What Competences Are Promoting in University Teacher Training Programs? A Study of Spanish Public Universities

Abstract

The aim of the study is to assess the extent to which university teacher training in Spain matches with the literature framework about teaching competencies in higher education. The absence of a generic definition of what it means to be a competent teacher and the need for a competency profile on which to base the study, leads to undertake an initial bibliometric review of the main educational research databases ERIC, PsycINFO and Psychology Database. The studies were selected to extract a categorical classification that allowed to code the content analysis of the training programs offered in 41 Spanish public universities in seven competencies: content-related competency (research), personal, pedagogical, social, communicative, digital and technological and ecological. 2425 training courses were coded and analyzed with Maxqda version 20.4.2 and Excel database. The findings show that university teachers receive more training in competencies related to technology, pedagogy, and disciplinary content-research, and less training in personal and ecological competencies. The conclusion of the study highlights the lack of consensus between literature review and programs on what constitutes good teaching among teachers and students and the fact that continuing professional development remains dependent on teacher initiative. Keywords: university teacher competence, university teacher training, descriptive analysis, Spanish context, teacher training