Linking teacher competencies, children’s learning behavior, and learning outcomes: Insights from a structured reading training with student teachers

This study examines associations between student teachers’ professional competencies and elementary school children’s learning behavior, and explores how children’s learning behavior relates to their reading achievement and motivation. During a five-month professionalization program, 33 student teachers implemented a differentiated, evidence-based reading training in small groups with 216 children. Student teachers’ self-reported knowledge, self-efficacy, and instructional beliefs were assessed before the training. After each training session, the student teachers rated children’s learning behavior. Children’s reading achievement and motivation were measured with standardized assessments before and after the training. Structural equation modeling revealed that student teachers’ self-efficacy, transmissive, and constructivist beliefs were significantly associated with children’s learning behavior, which positively predicted children’s reading achievement and motivation development. Higher student teachers’ self-efficacy corresponded with greater motivation and fewer disruptions during training. Findings should be interpreted in light of the non-causal study design and the use of student teachers’ self-reports and ratings of children’s learning behavior. Overall, results highlight the role of teacher competencies in students’ learning processes even in standardized learning settings.