Life and career skills of student teachers in Thailand: A factor analysis

Abstract

Life and career skills are personal abilities comprising adaptability, flexibility, self-directness, leadership, good interpretation, and responsibility. If teachers have well-adapted and suitable life and career skills, they will be able to apply their knowledge and abilities to perform their duties in learning management to achieve the objectives of the curriculum. This study performs an exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis of life and career skills. A sample of 550 student teachers in Thailand was obtained using a multi-stage random sampling method. The tool used was a questionnaire on life and career skills, which included 55, 5-level scale questions. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis. The results of the exploratory factor analysis of student teacher life and career skills consisted of five components: (1) leadership and teamwork; (2) social skills and cross-cultural learning; (3) well-planning and studiousness; (4) responsibility; and (5) flexibility. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis showed that the model was consistent with the empirical data. The results can be used to formulate a policy to develop teacher competency, as well as improve the student teacher training course to enable student teachers to develop competencies in accordance with the changing future world.