Perceived Effectiveness of Teacher Education Programs on the Professional Competencies of Beginning Teachers

Abstract

This study sought to determine the usefulness of teacher education programs by surveying beginning teachers with up to five years of experience about their perception of the applicability of teacher education programs to actual classroom teaching. A questionnaire survey with a stratified random sampling of 1,909 senior high schools/vocational schools, junior high schools, and primary schools in Taiwan yielded 1,314 valid responses. The results showed that teacher education courses that relate to teaching techniques are more effective for actual teaching, but beginning teachers still need more opportunities for teaching practice to improve their teaching skills.