The Professional Competencies of Art Teachers to Teach Non-art Students in Colleges and Universities in Guangxi Province

Abstract

           The requirement for all students in Chinese colleges and universities to take art subjects before graduation has created concerns as to how to prepare art teachers with proper and effective qualities and professional competencies. The objectives of this research were: (1) to determine the professional competency models of art teachers to teach non-art students in Chinese colleges and universities; (2) to assess the quality of the developed professional competency models; and (3) to evaluate the best fitted professional competency model with empirical data from art teachers. The research used a mixed method with a theoretical framework based on literature review and consultation with five local experts. The respondents were 507 art teachers drawn by using multi-stage random sampling from the population of 3,243 art teachers in colleges and universities in Guangxi Province. The instrument was a questionnaire constructed with specifications on target data to be obtained. The statistics used in the study included descriptive statistics, chi-square test, confirmatory factor analysis, one-factor, multi-factor, second-order-factor and bi-factor analyses, and model comparison, using likelihood ratio test. The research findings revealed that: (1) there were four alternative models for art teachers’ professional competencies; (2) except one-factor model, the remaining three models showed acceptable qualities, in terms of both validity and reliability; and (3) the bi-factor model was the best fit model. The bi-factor model composed of a general factor and six specific factors, namely, achievement, affiliation, power, management, cognitive, and personal effectiveness, respectively.

 Keywords:  Art teachers, art education for non-art students, professional competency model, colleges and universities in Guangxi Province