Adapting german instruments and validating their use to measure chilean mathematics teachers’ professional competence

Improving the effectiveness of teacher professional development programmes is crucial for enhancing education, and assessing teacher professional competence is vital. This study aimed at adapting and validating instruments originally developed in Germany as part of a follow-up study to TEDS-M (Teacher Education Development Study-Mathematics), intending to present a valid instrument that can measure professional competence among Chilean teachers. The study encompassed 79 Chilean mathematics in-service teachers. The methods used to assess the validity evidence of the noticing instrument are outlined, including evidence based on test content, evidence of internal structure, and evidence of relations to other variables. Challenges related to terminology and cultural references were addressed. The applied Rasch model revealed a strong correlation between situation-specific skills in both general pedagogy (P_PID) and mathematics teaching aspects (M_PID). Regarding the correlations between the noticing and other facets of teachers’ professional knowledge, positive significant associations were found between M_PID and mathematics knowledge components. General pedagogical knowledge showed connections with P_PID. The findings demonstrate the validity of instrument use in the Chilean context based on various validity measures; however, the results show the importance of considering the cultural influence of competence measurements considering the educational practices of the target population. Overall, the study contributes to the ongoing effort to develop culturally sensitive measurement tools for teacher competence.