Teacher Professional Development for Equitable Science Education in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: An Example of a Teacher Competency Framework

Higher-order thinking in science education requires teachers to integrate disciplinary knowledge with pedagogical practices that support students’ reasoning, problem-solving, evaluation, and reflection. This paper examines the development and operationalisation of the Higher-Order Thinking, Inclusion and Equity (HOTIE) competency framework within the Connected Learning for STEM (CL4STEM) professional learning programme. Drawing on the Refined Consensus Model of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), the framework conceptualises competencies for promoting higher-order thinking alongside equity and inclusion in science classrooms. The study examines how the framework was translated into professional learning modules, lesson planning and reflection tools, communities of practice, and instruments for examining classroom practice. Evidence from implementation across three resource-constrained contexts was analysed to examine how HOTIE was used. The analysis illustrates how abstract competency descriptors can be translated into concrete planning, teaching, and reflection processes, while highlighting variation associated with resources, and local implementation conditions. The findings are interpreted as evidence of the use and operationalisation of HOTIE, rather than as independent evidence of intervention effectiveness or student outcomes. The paper contributes an account of how a higher-order thinking–PCK-oriented competency framework can structure science teacher professional learning in resource-constrained settings.