Developing a KSV Framework for School Teachers with a Competency Assessment Mechanism towards 21st Century Learning Design

Abstract

The current demands placed on school teachers require not only subject knowledge but also overall professionalism in terms of teaching competencies, skills, and professional values. Yet, current models of teaching competency tend to be conceptualistically fragmented in the sense that knowledge, skills, and professional values are viewed separately without any provision for measurable indicators needed to direct the process of professional development at the component and stage-wise levels. It becomes even more problematic within the context of India, which mandates teachers’ competency in terms of knowledge, skills, and professional values through its National Education Policy of 2020. This paper makes its attempt to develop the KSV framework for assessing teacher competencies within schools, through application of three proven theories; the Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) theory proposed by Shulman (1987); the partnership for 21st century learning’s (2019) four-competency framework; and professional ethics and the ethics of care theories. Through conceptualization, it proposes ten elements of the framework in three major categories: Knowledge (learner knowledge, content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge); skills (critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication); and values (care, respect, responsibility). Each category is further broken down into progressional levels that can be measured and applied through indicators for each. It is worth noting that while knowledge and skills have a five-level progression with clear criteria, values have a different four-depth progression based on their nature as professional dispositions rather than add-on competencies.