Importance of Teaching Competencies for Secondary Teachers in North Carolina as Perceived by Educational Practitioners and Policy Makers

The purposes of this study were to determine if there were any consensus among superintendents, chairpersons of the boards of education, and principals in North Carolina relative to the perceived importance of teaching competencies for the secondary teacher and to identify the competencies considered most and least critical to secondary teacher job performance. The North Carolina Teacher Performance Appraisal Instrument competencies were used for this study. The 34 competencies were grouped under 10 major functions which were also analyzed for this study.

Data were gathered from 289 respondents who were mailed a questionnaire containing the 34 competency statements in the North Carolina Teacher Performance Instrument. Respondents were asked to rate each competency and to select what they perceived to be the five most and five least critical competencies to the secondary teacher. Information concerning the highest earned academic degree and the number of years of educational administration or school board experience was taken from the questionnaire while information about the size, location, and classification of the school district was gathered through other means. The returns were 63 percent.

Major findings of this study were:

1.The competency of planning, presenting, practicing, and correcting student work was rated most often by all respondents as a most important competency for secondary teachers.

2. The major function of individualizing instruction was rated most often as of very high importance and the most critical function of teacher competency for secondary teachers.

3. The competency of carrying out duties relative to energy conservation was rated most often by all respondents as a least important competency for secondary teachers.

4. The geographic region of the state in which the school district was located and the size of the district produced differences in the perceived importance of competencies for secondary teachers.

5. The highest earned degree significantly affected the value superintendents and principals placed on certain competencies for secondary teachers.