Designing a Pattern for Assessing Teaching Readiness in Primary Schools: Applying an Exploratory Mixed Methods Research Design

The current research was conducted with the aim of designing a suitable pattern for assessing the level of readiness for entering the profession of an elementary teacher.

A sequential exploratory mixed-methods study was designed and executed in two stages to address the research question. In the initial phase, Grounded Theory was employed. Participants, chosen through the criterion strategy, consisted of experienced teachers and subject experts, with data saturation achieved after conducting 19 interviews. Data were gathered using a semi-structured interview technique and subsequently analyzed through open coding methods.

After analyzing the data in the first part, the identified pattern had 8 main dimensions and 69 criteria; The main dimensions of the model include cognitive knowledge, metacognitive knowledge, cognitive ability, non-cognitive ability, internal insight (identity), external insight (social), individual demeanor and interpersonal demeanor.

The results show the wide range of necessary attributes for the teaching profession, and it is necessary to develop a scientific, evidence-based, and integrated mechanism to accurately measure such characteristics before entering the teaching profession.