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Universal Journal of Educational Research 8(5): 1969-1979, 2020 http://www.hrpub.org
DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2020.080534
TVET Teacher Professional Competency Framework in
Industry 4.0 Era
Dayangku Suraya Awang Jafar1,2,*, Muhammad Sukri Saud1, Mohd Zolkifli Abd Hamid1,
Nornazira Suhairom1, Mohd Hizwan Mohd Hisham1, Yasmin Hanafi Zaid3
1Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, School of Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Malaysia
2Institut Latihan Perindustrian Pasir Gudang, Johor, Malaysia
3Language Academy, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Malaysia
Received February 21, 2020; Revised March 26, 2020; Accepted April 19, 2020
Copyright©2020 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License
Abstract Industrial revolution 4.0, which also known
as the digital age, is a globalisation era without boundaries.
Technological advancement modernises different factors in
life and affects many areas, including vocational education.
The application of technology in the vocational educational
process signifies a shift in the conventional learning
paradigm towards more technology-based learning.
Therefore, TVET teachers should enhance their
competencies to present vocational training that can
facilitate future human capital and adapt to new
technologies and global challenges in this digital era. A
systematic literature review was conducted to investigate
TVET Teacher Professional Competency for industry 4.0.
Though previous research studies focused on different sets
of competencies needed by teachers in industry 4.0, most
of them share similar themes. A list of constructs was
identified through document analysis. These professional
competencies constructs includes technical, non-technical,
personal, mental, and physical attributes, as well as motive
and self-concept. Each construct was then divided into
several related sub-constructs. These findings are then
proposed as a framework for developing TVET teacher
professional competence in Industry 4.0 era. This study
also pointed out that non-technical competency is as
important as technical competence and strengthens with
teacher personal attributes, their motive, and physical state
in the TVET teacher profession. Hence, TVET institutions
must open lines for technology adaptability, lifelong
learning, and a future set of competencies to meet the
challenge of the rapid change in professional competencies
requirements for TVET teachers in this digital era.
Keywords Teacher Competency, Industry 4.0,
Vocational Education, Professional Competencies
1. Introduction
Industrial revolution 4.0 is a globalisation era without
boundaries [1]. This era is also known as the digital age
with a cyber-physical system, augmented reality,
simulation, cloud computing, internet of thing, big data,
system integration, autonomous operation, and Additive
Manufacturing as its pillar [2]. When technology escalates,
it raises the global competition [3] and modernises
different factors in life, such as cultural, economic, and
social, and can fundamentally change our lives and relate to
one another [4, 5]. There are no limitations because of the
advancements in communication media [4]. The internet
helps transfer the information faster [6,7] and increases the
connections between men or between things and men [4].
The main challenge in the development of Industry 4.0 is
that technology will shift the work structure in daily life
and resulted in diminishing many other jobs [4]. Besides
changing the work system, the technology applied requires
creative and innovative human capital [1]. Therefore, a
new set of competencies develop that differs significantly
from the current set of skills [8]. The limitless boundaries
between humans, machines, and other resources positively
affect numerous areas, including education [5]. Hence,
changes made in teaching strategies and technology
applied in the educational process will eventually require
the teacher to develop a new set of competencies.
Due to technological advancement, the learning
environment that enables students to contribute in this 4.0
era has led to a shift in the conventional learning paradigm
towards technology-based learning [2, 5]. This technology
adaptation would impact almost all academic elements,
such as program development, developing teacher
knowledge and qualifications, and in the learning process
[5]. It is essential, therefore, to emphasise teachers’
competencies to facilitate the process of adaptation to
1970 TVET Teacher Professional Competency Framework in Industry 4.0 Era
technology and innovation in the educational process.
A teacher is vital to the education system [9-11].
Teachers’ task is to prepare, advise, instruct, lead
instruction, assess, and review student’s achievement. As
the world keeps changing and developing, there is a need to
refine the quality of the human capital to compete on a
global scale, especially in the industrial area [5].
Vocational education which is also known as technical and
vocational education training (TVET) [12], emphasises
education that adapts to demand-driven in the industry [3].
Thus, TVET teachers should master new competencies
comprehensively to nurture graduate that meets the current
industrial demand [8]. Teacher competencies are the
teacher’s ability to achieve learning goals in the learning
process [1]. Teachers are responsible to transfer knowledge,
attitude, and spiritual growth to balance academic maturity
and cognitive attitudes, especially in current technology
development [5]. Consequently, TVET teachers need to
improve their competencies and the ability to adapt to new
technologies and global challenges.
