Model for the Evaluation of Teaching Competences in Teaching–Learning Situations

Social changes have brought educational challenges at all levels of education. One of the most important elements has been adopting the development of competences as a main goal. As regards teacher training, competences have been included in university degrees responding to a traditional concern related to teacher training: the necessary relationship between theory and educational practice. The objective of this work, in the Spanish context, is to define a model for the evaluation of didactic-disciplinary competences (frequently taught in university classrooms, in a theoretical way) within the framework of the school practicums of the degree in early childhood education (the unique practical context where a real application of competences may be assessed before professional performance). For this purpose, we analyzed the legislation (the specific didactic-disciplinary competences of the ECI/3854/2007 Order) and the school practicum plans of Spanish universities, in order to provide a useful tool to know how students apply theoretical learning in their classroom practices. The resulting model, focused on the learning of natural sciences, social sciences and mathematics, enables understanding the level of development of the didactic-disciplinary competences and can be considered as a conceptual framework to design instruments for different contexts.