The alignment of pre-service teachers’ perceptions of 21st-century competencies with CTEM student profile

Türkiye Yüzyılı Maarif Modeli, whose English translation is the Century of Türkiye Education Model, is an educational framework aimed at nurturing individuals capable of shaping the future whilst remaining committed to cultural and social values. One of the key missions of the model is the Student Profile it seeks to cultivate. Teachers play a critical role in achieving the characteristics and components of the target student profile, as they are the ones who will deliver the curriculum. This research investigates the perceptions of pre-service teachers, the teachers of the future, regarding the competencies expected of 21st-century teachers and examines the extent to which these perceptions align with the characteristics and components of the Student Profile defined within the model framework. Adopting phenomenological design from qualitative research methods, the sample of this study consists of 44 pre-service teachers enrolled at a faculty of education. The findings, analyzed using content analysis, indicate that the competencies expressed by the participants only partially align with specific dimensions of the model Student Profile; however, when the Common Text is considered holistically, it can be seen that there is an alignment. Findings highlight the critical role of teacher education in operationalizing the model and offer recommendations for restructuring the training of prospective teachers in line with contemporary educational paradigms.