Factors which influence the perception of competences for the teaching profession

This article analyses the competences required for academic teaching in relation to the demographic and functional characteristics of university teachers. Based on replies from 282 lecturers to the questionnaire applied in a sample of convenience, an analysis of construct reliability and validation was carried out, generating a scale for evaluating the perception of those competences. By means of multivariable techniques, two groups of lecturers were identified: experienced and new lecturers. The first, made up of older and more experienced lecturers, values above all competences related to interpersonal skills, didacticpedagogical capacity and openness to innovation when compared to the second group. The new professionals, with less time in the University and less teaching experience, were more focused on obtaining titles. They revealed a lack of understanding of what universities expect from them and, above all, what competences they need to develop in order to reach the level of experienced lecturers.

teaching competences; scale of perception of teaching competences; competitiveness of the private university