Beyond teaching: Lifelong learning competencies of vocational teachers

Abstract

The aim of this research is to determine the perception levels of vocational teachers regarding their lifelong learning competencies and to examine whether these perceptions differ according to various demographic variables. The study group consisted of 107 vocational teachers working in vocational and technical secondary schools during the 2023-2024 academic year. The Lifelong Learning (Updated) Key Competencies Scale was used as a data collection tool. The findings show that vocational teachers generally have a high level of lifelong learning competencies. Teachers received the highest scores in the personal, social, and learning-to-learn competency dimensions, and the lowest scores in the multilingualism competency dimension. A significant difference was found in favor of male teachers according to the gender variable, and a significant difference was found in the digital competency scores of teachers working in the fields of information technology and justice according to the branch variable. In contrast, no significant differences were found based on age, educational status, higher education institution graduated from, and professional seniority. The research reveals the lifelong learning competencies of vocational teachers based on different branches, providing up-to-date data for planning professional development policies, improving in-service training practices, and research in the field of vocational and technical education.