Supporting teachers' sense of competence : effects of perceived challenges and coping strategies

The complexity of teacher education today is reflected in the changing requirements and the dynamic goal of developing and maintaining competencies, while using different strategies to meet the expectations of changing society. As teachers continue their professionalism, they experience the interplay between the challenges encountered, competence perceived, and coping strategies used to deal with professional requirements. It is unclear whether a similar or different pattern lies in teachers' perceptions of challenge and competence at different career stages, and how challenges of changing professional requirements and level of engagement in coping activities are associated with these perceptions. This study examined the perceived challenge and competence of teachers at different career stages among four major professional requirements, and how they related to coping strategies. The four professional requirements of teachers include (a) their role as a teacher; (b) capacity of teaching tailored for individual students' need; (c) capacity of managing the class; and (d) their cooperation with colleagues within the school. A total of 642 teachers at different career stages (pre-service, beginning, and experienced) responded to a questionnaire measuring their perceptions of challenges and competences in these four professional requirements, and their level of engagement in using three coping strategies (task-oriented, emotion-oriented, and avoidance strategies). Beginning teachers were found to experience a lower sense of competence in all four requirements than pre-service teachers and experienced teachers, but teachers' experiences of challenge varied at different stages. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), coping strategies and perceived challenge were found to have different levels of contribution to teachers' sense of competence. The findings call for attention and devices to facilitate new teachers in maintaining their sense of competence by regulating stress arising from the challenges they encounter, and to use coping strategies appropriately.