Formation of methodological competence of future special education teachers in the process of practice-oriented training

Abstract

This research is based on an empirical analysis of the impact of practice-oriented training on the formation of methodological competence of future special education teachers. In today's inclusive education, the development of professional training and methodological competence of future special education teachers is one of the most pressing issues. Therefore, the study examined the relationship between practice-oriented training, professional practice experience, and reflection. The data for the study were collected through a survey of 364 future special education teachers studying at the Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University. The Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) method was used in the SmartPLS program to analyze the data obtained. The questionnaire included four main latent constructs. These were: practice-oriented training, professional practice experience, reflection and self-analysis, and methodological competence of future special education teachers.

The study found that practice-oriented training has a significant positive effect on professional practice experience (β = 0.510). Also, professional practice experience had a positive effect on the level of reflection (β = 0.490). And it turned out that reflection plays an important role in the formation of methodological competence of future special education teachers (β=0.491). The structural model explains 26.0% of professional practice experience, 24.0% of reflection, and 24.1% of methodological competence.

The results of the study show that practice-oriented training effectively develops the methodological competence of future special education teachers, not directly, but through professional practice experience and reflection. The results of the study demonstrate the importance of systematically organizing practical training and reflective activities in the training of special education teachers and provide a scientific basis for improving pedagogical education programs.

It should be emphasized that the data of this study are cross-sectional and were obtained at a single point in time. The coefficients reported above therefore express statistically significant relationships between the constructs in the direction assumed by the theoretical model, and not experimentally established cause-and-effect relations. The terms 'effect' and 'influence' are used below in this model-based sense.