The vocational institution is aiming to produce skilled
and competitive, industry-friendly graduates for the current
industrial setting [3, 12, 13]. Grollmann [14] believed that
becoming a vocational educator is challenging because of
the broad spectrum of vocational education. Vocational
teachers should extensively master their competencies to
present vocational training that can facilitate future human
capital that meets the necessity of this digital era [8].
Besides their pedagogical abilities, a skilled teacher
requires other professional competencies to adapt
accordingly in current technology [15]. Therefore,
vocational teacher professional competencies need to be at
par with the latest technological features. This study will
identify and list the competencies required by TVET
teachers to improve their performance in line with the
development of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 technology.
2. Methodology
This study aims to identify the list of TVET Teacher
professional competencies needed in the Industrial
Revolution Era and to develop the TVET Teacher
Professional Competencies framework in Industry 4.0 era.
The research questions that guide this study are as
follows:
1. What are the construct of TVET teacher professional
competencies that aligned with the Industrial
Revolution 4.0 era?
2. What are the sub-construct of TVET teacher
professional competencies that aligned with the
Industrial Revolution 4.0 era?
Previous studies on teacher competence analysed their
data using a systematic literature review (SLR) method.
There are four stages of the SLR method executed in this
study, which are identification, screening, eligibility, and
inclusion [16]. In the first stage, identification, a few
keywords were used to identify relevant articles for this
study. The main keywords chosen for inclusion in this
study are ―Teacher Competencies‖, ―Industry 4.0‖, and
―TVET‖. Other than that, the use of alternative terms and
synonyms is also identified to accommodate variations in
the spellings as shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Alternative keyword and synonym
Main Keyword
Alternative term
Teacher Competencies
―Educator Competencies‖, ―Teacher
skill,‖ ―Educator Skills‖, ―Teacher
abilities‖, ―Educator abilities.‖
Industry 4.0
―Industrial Revolution 4.0‖, ―Digital
Era‖, ―21st century‖
The word AND was included in the keywords for a
more extensive range of findings and expand the search
into a specific study of teacher competencies and the
operator OR to accommodate alternative spelling and
synonyms [17,18]. For this purpose, open-access journals
were used, and the search was conducted on Scopus
online databases. Although the Industry 4.0 concept was
introduced in Germany in 2011 [19], due to rapid
technological changes, this study will only refer to the
article from 2015 to 2020. This effort effectively captured
a sum of 208 journals and conferences related to the
teacher competencies. In the screening phase to select the
papers relevant for this study, the exclusion and inclusion
criteria presented in Table 2 below were applied.
Table 2. Alternative keyword and synonym
Exclusion/ Inclusion
Criteria
Exclusion
Duplication (DP)
Language compatibility (LC)
No full-text (NF)
Non-related (NR)
Casually applied (CA)
Inclusion
Partially related (PR)
Closely related (CR)
The first step in selecting the research papers was to
remove identified 12 duplicate (DP) papers, leaving only
196 papers. The initial screening process also excluded all
12 papers that were not in English (LC) and 58 papers to
which there was no full access (NF). This effort leaves
only 126 relevant papers that were qualified for inclusion
after the initial screening process. These papers were then
examined further to check their eligibility for inclusion.
Since the final phase of this SLR method was to include
the most relevant papers that contain teacher
competencies which aligned with industrial revolution
development, a thorough step was executed further on the
remaining papers. The relevant papers were scrutinised
further by filtering the titles and abstracts to narrow down
and eliminate papers which were not related to Industry
Universal Journal of Educational Research 8(5): 1969-1979, 2020 1971
4.0 and teacher competencies (NR). Those papers that
loosely used the terms Industry 4.0 and teacher
competencies (CA1) as well as those which addressed
Industry 4.0 but did not focus on teacher competencies
(CA2) were eliminated at this stage, leading to the
exclusion of another 117 papers.
As a result, nine papers were selected to represent
teacher competencies in industrial revolution 4.0. The
eligible nine papers were classified according to two
inclusion criteria. Firstly, papers that focus on teacher
competencies in industry 4.0 but not specifically on the
TVET teacher profession (Primary School, Secondary
School, Higher Institution) (PR). Secondly, papers that
explicitly discusses Industry 4.0 skills required in TVET
teacher profession. Following this, a thorough study of
these documents was carried out in the next step. Figure 1
below presents the SLR stages applied in this study.
Figure 1. Systematic Literature Review Stages
3. Findings
Teacher competencies have been discussed in many
previous studies. Therefore, the paper selection must
strictly adhere to the teacher professional competencies
that are needed to increase teacher performance in the
industrial revolution 4.0 era. The document that only
listed the main competencies but did not explain further
about the element of the competencies discussed were
considered ineligible for this analysis. As such, these
documents were discarded.
