SUBJECT-SPECIFIC COMPETENCIES OF SLOVENIAN PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHERS REGARDING GENDER AND YEARS OF TEACHING

This cross-sectional study was designed to analyse the subject-specific professional competencies of Slovenian physical education teachers (PETs) according to their gender and years of teaching. The participants evaluated their professional competencies (N=40) with self-administered questionnaire on a four-level Likert scale. Factor analysis is used for the examination of the internal structure of the competencies field and MANOVA is used to determine differences in belief statements about their competencies between three groups of PETs with different gender and years of teaching. There is a discrepancy in self-efficacy to teach physical education (PE) between PETs of both genders with less years of teaching (<10y) and those with more years of teaching (>20). Teachers with less years of teaching (<10y) evaluated their own competencies higher on the factor Teaching methods (p < .001), while teachers with more years of teaching (>20y) on the factor Pedagogical and motivational strategies (p < .001). Female PETs with more years of teaching (>20y) evaluated their General didactic knowledge higher than their male counterparts (p = .019), while men evaluated their competencies higher on the factor Social aspects of sport (p = .006). Regardless of gender, however, on the factor Social aspects of sport, PETs with more years of teaching (>20y) evaluated their competencies higher than their counterparts with less years of teaching (<10y) (p = .013). The results of the survey confirm the need for the reintroduction of internships, mentoring by more experienced teachers to colleagues with less seniority, and a systematic process of continuous professional development, especially for teacher trainers.