Factors Influencing Vocational Education and Training Teachers’ Professional Competence Based on a Large-Scale Diagnostic Method: A Decade of Data from China

Zhixin Zhang, Jinyou Tian, Zhiqun Zhao (), Wei Zhou, Fangfang Sun, Yongping Que and Xingguo He
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Zhixin Zhang: College of Education, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China
Jinyou Tian: College of Education, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China
Zhiqun Zhao: Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Wei Zhou: School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China
Fangfang Sun: Vocational Education Research Institute, Hebei Normal University of Science and Technology, Qinhuangdao 066004, China
Yongping Que: Vocational Education Technology, Guangxi Vocational College of Technology and Business, Nanning 530008, China
Xingguo He: Development Research Center, Hangzhou Vocational and Technical College, Hangzhou 310016, China

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 23, 1-17

Abstract: China has the world’s most extensive vocational education and training (VET) system, and VET teachers are central to training high-quality technical and skilled workers. This study aimed to explore the factors influencing VET teachers’ professional competence based on empirical research. We used a large-scale diagnostic method based on the competence measurement of VET, the teachers’ professional competence model. Comprehensive diagnostic tasks, assessment criteria, and test protocols jointly developed by Chinese and German researchers were used to diagnose professional competence. Background questionnaires were collected from 601 VET teachers in 39 vocational colleges and schools in China over ten years. Path analysis was used to explore factors influencing the professional competence of VET teachers. The study found that skill awards, highest academic degree, course type (practical over theoretical), highest level of professional qualification, and enterprise support positively influenced professional competence. School support negatively influenced VET teachers’ professional competence. Organizational identification mediated the relationship between enterprise support, school support, and professional competence. However, professional identity or learning strategy aren’t mediated the relationship between enterprise support, school support, and professional competence. This study provides an empirical basis for enhancing VET teachers’ professional competence and facilitating further development of theories regarding the professional competence of VET teachers.

Keywords: vocational education and training; large-scale diagnostic method; VET teachers; professional competence; influencing factors (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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