The teacher competencies for Industry 4.0, presented in
Table 3, were extracted from the research papers that
fulfilled the eligibility criteria discussed in section 2 above.
All the teacher competencies necessary for Industry 4.0
were taken into consideration, thus providing a broad set
of competencies needed by TVET teachers. As illustrated
in Table 3, there are a few similar competency dimension
related to knowledge, skills and attitude needed by the
teacher in the Industry 4.0 era discussed in each paper
analyse. Each competency indicated in relevant papers
was coded and categorised into five main themes, which
will become one construct. Each construct consists of
codes that are related to each other, which will become the
sub-construct of competencies.
Teacher professional competence is defined as the skills
of a professional teacher capable of realising themselves in
specific types of work, adapting to the changing need in
their profession, and managing their professional mobility
and self-regulation [23]. Five constructs which are needed
by TVET Lectures in Industry 4.0 era emerged from the
analysis conducted in this study. They are technical
competencies, non-technical competencies, personal
attributes, motive and self-construct, and mental and
physical fitness.
Technical competencies listed in this study are explicitly
related to TVET teacher roles in the instructional and
learning process in industry 4.0 era. The sub-constructs for
technical competencies are in the aspect of mastering the
subject matter, instructional planning, instructional
delivery, instructional evaluation, classroom management,
motivating and facilitating student, student career
development, and technology application.
The second construct is non-technical. Non-technical
competencies related to other value and life skills needed
by TVET teachers to support the acquisition of technical
competencies in the digital era. The non-technical
competencies listed in this research are creativity, critical
thinking, analytical, collaboration, communication, ethical,
innovative, leadership, lifelong learning, professional
development, research, and social and cultural awareness.
The third construct is personal attributes. Personal
attributes are the characteristics and personal qualities of a
TVET teacher. The finding of this study listed approach,
emotion control, flexibility, humanity, openness,
risk-taking, role model and team player as personal
attributes needed by TVET teacher in industry 4.0 era.
Motive is also considered as one of TVET teacher
professional competencies in this study. Motives are the
thoughts and desires that motivate one's behaviour to do
something and be more successful — this construct listed
meaningfulness of life and self-concept as the finding of
this study. Final constructs are physical and mental fitness
that refers to the ability of TVET a teacher to endure the
toughness of vocational education process. Figure 2
summarises the related sub-constructs of competency that
have been categorized into five main constructs based on
SLR document analysis conducted in this study to
represent the professional competency framework of
TVET teachers in industry era 4.0.
1972 TVET Teacher Professional Competency Framework in Industry 4.0 Era
Table 3. Analysis of TVET Teacher Professional Competencies
Author (s)
Study Domain
Methodology
Construct
Dimension
Almerich et al.,
2016 [20]
Primary,
Secondary and
Higher Education
Teacher
Survey
Technological
Competence
1. Handling & using a computer; 2. Basic computer application; 3. multimedia & presentation; and 4. information &
communication technology
Pedagogic
competence
1. Planning Teaching; 2. Ethical & Legal Problem; 3. Designing & enriching environment with ICT; and 4. Innovation
& communication
Mohamed Ally,
2019.[21]
Digital teacher of
the future
conducted focus
groups and
interview
General
competencies
1. Be comfortable working in a virtual environment; 2. Provide support of for learners regardless of location and time;
3. Work from anywhere and at any time; 4. Teach students life skills; 5. Keep up with emerging learning technologies to
use in education; 6. Keep current content area to facilitate learning; 7. Encourage students to be good citizens; 8. Basic
knowledge of artificial intelligence; 9. State of the art (current) knowledge in the subject area; 10. Collaborate virtually
with other teachers to share information on learners’ progress; 11. Share effective learning practices with other teachers;
and 12. Prepare learners to live in harmony with the environment
Use digital
technology
1. Be digitally literate; 2. Integrate technology in the curriculum seamlessly; 3. Be comfortable when using technology;
4. Use learning analytics to monitor individual learner progress; 5. Use assistive technology to provide support to
learners with special needs; 6. Integrate augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality to give learners a real life
experience; 7. Troubleshoot basic technology problems; 8. Adapt to emerging technologies; 9. Use multimedia
technologies to deliver learning materials in a variety of formats; 10. Ability to independently learn how to use new
technology and software; 11. Use technology to provide efficient support for learners; 12. Have knowledge of the
culture and local practice to select the most appropriate technology; 13. Explore emerging technologies for learning; 14.
