TPACK implementation in higher education: an assessment of teacher educators’ competence

The study aimed to assess the perceived competency of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) among teacher educators in Ethiopian higher education institutions. The TPACK framework by Mishra and Koehler was employed to assess its implementation. In doing so, a quantitative research method was employed, involving 245 teacher educators from the selected higher education institutions. The study utilized the stratified random sampling technique to systematically select the participants. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Validity and reliability tests were conducted to ensure the questionnaire’s appropriateness and consistency. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Results revealed that teacher educators’ technology level of competence is the lowest when compared with the other TPACK subscales. Besides, the results indicated that there were no statistically significant differences between male and female teacher educators across the TPACK components, but significant differences were observed in Content Knowledge (CK), Technological Knowledge (TK) and overall TPACK based on their qualifications and teaching experiences. The findings also showed that there were significant differences in CK, TK and TCK across fields of study, though PK, PCK, TPK and overall TPACK showed no significant differences across the groups. The study highlights the fact that teacher educators’ current practices do not fully embrace the technological dimension of TPACK, which means there is a need for professional development in this area.