Professional competencies which characterise the successful teacher : Maltese views and implications

Abstract

The attempt to define the competencies of a successful teacher and to use these as a means of informing and evaluating the curriculum of initial teacher training has a substantial history abroad. The main aim of this dissertation was to bring this debate to the local situation by investigating within the Faculty of Education the nature and scope of competencies. The study was conducted between January-March 1998 and it was carried out by distributing 32 questionnaires amongst academic members of the Faculty of Education and by conducting 17 interviews. The questionnaire was designed to extract the Faculty members' disposition towards competencies and a competencies-based initial teacher training. It was also designed to elicit those competencies which the Faculty members rated highest in order of importance for the making of a successful teacher. The interviews were designed to obtain an in-depth picture of what competencies a teacher should develop to teach effectively a particular subject at Primary level. Through the analysis of the data, it was revealed that the majority of the members agreed with a competencies-based initial teacher training but only when competencies were taken to include not only the observable teaching skills but also the professional values, attitudes and knowledge.