Use features of the technology to enrich the learning process; and 15. Adapt the technology to the needs of the learner
Develop digital
learning resources
1. Have knowledge of the content; 2. Select the appropriate digital technology to match the content and the learning
outcome; 3. Create high quality digital learning materials; 4. Develop learning materials to meet specific learner’s
needs; 5. Develop learning materials with limited knowledge of the learner (language, culture, situation); 6. Identify
quality and valid learning materials for learners to access; 7. Use different strategies for different learning situations; 8.
Use problem based learning to develop learners’ high level knowledge and skills; and 9. Share learning resources with
other teachers.
Re-mix digital
learning resources
1. Select appropriate digital learning resources to maximize learning; 2. Access appropriate open education resources to
integrate into the curriculum; 3. Modify the learning resources to align with the learning outcome; 4. Re-mix open
education resources to meet the needs of individual learners; and 5. Assess the quality of open education resources.
Communication
1. Communicate at the level of the learner; 2. Use appropriate non-verbal communication when interacting with learners
using two-way video and text; 3. Model good digital citizenship when using social media to communicate with learners
and peers; and 4. Communicate in the language of the learner
Facilitate Learning
1. Personalise the learning for individual learners; 2. Respond to learners’ questions in a timely manner; 3. Ability to
change strategies on the fly when supporting the learner to meet the learner needs; 4. Respect different learner types and
adapt to the learner; 5. Encourage creativity; 6. Encourage innovation; 7. Be a good listener; 8. Provide appropriate
feedback; 9. Show enthusiasm about the learning materials; 10. Model working in the digital age; 11. Motivate students
to learn; 12. Encourage social interaction between learners; 13. Ability to formulate good questions when interacting
with learners; 14. Model good virtual behavior; 15. Be approachable; 16. Promote and model digital citizenship and
responsibility; 17. Encourage authentic learning; 18. Inspire learners; 19. Create a comfortable learning atmosphere; 20.
Provide feedback to individual learners to meet their individual needs; 21. Interpret learner dashboard to monitor each
learner performance; 22. Interpret learners’ question; 23. Solve learners’ problems; 24. Provide support to learners who
are on the go; 25. Act as a coach for learners; 26. Act as a mentor for learners; 27. Support learners using digital
technology; 28. Be an expert in the content to help learners who will be at different points in the learning process; and
29. Encourage learners to think outside of the box.
Universal Journal of Educational Research 8(5): 1969-1979, 2020 1973
Pedagogical
strategies
1. Use appropriate pedagogical approach to match the technology; 2. Use appropriate learning theory to develop
learning strategies to maximize maximise learning; 3. Offer choices and multiple options for presenting concepts
through resources and support options; 4. Prescribe learning activities for individual learners; 5. Use appropriate
collaborative online learning frameworks to encourage interaction between learners and between the teacher and the
learner; 6. Suggest remedial activities to help learners who need them; 7. Use a variety of learning strategies to develop
high-level knowledge and skills; 8. Use interactive strategies such as serious games and simulations to motivate
learners; 9. Engage learners during the learning process; 10. Suggest additional learning activities for learners who need
them; 11. Use problem based learning to encourage high-level learning; and 12. Encourage learners to learn
independently.
Assess learning
1. Select assessment strategies to match the learning outcomes; 2. Use assessment strategies to measure learners’
performance; 3. Use virtual assessment strategies to assess performance; and 4. Provide feedback for learners.
Personal
characteristics
1. Be socially responsible for the use of resources and be environmental friendly; 2. Be a good role model for learners;
3. Work in virtual teams to share information with other teachers; 4. Accept innovation in the learning system; 5. Show
enthusiasm virtually; 6. Be a lifelong learner; 7. Keep learners’ information confidential; 8. Consider privacy issues and
keep learner information; 9. Think digitally; 10. Be openminded; 11. Be sensitive to learner’s individual differences; 12.
Use good social skills when working virtually; 3. Be flexible and adaptable in the modern digital age; 14. Show
empathy by maintaining humanity virtually; and 15. Model good virtual behaviour.
Ismail et al.,
2018 [22]
TVET Educator
focus group
discussion
Personal Traits &
Professionalism
1. Culture and Virtue; 2. Laws and Regulations; 3. Entrepreneurial and Soft Skills; 4. Professional Services; and 5.
Leadership and Management
Teaching & Learning
and Training
1. TVET Curriculum Planning and Development; 2. TVET Curriculum Delivery; 3. TVET Curriculum Evaluation; and
4. Academic Advisory
Technical and
Innovation.
