Abstract:

As it is emphasized in the updated European strategy for universities 2022 the higher education institutions have a unique position at the crossroads of teaching, learning, research and innovation, serving society and economy. Therefore, the academic staff needs to be equipped with the corresponding skills and competence for the future in order to meet innovative and technological potential, ensuring scientific excellence. The offered didactical framework of pedagogical competence of academic staff covers the key groups of competence, where the synergy of teaching, learning, research, innovation and digitalization is covered. While there is a need to specify the key criteria and indicators for each group of pedagogical competence as an overriding concern that guides for clear understanding of assessment process for academic staff. The aim of this article to explain the formation of each group of pedagogical competence: learning-assessment; research-innovative and digital; to specify the key criteria and indicators for each group of pedagogical competence, providing a selective review of research, and to justify the structure of assessment process of pedagogical competence of academic staff, combining self-assessment and students’ assessment tools.

Methodology:
The methodological basis of the current research: didactical framework of pedagogical competence of academic staff and methodological concept of assessment process of academic staff.
A complex of complementary research methods was used to achieve the aim: theoretical methods, considering educational, scientific and methodical literature analysis on research issue and analysis of methodical documentation of assessment of academic staff; general theoretical methods of analysis, synthesis, theoretical modeling; certain educational paradigm and the theory of experimental learning and taxonomies for generalization of assessment procedure; testing questionnaire of academic staff for in-depth research of the issue as for self-assessment as for students’ assessment (quantitative and qualitative), statistical data processing; the design of assessment tool of pedagogical competence of academic staff developed within theory-based and practice-based research.

Findings and conclusion:
Based on the preliminary results of the research the formation of each group of pedagogical competence: learning-assessment, research-innovative and digital, have been explained; key criteria and indicators for assessment of pedagogical competence of academic staff have been specified, justifying the structure of assessment process, combining self-assessment and students’ assessment tools. The proposed assessment tool will help to determine the level of pedagogical competence of academic staff from both perspectives: educators’ and students’; in order to make further planning for improvement and development for mastery achievement. The main focus of the research is on academic staff without pedagogical background, while being professionals of the field and conducting teaching/learning activities, while for obtaining better results and strengthening self-efficacy.

Acknowledgment:
This article is created within the project “Strengthening the Academic Staff of Higher Education Institutions in the areas of strategic specialization in RTA, VeA and ViA” (8.2.2.0/20/I/005) and RTU ERASMUS+ project Transformative Digital Pedagogies for Higher Education TDP4HE (Nr. 2022-1-LV01-KA220-HED-000085277).

Keywords:

Pedagogical competence, academic staff, teaching, learning, research, innovation, digitalization.