Analysis of Factors Influencing the Professional Competence of Elementary School Teachers

Abstract

Teachers’ professional competence is a key component in ensuring the quality of learning in schools. Many previous researchers have focused on studies showing that teachers’ professional competencies are influenced by various contextual factors, particularly within the school environment where learning takes place. However, previous studies have examined these various variables separately and in isolation. This limitation inevitably creates a gap in understanding regarding the relationships and interconnections among the factors influencing teachers’ professional competencies. Research findings have also not been integrated and are still presented in a fragmented manner. This study provides a comprehensive explanation and information regarding the factors influencing the professional competencies of elementary school teachers. The method employed is a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) of five empirical articles published between 2020 and 2026. The five articles were selected because they met the inclusion and exclusion criteria used in the article requirements. The analysis process included the stages of article selection, data extraction, and thematic coding. Thematic coding was performed using open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. The synthesis results indicate that the professional competence of elementary school teachers is influenced by five main factors: principal leadership, continuous professional development, a collaborative and reflective school culture, academic supervision, and the implementation of curriculum and instructional policies. These findings emphasize that efforts to improve teachers’ professional competence must be carried out comprehensively and require sustained support from the school ecosystem in order to enhance the quality of learning.Future research may analyze a larger number of articles with a broader scope so that the findings can more accurately reflect real conditions. The development of research using different analytical models can also be conducted to examine the factors influencing teachers’ professional competence in a more comprehensive manner.