TEACHER COMPETENCY IN EDUCATION: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW OF DIMENSIONS AND DETERMINANTS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35631/IJEPC.1164003Keywords:
Competency Determinants, Competency Dimensions, Professional Competence, Teacher CompetencyAbstract
Teacher competency has become a critical area of educational research due to rapid technological advancement, evolving pedagogical demands, and increasing expectations for inclusive and learner-centred education. Despite extensive scholarly attention, the dimensions and determinants of teacher competency remain fragmented across different educational contexts and theoretical perspectives. Therefore, this study systematically reviews recent empirical evidence to identify the major dimensions and determinants shaping teacher competency in contemporary education. A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was undertaken in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses (PRISMA) framework. Comprehensive searches were carried out within the Web of Science (WoS) as well as Scopus databases using the keywords “Teacher Competence”, “Professional Competence”, “Competency Dimensions”, and “Competency Determinants”. The search process was confined to journal articles published from 2024 to 2026. Following identification, screening, eligibility, and quality assessment procedures, 35 articles were retained for the final analysis. The results highlighted three predominant themes. The first theme, Digital, AI, and Technology-Enhanced Teacher Competence, highlights the growing importance of digital literacy, artificial intelligence readiness, online teaching competency, technological pedagogical knowledge, and technology integration as essential determinants of teacher effectiveness. The second theme, Pedagogical, Disciplinary, as well as Professional Competency Frameworks, emphasizes pedagogical expertise, disciplinary knowledge, professional identity, self-efficacy, leadership, and sustainability-oriented competencies as core dimensions of teacher development. The third theme, Inclusive, Relational, and Learner-Centred Teaching Competence, underscores the significance of inclusive practices, teacher–student relationships, socio-emotional competence, learner engagement, and responsiveness to diverse learning needs. Collectively, the reviewed studies demonstrate that teacher competency refers to a multifaceted construct influenced by pedagogical, technological, relational, professional, as well as contextual dimensions. The study contributes a contemporary synthesis of teacher competency literature and presents an extensive framework to inform future investigations, teacher preparation programmes, as well as educational policy development in increasingly complex learning environments.
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