Job Competency and Combinations of Teachers' Career Development Experiences and Perceptions

Purpose: This study aims to explore combinations of teachers’ career development experiences and perception across the pre-service, induction, and in-service stages that explain higher job competency-specifically ‘instructional competency’, ‘student-life and career guidance competency’, and ‘classroom and school management competency’. Methods: This study used response data from 1,421 secondary teachers who participated in the second wave of the Seoul Teacher Longitudinal Study 2020, and applied Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). Results: First, regarding the pre-service stage, teachers’ perception that their teacher education programs were practically useful emerged as a major condition in combinations explaining higher student guidance competency as well as management competency. While teacher certification pathways appeared in mixed patterns across combinations explaining higher job competency, alternative certification pathways showed relatively more frequently. Second, at the induction stage, low extrinsic motivation and prior work experience outside of teaching were more often present in the combinations associated with higher competency than their opposite conditions. Third, regarding the in-service stage, orientation toward promotion to educational administrative positions and plans to remain in teaching until retirement showed mixed patterns. Among these, promotion-oriented goals appeared more frequently in combinations explaining higher management competency, while plans to stay until retirement appeared somewhat consistently in combinations for both student guidance and management competency. Conclusion: This study suggests the need for diverse certification pathways, practice-oriented curricula for pre-service teachers, support for broader career experiences, and tailored assistance for career goals such as specialization in educational administration, research, or teaching and learning.