Development of Competency Profiles in the Training and Further Training of VET Teachers (Project 2)

Project 2 of the research program "Professional Minds" deals with the implementation of the developed competency profiles (Subproject 1) in the practical field. The aim is to design competency profile-specific training and further training and to empirically prove their effectiveness in controlled intervention studies.

Project 2 of the research program 1 "Professional Minds" focuses on initiating and supporting the implementation of the results of Project 1 (link) in the practical fields by means of intervention studies. The aim is to integrate the 45 developed competency profiles (link) in the training and further training of VET teachers as a basis for quality assurance and development. The research question is on how the training of specific competency profiles (intervention) can optimally be designed. In a pilot intervention study, in collaboration with the Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (SFIVET) in Zollikofen, the competency profile "giving supportive feedback" was implemented in the training of prospective VET teachers. A pre/post control design (parallel-group comparison) was selected in order to study the effect of the developed training on the feedback competence and performance of the participating teacher students (N=38). Competency development was measured by means of the Advocatory Approach (link). For the measurement of the feedback performance, the students’ classes were filmed. The results of the pilot study indicate that intensive training spread over a whole training module (and not only single training units) is needed for the development of competency profiles. The contents of the training have to be optimally aligned with the learning targets. Furthermore, efforts must be undertaken to improve the procedure of performance record in the participants’’ classes. On the basis of this pilot study, further controlled intervention studies are to be realized in the continuation of the research program.