Knowledge Management Processes and Excellent Teacher Competence among Physics Education Students: Evidence from a Local Normal University in Yunnan

Normal universities are the main teacher training institutions in China. Local normal universities largely supplying teachers for rural areas, often under the Directional Training Program (DTP). The role of Knowledge Management Processes (KMP) in developing Excellent Teacher Competence (ETC) in this context, however, remains underexplored. This study investigates the relationship between KMP and ETC using a quantitative survey of 459 physics education students from a local normal university in Yunnan. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is applied to determine correlations between research variables through deductive methods, and to facilitate the identification of recursive relationships. Model fit indices indicate a good fit (CMIN/DF = 1.247, RMSEA = 0.024, GFI = 0.878, NFI = 0.891, IFI = 0.976, TLI = 0.975, CFI = 0.976), and the results show a significant positive effect of KMP on ETC (β = 0.70), which supports the proposed hypothesis. The findings suggest that improving KMP practices—knowledge identification, knowledge acquisition, knowledge creation, knowledge storage, knowledge sharing, and knowledge application—can enhance students' ETC in local normal universities.