Analyzing Relationship between Four Teacher Competence Areas and Commitment to Teaching

Abstract

The success of education depends on highly competent teachers committed to stay in the teaching profession. In agricultural education, the need for teachers committed to teaching agriculture is heightened by the identified shortage of teachers. Previous research has linked teacher competence, most commonly operationalized as self-efficacy, and commitment to teaching. However, research has not explored the relationship between specific teacher competence areas in agricultural education and commitment to teaching. In this study, we explored the relationship between four discipline-specific competence areas (i.e., intra-curricular facilitation, pedagogy, program management, and technical knowledge) and commitment to teaching among school-based agriculture teachers. First, teacher competence in the four areas were compared by career phase, with statistically different levels of intra-curricular facilitation competence identified among teachers with varying levels of teaching experience. Therefore, career phase was included when analyzing the relationship between teacher competence and commitment to teaching. The final model, predicting commitment to teaching, was statistically significant. One of the four competence areas, technical knowledge, was identified as a statistically significant, positive predictor of commitment to teaching. The findings are discussed along with implications for teacher education and recommendations for further research.