Competence of Teachers in the Role of Lifelong Learners in Iran's Public Education System: A Mixed Study

The current research was conducted with the aim of investigating the competence of teachers in the role of lifelong learners in the general education system of Iran

This research was a part of the combined research, of sequential exploratory type and classification model, which was conducted in two qualitative and quantitative stages. The qualitative part was conducted using the synthesis research method and in six stages by Sandlovsky and Barroso (2003). The results of the qualitative stage include the individual mechanism, the motivational mechanism, the mechanism of information and technology literacy, and the mechanism of activism. The quantitative part was done using a descriptive survey method and a researcher-made questionnaire. In order to determine the validity of the three data sources, Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.94 indicated the reliability of the tool in this research. The questionnaire was given to 150 experts in the field of curriculum planning and educational psychology, and the data were collected using One-step and two-step confirmatory factor analysis method was analyzed with the help of Lisrel software

In the qualitative stage, the results of the synthesis research showed that the dimensions, components and characteristics of the teacher's competence as a lifelong learner can be examined from the four dimensions of the individual mechanism, the motivational mechanism, the mechanism of information and technology literacy, and the mechanism of activism. In the dimension of individual mechanism (metacognitive skills, personality traits, communication and interpersonal skills)", motivational mechanism (belief, motivation and emotional skills), "information and technology literacy mechanism (digital skills, familiarity with information literacy, interaction with technology in the scope of life) )" and "activism mechanism (activism in teaching-learning process, reflection, professional learning, intellectual ability, developed professional identity, familiarity with pedagogical knowledge management, foreign language mastery)" were placed. In the Chargob accreditation section of the competency model of a teacher as a lifelong learner in Iran's education system, first- and second-order confirmatory factor analysis was used.
The findings of this section indicated that the items of the individual mechanism element with a factor load of 0.91-0.80, the items of being equipped with a motivational mechanism with a factor load of 0.91-0.68, the items of the information and technology mechanism element with a factor load of 91 0.94-0.0 and the items of the activism element with a factor load of 0.93-0.85 are significant explanations for the mentioned model and their validity is confirmed.

According to the statistical results, the design and accreditation of the teacher's competence model as a lifelong learner in Iran's education system was achieved and its important components were determined