1. Industrial Training and Project Supervision; 2. Research and Innovation; and 3. Workshop and Laboratory
Management
Symanyuk &
Pecherkina,
2019 [23]
School teachers’
survey
activity-related
component
1. Professional competence; 2. Management; 3. Autonomy (independence); 4. Stability; 5. Service/dedication; 6.
Challenge; 7. Lifestyles integration; and 8. Entrepreneurial creativity
personality-related
component
1. life purpose; 2. life process; 3. life result; 4. locus of control – I ; 5. locus of control – life; and 6. meaningfulness of
life
socio-communicative
adaptability
1. Desire for consensus; 2. Tolerance; 3. Optimism; and 4. frustration tolerance
Wagiran et al.,
2019 [8]
Vocational teacher
Focus group
discussions and
survey
Curriculum
1. Managing classroom; 2. Managing practicum; 3. Arranging theoretical lesson; 4. Applying instructional method; 5.
Conducting contextual learning; 6. Able to do research; 7. Understanding curriculum organization; 8. Conducting
lesson; 9. Conducting assessment; 10. Involving in learning innovation; 11. Understanding standard of learning
competencies; 12. Having information literacy; 13. Leading discussion; 14. Having educational insight; 15. Planning
assessment; 16. Writing lesson plan; and 17. Accomplishing learning Administration
Content
1. Selecting/developing learning resources; 2. Designing learning material more interesting; 3. Organizing content of
subject matter; 4. Mastering practicum content; 5. Mastering theory; and 6. Understanding content of lesson
Technology
1. Having computer literacy; 2. Using ICT for teaching; 3. Using educational technology; 4. Using media and
educational tools; 5. Using technological equipment; 6. Having knowledge of recent technology; and 7. Creating media
Way of Thinking
1. Creative; 2. Creative problem solving; 3. Critical thinking; 4. Decision making; 5. Having global views; 6. Initiative;
7. Innovative; 8. Interactive; 9. Leadership; 10. Open minded; 11. Outcome oriented; 12. Productive; 13. Risk taking;
14. Self-regulated; 15. Systemic thinking; 16. Time management; 17. Willingness to learn; 18. Working effectively; 19.
Working under pressure; and 20. Written communication skill
Student
1. Understanding student characteristics; 2. Motivating students; and 3. Planning educating lesson
1974 TVET Teacher Professional Competency Framework in Industry 4.0 Era
Living in the world
1. Able to manage conflict; 2. Applying ethics 3. Calm and confident; 4. Compliance with rule; 5. Discipline; 6.
Empathy; 7. Encouraged to achieve; 8. Exemplary; 9. Flexible and adaptive; 10. Friendly and sociable; 11. Health and
stamina; 12. Honest and trustable; 13. Involving in school empowerment; 14. Knowing school condition; 15. Knowing
school environment; 16. Mature; 17. Neat performance; 18. Orderline; 19. Polite; 20. Positive work attitude; 21.
Prestige; 22. Religious; 23. Respectful; 24. Responsible; 25. Self-concept; 26. Self-control; 27. Spirit at work; 28.
Tolerance; and 29. Work ethic
Methods of working
1. Able to give advice; 2. Able to share creative ideas; 3. Able to speak foreign language; 4. Collaborative with school
elements; 5. Communication skills; 6. Competitive and sportsmanlike; 7. Cooperative; 8. Implementing plans; 9.
