultural knowledge and skills”, and – “field-specific knowledge and skills”.

Instructional competencies category has 14 sub-categories with 206 competency items. Those competency items were turned into an instrument.

This instrument was a 4 point Likert type scale with a 0.98 reliability coefficient.


Data Collection Instrument

The participants in this study were asked to evaluate their own competencies with reference

to the given items in the instrument using a scale ranging from “poor” to “excellent”. – Poor– Average– Good– Excellent


Data Analysis

For every teaching competency, in 14 competency categories, percentages and means were calculated.

t-Test and one way Anova tests were conducted to look for significant relationships between – competency scores and – different variables such as

• candidates’ gender and • the department.

Among the 14 categories, only significant points are mentioned in each category.

Findings

Distribution of Mean Values of Competency Categories

Competency Categories

1 Knowing the Students 3,09

2 Planning Instruction 3,05

3 Material Development 2,96

4. Instruction 3,15

5. Managing the Instruction 3,14

6. Measurement and Evaluation 3,03

7. Guidance 3,10

8. Developing Basic Skills 3,09

9. 9. Helping Students with Special Needs 2,76

10. Teaching Adults 2,91

11. After School Activities 3,02

12. Personal Development 3,20

13. School Improvement 2,97

14. Developing School-Environment Relations 3,19

x


2,5 2,6 2,7 2,8 2,9 3 3,1 3,2 3,3

1. Knowing the Students

2. Planning Instruction

3. Material Development

4. Instruction

5. Managing the Instruction

6. Measurement and Evaluation

7. Guidance

8. Developing Basic Skills

9. Helping Students with Special Needs

10. Teaching Adults

11. After School Activities

12. Personal Development

13. School Improvement

14. Developing School-Environment Relations

Co

mp

ete

nc

y C

ate

go

rie

s

Mean


1. Knowing the Students

Competency Category Mean

Knowing the students (10 items) Good +

Observing students’ interests and skills 3,26

Recognizing students’ learning style 2,97


2. Planning Instruction


Planning instruction (11 items) Good +

Determining the material of the instruction

3,52

Determining the content of the instruction

3,44

Preparing annual plans 2,75

Preparing monthly plans 2,88


3. Material Development


Material development (20 items) Good

Preparing homework 3,59

Preparing worksheets 3,39

Preparing video cassettes 2,48


4. Instruction


Instruction (35 items) Good +

Teaching with video 2,64

Teaching through lecturing 2,81


5. Managing the Instruction


Managing the instruction (21 items) Good +

Motivating students 3,40

Reinforcing positive behaviors 3,36

First-aid to students 2,80


6. Measurement and Evaluation


Measurement and evaluation (21 items) Good +

Evaluating his/her own teaching 3,21

Preparing matching type tests 3,17

Giving feedback to students 3,14

Determining the reliability and validity of the tests prepared

2,60


7. Guidance


Guidance (20 items) Good +

Guiding parents about their children 3,36

Listening to students, and helping them to express themselves

3,31

Guiding students with drug addiction problems

2,82


8. Developing Basic Skills


Developing basic skills (13 items) Good +

Helping students to develop Mathematics skills

3,25

Helping students to develop skills which needed to be a successful member of the society

3,20

Helping students to develop esthetic skills

2,93


9. Helping Students With Special Needs


Helping students with special needs (11 items)

Good

Helping students with special needs to develop planning their professional life skills

2,99

Using appropriate teaching techniques for students with special needs

2,55


10. Teaching Adults


Teaching adults (8 items) Good

Determining personal educational needs 3,00

Being ready to work with adults 2,99


11. After School Activities


After school activities (10 items) Good +

Participating PTA meetings 3,37

Cooperation with colleagues about students

3,22

Getting responsibilities in official commissions (such as purchasing)

2,74


12. Personal Development


Personal development (9 items) Good ++

Attending activities such as seminars, symposiums, conferences, etc. are very important

3,37

Sharing experiences with others is very important

3,33


13. School Improvement


School improvement (12 items) Good

Effective use of school properties 3,27

Helping administration on school-environment interaction

3,20

Creating financial resources 2,66


14. Developing School-Environment Relations


Developing school-environment relations (5 items)

Good ++

Introducing school to its environment 3,41

Cooperation with professional associations 3,01


Participants Evaluation of Themselves in Terms of Different

Variables t-Test and One Way Anova Tests to look for

significant relationships Significant differences based on gender and the

department Females outscored males in the

– “managing the instruction” and – “personal development” categories.


Participants Evaluation of Themselves in Terms of Different

Variables With regard to departmental differences,

participants from the Early Childhood Education department seem to outscore participants from the Computer Education and Instructional Technology department in the categories of – “knowing the students” and – “planning instruction.”


Conclusion

Although there is some variations, in general participants evaluated themselves as “good” or “excellent” for most of the competency items.

It was a positive finding that in at least half of the items, “poor” was not selected by any of the participants.

The participants’ evaluation of their competencies show significant differences based on gender and the department.


Conclusion

The participants see themselves unqualified in some competency items such as “helping students with special needs”, and “teaching adults”.

The reason why they found themselves unqualified is probably that their departments’ academic program simply does not include courses about those competencies.

Therefore, either MONE needs to revise those competency items, or academic programs of teacher education programs need to be revised.


Last Word

It is hoped that the findings of this study will guide various institutions, (which mainly are Faculties of Education, the Higher Education Council, and Ministry of National Education) in terms of current situation in teaching competencies of teacher candidates.

The findings of this study can be a guide for the designers of the in-service training activities in terms of the type of personal and professional improvement programs they can offer.


Thank You!!!

Assist. Prof. Dr. Süleyman Sadi SEFEROĞLU

• e-Mail: sadi_at_hacettepe.edu.tr• Web: http://yunus.hacettepe.edu.tr/~sadi/

Documents

A Study on Teaching Competencies of Teacher Candidates