Competency disparity between pre-service teacher education and in-service teaching requirements in Taiwan

The purpose of this study is to explore whether pre-service teacher education in Taiwan equips in-service teachers with the necessary knowledge and competency to meet the demands of the professional career. A questionnaire was developed to investigate such competency disparity. The questionnaire containing 44 items within six categories was distributed to 305 samples in Taiwan. With a return rate of 92.5%, 282 valid samples were returned and analyzed. The results of this study indicated that risk management and proactive thinking skills are the most significant factors in terms of competency disparity. Moreover, the results of this study showed that years of service, and size of school have a significant difference in the value system of competency disparity. The results of this study can be applied to change the program of prospective teacher education to enhance future teachers' performance.