Fanāvarī-i āmūzish (Sep 2018)
A comparison of the professional qualifications among teachers graduated from Farhangian University, former Teacher Education Centers and other universities
Abstract
Background and Objectives:In the ideals proposed by experts for education systems in the twenty-first century, the teacher is mentioned as the fulcrum of any change. Competence is a set of knowledge, skills and abilities of a particular job that makes a person successful in performing tasks. In recent educational research, the term professional competence is used to describe the specific prerequisites that teachers need to succeed in their work. It is assumed that this professional competence can be learned and taught. Professional competence includes having professional knowledge as well as motivational and emotional aspects. Professional knowledge is divided into different types such as content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge and pedagogical-psychological knowledge. A teacher's competence refers to his or her ability to adequately meet the demands and requirements of the teaching profession, using an integrated set of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that manifest in the teacher's performance and response. Based on the growth model of teachers' professional competence, the psychological characteristics of the teacher seem to play an important role in gaining learning opportunities. In addition, it has been suggested that beyond specific subject knowledge, more aspects of the teacher, such as teachers' beliefs and motivational and emotional characteristics, are important prerequisites for educating and motivating students. The aim of this study is to investigate professional qualifications among teachers graduated from Farhangian University, former Teacher Education Centers and other universities. Methods: The method of the study is causal-comparative. The sample was comprised of 210 teachers in three groups that graduated from Farhangian University, former Teacher Education Centers and other universities such that the groups were similar in demographic factors. All subjects assessed by teacher professional qualifications questionnaire. The results of two-way analysis of variance show that teachers’ professional qualifications in three groups are different. Findings: The results of the cognitive qualification show that Farhangian University’s graduates have the best state. In management qualification, the difference between Farhangian University’s graduates and former Teacher Education Centers’ graduates is not significant but this difference is significant when other universities’ graduates are considered. Attitude qualification difference is not significant between the groups. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the professional competence of teachers is significantly different. The cognitive competence of Farhangian University graduates is higher than other graduates. Graduates of teacher training centers also have higher cognitive competencies compared to graduates of other universities. In terms of managerial competence, the graduates of Farhangian University have not shown a significant difference with the graduates of teacher training centers, but they are in a better position compared to the group of graduates of other universities. In this case, the difference between former teacher training graduates and other universities is not significant. In attitudinal competence, the difference between groups of teachers is not significant, meaning that these three categories have equally developed attitudinal competence in their graduates.
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