Listening skill; 10. Negosiation; 11. Organisation skill; 12. Organising programs; 13. Presentation skill; 14. Report and
evaluate activities; 15. Report writing; 16. Supple and polite in communication; and 17. Working durability
Tools for working
1. Able to analyse information; 2. Able to create timetable; 3. Able to plan programs; 4. Able to use IT
Abdullah et al.,
2019 [24]
TVET lecturer
Survey
Professionalism
1. Professional ethics; 2. Professional character; 3. Potential; and 4. Practice of professional learning community
Generic
1. Communicative skills; 2. Collaborative skills; 3. Problem-solving skills; 4. Decision-making skills; 5. Interpersonal
skills; 6. Entrepreneurship skills; 7. Management; and 8. ICT
Smolyaninova
&
Bezyzvestnykh,
2019 [25]
Trainee teachers
Document Analysis
Motivational and
target-based
1. Understanding the importance of using ICT, including ePortfolio in professional activity; 2. Motivation for using ICT
in professional activity(including ePortfolio); 3. Network etiquette (including information security), protection of
personal data in ePortfolios
Cognitive
activity-based
1. Understanding the nature and content of information; 2. Reviewing, searching and selecting data, information and
educational content to create and develop an ePortfolio; and 3. Evaluation and management of data, information and
content by means of ePortfolio
Communicative
1. Interaction by means of ICT in information and educational environment (IEE); 2. Exchange and mediation by means
of ICT in IEE; and 3. Collaboration using ICT, including ePortfolio, in IEE
Tool-based and
activity-based
1. Development of educational content by means of ePortfolio; 2. Development of an ePortfolio; and 3. Integration and
processing of educational (e-learning) content by means of ePortfolio
Reflexive and
evaluative
1. Design and evaluation of individual progress, individual educational trajectory by means of ePortfolio; 2. Assessing
adequate use of ICT; and 3. Assessing pedagogical support of students’ reflection of the results of individual
educational trajectories being implemented, curricular, and projects by means of ePortfolio
Personality-related
and creative
1 Creative use of ICT in professional activity; 2. Identifcation of individual needs; 3.creative character of using ICT by
means of ePortfolio; and 4. Identifying ICT competency defciencies
Rofiq et al.,
2018 [26]
Vocational teacher
candidates
Survey
Pedagogic
1. Able to prepare the learning tools; 2. Mastery of the learning strategy; 3. Able to educate; 4. Mastery the information
technology to support the learning; 5. Able to create a pleasant learning atmosphere; 6. Able to make and use a learning
media; 7. Have skill of class mastery; 8. Have presentation skills; 9. Emphasizes on student creativity; 10. Can deliver
the knowledge to students; and 11. Able to apply bilingual learning, mastering the foreign languages(especially
English)
Field of the Expertise
1. Mastery of the basic theory of engineering; 2. Mastery of both theoretical and practical material in mechanical
engineering; 3. Mastery of the knowledge and skills on productive subjects to the complex level; 4. Have the field of
expertise, proven by a certificate of competence; 5. Having competency in the field of expertise according to industry
standards to prepare prospective workers; 6. Mastery a particular field in depth (specialist); and 7. Have experience in
the field (industry) as supporting competence
Universal Journal of Educational Research 8(5): 1969-1979, 2020 1975
Managerial
Have a managerial competency
Personality
1. Have a strong personality; 2. Have a tough mental; 3. Self-confident; 4. Noble character; 5. Have an awareness as
educator and 6. Always perform self-development
Social
1. Able to interact with the entire school’s communities; 2. Adaptive to technological developments; and 3. Able to
provide a career understanding to students
Thongkam et
al., 2018 [27]
Vocational college
instructor
Survey
Knowledge
1. Classroom management; 2. Measurement and evaluation; 3. Research on development technology; 4. curriculum and
learning management; 5. being a professional teacher; 6. psychology for teachers; 7. self-improvement; 8.
Communication; and 9. professional knowledge
Skill
1. Measurement and evaluation; 2. Classroom management skill 3. curriculum and learning management skill; 4.
Psychology for teacher skill; 5. Communication; 6. Research on development skill; 7. Technology skill and 8.
Self-improvement skill
Attribute
1. Attitude towards the teaching profession; 2. Personality; and 3. Ethics of the teaching profession
1976 TVET Teacher Professional Competency Framework in Industry 4.0 Era
Figure 2. Proposed TVET Teacher Professional Competency Framework in Industry 4.0 Era
4. Discussion
4.1. Technical Competencies
Teachers’ roles are to prepare, advise, instruct, lead
instruction, assess, and review students’ achievement.
TVET teacher involves theoretical and practical learning
sessions in diverse ways. Hence, the emphasis in technical
competencies is vital for TVET teacher professional
development in the Industrial Era [22]. This technical
competency includes instructional planning, instructional
delivery, instructional evaluation, classroom management,
motivating and facilitating student, student career
development, technology application and mastering
subject matter that is important to TVET education in
industry 4.0 era.
During the instructional planning process, TVET teacher
should able to evaluate the technological resources
available [20] before selecting an appropriate learning tool
and resources [8,26]. They need to plan, design and
organize their curriculum material [8,20,22] and write
lesson plans which are [8] suitable to the technological
resources available to maximize the learning [21].
However, teachers today face students who use smart
devices since their early age [21]. Hence, it is essential that
the TVET teacher efficiently plan and prepare their
teaching activities [28]. TVET teacher also needs to
personalise the learning for individual learner [21] and
integrate the educational content digitally by using
e-learning [25] to cater to the learning need of this
generation.
