Cognitive and Meta Cognitive Competencies of the Beginning Teachers Intervention Strategies for Socio Professional Insertion

Abstract

This study relies on the theoretical premises concerning the development of professional competencies of the beginning teachers. The starting point is the operational model that integrates seven categories of competencies: cognitive and meta-cognitive, methodological, communicational and relational, evaluative, psychosocial, career management, as well as ICT competencies. The goal of this study is to propose and validate a programme meant to improve the cognitive and meta-cognitive competencies of the beginning teachers. In order to run the research we have established the following objectives: development and pre-testing of the tools for the experimental model; initial evaluation of the cognitive and meta-cognitive competencies, design and course of a programme of formative activities that lead to the improvement of the cognitive and meta-cognitive competencies; final evaluation of the cognitive and meta-cognitive competencies. As research methods we used: the formative psycho-pedagogical experiment with repeated measurements (test – post test), analysis of the products of teachers? activities (projects, competencies portfolios), psycho-pedagogical observation, and statistical methods. Statistical facts obtained during the research show significant differences with respect to the results obtained by the beginning teachers at the evaluation applied at the end of the formative stage, compared to those obtained at the initial evaluation. The results of this research will bring a contribution to the optimization of the initial training programmes of the beginning teachers, and support their psycho-pedagogical training for better socio-professional integration.