Chinese Secondary School Teachers

Australian Journal of Teacher Education Manuscript 6413 Australian Journal of Teacher Education Chinese Secondary School Teachers' Perceptions of Teacher Candidates' Teaching Ability and Performance Liyuan Chen1 Hengshui University Chia Ching Tu 2* Krirk University Abstract: This study investigated secondary school teachers' beliefs about teacher educators’ teaching competencies and performance. Additionally, it compared the differences between the perceived importance of teaching competencies and the teaching performance level among teachers from different backgrounds. The Delphi method was first used to identify teaching competency items followed by a questionnaire survey to collect data from secondary school teachers in Hebei Province, China. Out of 700 questionnaires that were sent out, 539 valid questionnaires were returned. Secondary school teachers were highly aware of the importance of teaching competencies but did not possess these competencies. An importanceperformance analysis (IPA) showed that 16 of the 31 assessed professional competencies were categorized into the ‘continue to maintain zone’, one in the ‘improve zone’, 9 in the ‘low-priority zone’ and 5 in the ‘overemphasis zone’. Keywords: secondary school teachers; teacher candidates; teaching competence; Delphi analysis; importance-performance analysis Note: This study was supported by the 2023 Hebei Provincial Social Science Development Research Project (Project No. 20230305029). Introduction Teacher development is designed to enhance an individual's knowledge and skills in areas that are essential for teacher performance, including teaching, research, and management (Steinert, 2000). Teachers must develop competencies related to teaching (Dath, Iobst & Collaborators, 2010). In 2018, China's Ministry of Education issued the Opinions on the Implementation of the Excellent Teacher Training Program 2.0 to stringently evaluate Vol 50 – Issue 3, October 2025 35 Australian Journal of Teacher Education teachers' pre-service teaching ability and strengthen teacher training. Assessing teacher candidates' teaching competencies ensures quality future teaching, develops teachers’ careers and helps them excel. However, the assessment of teacher candidates in higher education in China is limited by problems such as the lack of research on teacher candidates' teaching competencies, lack of a clear and operational assessment system, over-reliance on assessments with vague criteria, and the neglect of quantitative formative assessments (Zhang et al., 2021). Over the past decades, researchers have extensively used the Technology Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework (Mishra & Koehler, 2006) to design teacher education programs. Contemporary pedagogical frameworks focus on the evaluation of in-service teachers, (Grossman et al., 2013; Hamre et al., 2012; Kersting et al., 2012) but not the evaluation of future teacher candidates. Teacher candidates acquire professional knowledge mainly during university education (Blömeke, et al., 2014; Stürmer et al., 2013). This study developed and validated a new more concise assessment tool using the Delphi method and conducted an importance-expressiveness analysis with a sample of teacher candidates in secondary education, i.e., teachers who are working as secondary school teachers after graduation. First, a framework of teaching competencies was constructed to help teacher candidates set professional learning goals followed by an analysis of different competency items necessary for their development throughout their careers. An importanceperformance analysis of perceptions of teacher candidates' teaching competencies helps teacher candidates assess their competency levels and provides them with valuable feedback. Additionally, it enables pre-service and in-service teachers to find practical means of bridging the gap between pre-service and post-service teaching competencies’ development. Specifically, this study addressed the following objectives: (1) To develop an indicator system for assessing teacher candidates’ teaching abilities. (2) To understand secondary school teachers' beliefs about the importance of teaching competencies and their level of performance of the same teaching competencies. Literature Review Teaching Competencies Competency not only refers to knowledge and skills but also the ability to meet complex needs through the use and mobilization of psychosocial resources (including skills and attitudes) in each context (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, 2005). Teachers must possess certain basic competencies to meet the demands of teaching and learning. Thus teaching competencies broadly refer to the teachers’ knowledge, skills, and concepts related to teaching and learning that can be adapted to different teaching contexts to achieve teaching objectives (Parry 1996; Olson & Wyett, 2000). Teaching competencies are categorized into four dimensions: knowledge, skills, professional behavior, and disposition (Tigelaar et al., 2004; Swank et al., 2021; Swank & Houseknecht, 2019; Qin & Chen, 2021). Vol 50 – Issue 3, October 2025 36 Australian Journal of Teacher Education Detailed Description of the Evaluation pf Teaching Competencies Tigelaar et al. (2004) proposed four competency domains for effective teaching, namely personal characteristics, knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Also, Swank and Houseknecht (2019) reported four domains for counselors' educational teaching competencies including knowledge, skills, professional behaviors, and dispositions. Moreover, Qin and Chen (2021) posited four domains for Chinese teacher educators' competencies for teaching practice that included teacher ethics, teaching, nurturing, and development. This study analyzed the International Board of Standards of Training, Performance, and Instruction (IBSTPI), a core content framework for teacher training in the UK, the Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC), the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), and the Chinese Professional Standards for Teachers and Professional Certification Standards for Teachers in identifying the most basic teaching competency domains. Finally, the selected competencies were categorized into teacher practice competencies, teaching competencies, educational ability, and development ability which are presented subsequently. Teacher ethics: Four levels of evaluation indicators were established under this competency. ‘Strengthen moral education for cultivating people’ which was examined from the perspective of behavior level of education and teaching practice. ‘Teacher moral code’ was observed from the perspectives of laws and regulations, professional ethics, and modeling. ‘Professional identity’ was evaluated based on two dimensions; career planning and identification with the teaching profession. ‘Caring for students’ was assessed based on the ability of trainee teachers to (...truncated)