In industry 4.0 era, TVET teacher needs to effectively
execute their instructional plan in delivering the knowledge
and life skill to educate the student [8, 21-23, 26]. On top of
that, TVET teacher needs presentation skill to engage with
the student during the learning process [8, 20, 26]. Also,
TVET teacher needs to use appropriate pedagogical
approach to match the technology available [21,26] and
apply different learning strategies for different learning
situation [8,21,26] to maximise the learning and develop
high-level knowledge and skill in the industry 4.0 era
Other than that, TVET teacher needs to be able to plan,
conduct [8, 27] and select assessment strategies and
measure the student performance to match the learning
outcome [21, 22]. In this digital era, TVET teacher should
be able to do assessment virtually [21], make use of
technology such as e-portfolio as evaluation instrument
[20,25].
TVET teacher should be able to manage and organize
their classroom and workshop to have a conducive learning
environment [8, 22-27]. They also need to have
interpersonal and time management skill [8] to organise
curriculum and learning activities for effective teaching
and learning process [8, 27]. TVET teacher also needs to
understand their students’ characteristics [8] to give
appropriate feedback to meet the students’ needs and be
able to utilise technology for additional learning activities
[21]. In line with the current technological developments,
teachers needs to encourage students to be creative and
innovative with the learning resources available and also to
motivate students to learn independently [8,21,26]. The
way TVET teachers manage their classes, facilitate and
Universal Journal of Educational Research 8(5): 1969-1979, 2020 1977
motivate their students determined the success of student
learning [3].
Other than that, TVET teachers need to able to supervise
industrial training and project supervision [22]. They also
need to provide career understanding and advice for
students [22,26]. Vocational education aims to produce
skilled and competitive worker for an industrial setting [3,
12, 13]. Thus, TVET teachers are expected to equip their
students with the relevant industrial knowledge to facilitate
the transition from school to work [8, 14, 15].
Besides that, TVET teachers should demonstrate
mastery of skills and knowledge in their subject matter
[8,21,25,26]. The rapid development of technology used in
the industry has required TVET teachers to understand and
update the curriculum and syllabuses used in their
respective institutions to meet industrial needs [8,25].
TVET teachers need to frequently update and master their
theoretical knowledge, practical skills and have industrial
experiences to support and facilitate students at different
points in the learning process [8, 21,26].
Finally, technology application is also considered as one
of the sub-construct in technical competencies discussed in
this study. In the rapid advancement of this digital age,
teachers' ability to leverage the use of new technologies in
the teaching process is highly significant [8,20,21,24,27].
TVET teachers are required to be digitally literate [21,20,8]
and able to use educational technology tools and software
applications that help them to plan, deliver and evaluate
their instructional process effectively [8,20].
4.2. Non-Technical Competencies
Non-technical competencies is also referred to generic
or 'soft' skills [24]. Competent professional TVET teachers
must balance both their technical competencies and
non-technical competencies to remain relevant [8]. To
achieve this, TVET teachers need to develop their
professionalism with strong non-technical skills and
essential skills [22]. Due to the rapid change in
technological advancement that demands relatively new
sets of skills, lifelong learning has become the essential
skill for TVET teacher career development [8]. TVET
teachers need to keep up and be willing to learn and
exploring emerging learning technologies used in
education independently [8,21].
Because of that, TVET teachers need to have the skills to
conduct research [8]. TVET teachers should be able to
review, searching and selecting data, information and
educational content to develop learning material and
resources [8,22,25,27]. This research skill is needed for
teacher skill development and innovation of learning
material to enhance the learning process [22,27].
Besides that, the shift in the education paradigm in the
digital era also requires TVET teachers to incorporate
technology creativity [8,20,21,25,26] innovation [8,20,21]
and critical thinking [8,21,24] in the learning process and
teaching strategies. The teacher needs to creatively design
learning material by utilizing technology to meet
student-specific need [8,20,21,25] and conducive learning
environment [26]. TVET teacher needs to be innovative in
making new learning material [26], actively involved in
learning innovation by integrating technology in
curriculum and use technology feature to enrich the
learning process [8,20,21]. Critical thinking skill will help
TVET teacher with problem-solving [8,24] and modify the
learning resources to align with the learning outcome [21].
Besides critical thinking skill, TVET teacher also need
analytical skill to analyses and searching information
[8,20], identify quality and valid learning material [21],
identify student need, and monitor student progress [25]
In addition, collaboration [8,20,21,24,25] and
communication skill [8, 20, 21, 24-27] are also needed by
TVET teacher in industry 4.0 era. TVET teacher needs to
collaborate virtually with other educational community by
sharing learning material, effective learning strategies and
learner progress information [8,20,21,25]. The
collaboration will be more successful with effective
communication [20]. TVET teacher needs to have written,
listening [8,21] and communicative skill [8,21,24,27].
