「臺灣中小學輔導教師專業職能量表」之量表建構與現況初探
Author(s):
Cheng-Hao Sung (Center for Teacher Education, National Sun Yat-Sen University)
Pei-Shan Lee (Centre for Teacher Education, National Chung Cheng University)
Chia-Chun Wu (Department of Psychology and Social Work, National Defense University)
Abstract:
Research Motivation and Purpose. In response to the evolving complexity of student issues and the institutional reforms of school guidance systems in Taiwan, this study aimed to develop and validate the “Professional Competence Scale for School Guidance Teachers in Taiwan.” The research was conducted within the policy context of the 2024 revision of the Student Guidance and Counseling Act, which marked the first major reform since the law’s enactment in 2014. The revised act emphasized the best interest of the child, the expansion of full-time guidance teacher positions, and clarified the three-tiered model of developmental, intervention, and treatment-level counseling. These reforms underscored the need to clearly define and assess the professional competencies of school guidance teachers (SGTs), ensuring consistency in training, evaluation, and service delivery across the national school system.
Literature Review. Although international frameworks such as the ASCA National Model (2003, 2019a) have systematically articulated school counselor competencies, Taiwan lacks a validated, large-scale instrument rooted in its own educational and cultural context. Previous local efforts, such as the Delphi study conducted by Lee & Sung (2022), developed a preliminary set of indicators based on expert consensus. However, these indicators had yet to be subjected to empirical psychometric testing. Furthermore, while guidance teachers play a crucial role in addressing issues such as dropout prevention, school bullying, crisis response, and adolescent mental health, their professional identity and perceived role boundaries remain ambiguous in practice. A validated competence scale would offer a foundation for strengthening their roles and aligning their services with current educational goals.
Methodology. Based on the indicators proposed by Lee & Sung (2022), this study developed a 39-item Likert-type scale measuring five core dimensions: (1) Self-Awareness and Professional Development (SAP), (2) Supporting and Constructing Guidance Work (SCG), (3) School-Based Guidance Work (SBG), (4) Client-Based Guidance Work (CBG), and (5) System Connection and Collaboration (SCC). A total of 401 full-time guidance teachers across elementary, junior high, and senior high schools in Taiwan participated in the study, recruited via snowball sampling. Their ages ranged from 22 to 60, with an average of 33 years old. To ensure sufficient statistical power, the study applied G*Power estimations and followed Item Response Theory (IRT) sample size guidelines. The scale’s psychometric properties were examined using multiple techniques. Internal consistency reliability was excellent, with the full scale achieving a Cronbach’s α of .96 and subscales ranging from .722 to .905. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) using the WLSMV estimator yielded strong model fit indices (CFI = .959, TLI = .956, RMSEA = .057), supporting construct validity. Convergent validity was confirmed through Composite Reliability (CR) values exceeding .8 and acceptable Average Variance Extracted (AVE) scores. Although some inter-construct correlations were moderately high, partial discriminant validity was observed. Criterion-related validity was assessed by correlating the scale with the Agentic Engagement (AE) subscale of the Agentic Engagement Scale (Lee & Hong, 2021), yielding significant positive correlations across all five dimensions (r = .399 to .430, p < .001). IRT analysis using the Multidimensional Random Coefficients Multinomial Logit Model (MRCMLM) revealed that item difficulties were appropriately distributed (range = -0.466 to 0.922), and most item fit statistics fell within acceptable ranges (Infit MNSQ = 0.7–1.3). No items exceeded critical thresholds, and the scale demonstrated fairness and stability. Differential Item Functioning (DIF) testing across gender groups (male vs. female) using standardized Liu-Agresti cumulative common log-odds ratio (LOR Z) showed no significant bias (LOR Z range: -1.984 to 1.849), indicating strong measurement invariance.
Results. Group comparisons were conducted to explore differences in perceived competence. Independent sample t-tests and ANOVA revealed no statistically significant differences across gender, years of service (less than five years vs. more than five), school level (elementary, junior high, senior high), or region (north, central, south, east). These findings suggest a high level of consensus regarding the importance of professional competencies across demographic backgrounds, which may reflect the effects of standardized training curricula, consistent job descriptions, and national policy alignment since the 2011 implementation of full-time guidance teacher positions. However, repeated-measures ANOVA revealed significant within-subject differences among the five dimensions of competence (F = 15.48, p < .001). Participants reported the highest levels of agreement with items related to Client-Based Guidance Work (M = 4.45) and System Connection and Collaboration (M = 4.43), followed by Supporting and Constructing Guidance Work (M = 4.38), Self-Awareness and Professional Development (M = 4.33), and the lowest in School-Based Guidance Work (M = 4.31). These results indicate that current guidance teachers prioritize individual case handling and interprofessional coordination, reflecting institutional expectations and administrative emphasis. By contrast, lower ratings in school-wide and developmental roles may reveal a gap between policy ideals and practical implementation.
Discussion and Implications. This validated scale represents a timely and significant contribution to the field of school guidance in Taiwan. It provides a comprehensive, empirically supported instrument for assessing the professional competencies of SGTs and offers a valuable tool for use in pre-service training, in-service development, supervision, and teacher evaluation. Furthermore, the findings raise important reflections on the current guidance culture. Despite the three-tier counseling model emphasizing developmental, intervention, and treatment work, daily practice remains predominantly reactive and case-driven. There appears to be a “professional convergence” across school levels, where administrative culture and performance metrics emphasize secondary and tertiary interventions, potentially marginalizing preventive, developmental, and school-level engagement. This study also highlights the complex relationship between perceived competence and actual practice. The uniformly high agreement across demographic groups may indicate consensus, but could also suggest an overly generalized instrument or hidden constraints in practice. For instance, although school levels differ in student developmental needs (e.g., identity issues in junior high vs. career decision-making in senior high), such differences may not be reflected in perceived competence ratings. The instrument measures self-perceived agreement, not frequency or effectiveness of application, which may limit its sensitivity to contextual nuances. Future research should explore these issues further by integrating qualitative methods such as case analysis, observation, and scenario-based simulations. Expanding the scale’s application in longitudinal studies could also examine how competencies evolve across career stages and in response to shifting school or societal demands. Additionally, efforts should be made to link this competence framework to student outcomes, such as mental health indicators, academic engagement, and help-seeking behavior. In conclusion, the “Professional Competence Scale for School Guidance Teachers in Taiwan” fills a critical gap in the evaluation and development of counseling personnel in the Taiwanese school system. By grounding the scale in local policy, educational structures, and practitioner realities, and validating it through robust statistical analysis, this study provides a much-needed benchmark for strengthening professional identity, improving training quality, and enhancing the overall effectiveness of student guidance services in schools. It also contributes to international discussions on counselor competencies by presenting a model that integrates individual, school-based, and systemic roles within a culturally contextualized framework.
Keywords:
Guidance teacher, Professional competence, Scale, School guidance work
