Exploring University Teachers’ Instructional Competencies Model Based on Exploratory Factor Analysis in Guizhou, China

Abstract

Instructional competencies are the necessary skills and abilities that instructors should possess to carry out their main responsibility effectively, that is, to teach the students. Instructors at university also need to be competent so that they can prepare, deliver, and evaluate instruction properly. The purposes of this study were to study the factors that contributed to instructional competency and identified significant instructional competencies for university instructors in China. This quantitative study applied exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (EFA and CFA) to determine the instructional competencies. The sample was 204 instructors from a university in Guizhou, China. Results from the initial exploratory factor analysis found eleven instructional competencies which were reduced to nine competencies upon analysis using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA): teaching needs analysis, teaching design, professional knowledge, pedagogical reflection, pedagogical optimization, pedagogical innovation, pedagogical technology knowledge, and professional ethics. Nine competencies were confirmed. Future benefits include determining areas of instructional competencies for instructor improvement to plan for and evaluate instructional competency in the faculty members and the design and implementation of targeted training programs for maximum effectiveness.