They also need the ability to communicate in a different
language [8,26] and are able to utilize technology such as
the internet to communicate effectively [20,21,25].
Next, TVET teacher needs to enhance their professional
development [8,23,27]. In this advance era, TVET teacher
should have the ability to use technology such as
e-portfolio to perform self-development and
self-improvement [25,26,27]. They need to have
professional knowledge and attitude toward the teaching
profession [22,23,27] and also involve in school
empowerment [8]. They also need to have educational
insight and awareness of being an educator [8,26].
However, professional teaching profession should also
prioritise ethics in their careers [8, 24, 27]. TVET teacher
should apply professional work ethic [8,24,27] especially
to keep learners’ information confidential when using the
technological resources [21,25].
Further, TVET teacher also needs leadership skill
[8,22,24] Leadership skill includes the ability to lead the
discussion [8], making the decision, manage conflict [8,24]
and negotiate [8]. Lastly, TVET teacher needs to have
social and environmental awareness of understanding the
school condition and environment [8]. They need to abide
by the rules of both local schools and government and
respect the culture of the local community [8,22]. The
teacher also needs to prepare the student to live in harmony
with the environment and be able to select the most
appropriate technology that respects the culture and local
practice [21].
4.3. Personal Attributes
TVET Teacher should be professional, have a pleasant
1978 TVET Teacher Professional Competency Framework in Industry 4.0 Era
personality to represent in his/her daily behaviour and
possess high competence [30]. The gentle character of the
teacher to enhance human relationships will become a
demand in this digital era [1]. TVET teacher should be
friendly [8] and easy to approach [21]. They also need to be
calm and confident [8,23], mature, sensitive to students’
differences and show enthusiasm during the teaching and
learning process [21].
Next is teacher adaptability. Due to the rapid
advancement of technology, teachers should be able to
work comfortably and be adaptive to technological
advancement. [21,26]. TVET teachers should be able to
adapt to emerging technology, change strategies
accordingly to support student need [21]. They also need to
be flexible and able to work anywhere to provide support
for students [8,21]. TVET teachers also need to become a
team player [8,23,24]. They need to have initiative,
discipline, positive work attitude, be cooperative,
interactive, productive, responsible, outcome-oriented,
efficient [8], independent, dedicated [23] and professional
[24].
Even though this digital era is focusing on the
technology, TVET teachers should have the values of
humanity in themselves [8,21,23]. TVET teachers should
have honesty, politeness, religiousness, respect toward
others, [8] empathy [8,21] and tolerance [8,23]. In addition,
TVET teacher should be open-minded and ready to face
challenges and risk [8,21]. Consequently, teachers are
required to prepare human capital without losing humanity,
personality, and culture value [4]. Thus, teachers should
have excellent personal characteristics to serve as a role
model for students as well as provide quality education and
support for students [8,21,26].
4.4. Motive
Symanyuk & Pecherkina [23] stated that ―desire to build
one’s own life‖ as one aspect requires for the professional
development of a teacher. Self-concept, self-development,
self-control are also considered as the component of
teacher competencies in the industrial era [8]. With more
teaching experience, teachers become more detailed and
their self-perception as a successful person was formed; the
emotional richness of life increases and the desire for
professional self-development and independence become
more important [23]. TVET teachers require for
self-concept, including self-confident, self-improvement
and personality, to motivate themselves to develop and be
more successful [26,27]. Hence, motive is included as a
construct in this study.
4.5. Mental & Physical State
Physical & mental fitness is necessary because TVET
education does not only involve theoretical learning but
require mental and physical endurance while doing
practical training [22, 27]. Teachers should have a mental
toughness to work under pressure[8, 26] high spirit [8]
optimism and stability [23]. TVET teachers also need to
maintain their health and stamina and have working
durability [8] as part of their competencies.
5. Conclusions
The SLR review answered both research questions in
this study, which is to identify suitable construct and
sub-construct of professional competencies needed by
TVET teachers in Industry 4.0 era. The study pointed out
that non-technical competency is as important as technical
competence and reinforces with teacher personal attributes,
their motive, and physical state in the TVET teacher
profession in the Industry 4.0 era. In general, advanced
technologies created are not to replace humans for
improving productivity; instead, there must be close
human-technology collaboration. Technical and academic
institutions should create opportunities for technology
adaptability, lifelong learning, and a future set of
competencies to meet the challenge of the rapid change in
professional competencies requirements for TVET
teachers in Industry 4.0.
Acknowledgements
This research was funded by University Teknologi
Malaysia Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (UTMFR),
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia under research vote 20H77.
Special thanks go to the Research Management Centre of
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia for managing the activities
of this research.
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