Mapping TPACK self-efficacy beliefs in pre-service Chinese language teachers: a mixed-methods study
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Baoqian Yang1, Hongjuan Sun2, Lifang Tang1
1Faculty of Education, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China.
Introduction:
Digital education places distinctive psychological pressure on pre-service Teachers of Chinese as a Foreign Language (TCFL). This study reinterprets the seven-dimensional Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) scale as a measure of self-perceived TPACK competence, read as an indicator of technology-integration self-efficacy beliefs.
Methods:
An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was used. A total of 202 pre-service TCFL teachers completed questionnaires; eight were interviewed, and six lessons were video-coded (inter-coder κ = 0.83).
Results:
Self-perceived competence was unevenly distributed: Technological Knowledge was lowest (M = 3.68), and Technological Content Knowledge was highest (M = 3.83), the latter associated with short-term extrinsic online-teaching demands. Pedagogical Content Knowledge (r = 0.784) and Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (r = 0.835) showed the strongest associations with overall TPACK. Teaching practice, technology training, and competition experience each showed distinct associations, whereas gender and academic level did not. Interviews further surfaced two exploratory themes: employment pressure and cross-cultural online-teaching stress.
Discussion:
Self-Determination Theory is used only as an interpretive lens; basic psychological needs were not measured, so no claim about need satisfaction is tested. The findings point to pedagogical integration, rather than isolated technical training, as the priority for pre-service TCFL preparation.
