Beginning teachers’ conceptions of competency: implications to educational policy and teacher education in Malaysia

When any innovations or measurement procedures are introduced into the education system to improve or judge the quality of its teaching force, beginning teachers often have to adapt to these new concepts of what constitute a high quality teaching. This article contends that these new concepts neithe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Educational research for policy and practice Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 65 - 79
Main Authors: Goh, Pauline Swee Choo, Wong, Kung Teck
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.02.2014
Springer
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:
Beginning Teachers
Education
Education policy
Educational Policy
Educational Policy and Politics
Educational Quality
Faculty Development
Foreign Countries
International and Comparative Education
Malaysia
Measurement
Professional development
Quality of education
Role
Secondary School Teachers
Self Efficacy
Studies
Teacher Attitudes
Teacher Competencies
Teacher Education
Teacher Effectiveness
Teacher Evaluation
Teachers
Urban Schools
Malaysia
Beginning teachers
Teacher education
Malaysia
Conceptions of competency
Educational policies
ISSN:1570-2081, 1573-1723
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:When any innovations or measurement procedures are introduced into the education system to improve or judge the quality of its teaching force, beginning teachers often have to adapt to these new concepts of what constitute a high quality teaching. This article contends that these new concepts neither necessarily match beginning teachers’ own conceptions about their own competency nor has it given beginning teachers a chance to be heard. This study provides an opportunity for beginning teachers’ ‘voices’ to be heard through phenomenography which is an interpretive research approach to discover what beginning teachers in Malaysia conceive and understand as competence in relation to what they do every day as teachers. The main finding of this study is the key role played by beginning teachers’ conceptions of competency which has provided strong implications for educational policies and teacher education. The findings suggest that teachers need to be represented in any quality improvement measures. Careful attention should also be paid to the school systems and to teacher training programmes to support and encourage teachers in their professional growth as competent teachers.
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ISSN:1570-2081
1573-1723
DOI:10.1007/s10671-013-9147-3