PREPARATION AND COMPETENCE OF INTENDING AND BEGINNING TEACHERS IN MALTA

The transition from training to practice and the early years of their career are particularly difficult in Malta because of the lack of prof essional support provided to teachers in their beginning years of teac hing. This study investigates the relationship between training and te aching competence as viewed by intending and beginning teachers. The r elationship between perceived levels of preparation and competence was investigated through a survey conducted among the whole population of final year students and recent graduates of the BEd (Hons) degree cou rse run by the Faculty of Education of the University of Malta. Teachi ng skills included in the survey are those which deal with the teachin g of specific subject areas of the school curriculum, general teaching skills specific to tile classroom situation and those which involve w ider pastoral and interpersonal skills. The interplay between percepti ons of preparation and competence for both student and beginning teach ers is examined. The beginning teachers' competence in the teaching sk ills specific to the classroom situation and the teaching of the subje ct areas of the school curriculum was found to be closely related to t heir preparation. Those skills which involve wirier pastoral and inter personal skills seem to stern more from their classroom experience tha n from the preparation they have received. Perceptions of preparation change with increasing experience, as does teachers' sense of competen ce in different aspects of the task. There is relatively high congruen ce between the observed teaching ability by experienced education offi cers and tile self-perceptions of beginning teachers.