FORMING EDUCATION COMPETENCIES IN TEACHER EDUCATION BACHELOR’S AND MASTER’S PROGRAMME STUDENTS IN EAST LATVIA

A high level of education competencies helps teachers know their way around in their professional, personal and social life. Successful professional activity is impossible without forming special, social and individual education competencies in teacher education programme students.

The research question is the following: Is there a correlation between the level of education competencies and gender differences of students in different teacher education programmes? The study participants were 173 students in teacher education programmes at different degree levels: 98 female and 75 male participants. The Survey of Education Competencies (Matyash & Feshenko, 2007) was used.

There is a statistically significant correlation between the age and the total level of competencies for all respondents. Having compared the results according to gender, it was found that age correlates with special, social, individual and the total level of education competencies to a statistically significant degree in male students only; the total level of education competencies formed more gradually in female than in male students. The individual competence during the education process formed relatively slower.

The issue of competence is not a separate course in the education programme. Competence is not only the amount of formal knowledge but also continuous personal growth and education, the ability to think critically and solve problem situations.