The relationship between Iranian English Language Instructors’ Pedagogical Competences and Their Personal and Professional Background

It is widely accepted that EFL teachers' pedagogical competence improves their teaching performance, which itself plays a key role in facilitating and enhancing student learning. The present study investigated the relationship between Iranian English language instructors’ pedagogical competences and their personal and professional backgrounds. In so doing, the construct validity of an initial 33-closed-ended questionnaire comprising four constructs of pedagogical competence, namely teaching attitudes, teaching skills, assessment strategies, and knowledge mastery was established through exploratory factor analysis was after being administered to 175 university instructors in Gilan, Iran. Next, to measure the relationship among the instructors' personal and occupational characteristics, namely age, gender, fields of study and university degrees with the constructs of pedagogical competence, the newly validated questionnaire was administered to 48 practicing university instructors at Islamic Azad and State universities. It was revealed that there were positive correlations among the constructs of teaching attitudes, teaching skills, assessment strategies, and knowledge mastery. Moreover, the results revealed significant positive correlations (strong, moderate, or low) among the four constructs concerning the instructors' gender, age, fields, and degree of study. Pedagogically, as teaching quality is a crucial factor in promoting effective learning, it would be truly beneficial if the instructors' perceptions of pedagogical competence are known for the purpose of making educational developments.