societies Concept Paper Model for the Evaluation of Teaching Competences in Teaching–Learning Situations Carlos De Pro Chereguini 1 and Ana Isabel Ponce Gea 2, *   Citation: De Pro Chereguini, C.; Ponce Gea, A.I. Model for the Evaluation of Teaching Competences in Teaching–Learning Situations. Societies 2021, 11, 56. https:// doi.org/10.3390/soc11020056 Academic Editor: Gregor Wolbring Received: 25 April 2021 Accepted: 3 June 2021 Published: 4 June 2021 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). 1 Department of Didactics of Experimental Sciences, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain; cpro@um.es 2 Department of General and Specific Didactics, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain * Correspondence: anaisabel.ponce@ua.es Abstract: Social changes have brought educational challenges at all levels of education. One of the most important elements has been adopting the development of competences as a main goal. As regards teacher training, competences have been included in university degrees responding to a traditional concern related to teacher training: the necessary relationship between theory and educational practice. The objective of this work, in the Spanish context, is to define a model for the evaluation of didactic-disciplinary competences (frequently taught in university classrooms, in a theoretical way) within the framework of the school practicums of the degree in early childhood education (the unique practical context where a real application of competences may be assessed before professional performance). For this purpose, we analyzed the legislation (the specific didactic- disciplinary competences of the ECI/3854/2007 Order) and the school practicum plans of Spanish universities, in order to provide a useful tool to know how students apply theoretical learning in their classroom practices. The resulting model, focused on the learning of natural sciences, social sciences and mathematics, enables understanding the level of development of the didactic-disciplinary competences and can be considered as a conceptual framework to design instruments for different contexts. Keywords: higher education; competences; model; evaluation 1. Introduction The social changes that have been taking place at an unprecedented speed since the end of the last century have had remarkable effects in the educational field at all levels. One of the common commitments to the different educational stages has been competency- based training, focused on the development of abilities and skills associated with the processes that we usually carry out in the multiple aspects of our lives (social, cognitive, work-related, etc.) [1]. Beyond how confusing the term competence [2] may still be today, it is a useful instrument to respond to social realities, making it possible to train citizens for a diverse society, to meet the requirements of the productive process and, as we said, to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes that enable us to act successfully in different areas of social life [1]. At the core of the competence approach is, then, the connection with the environment— which should serve as a reference for training—as well as the necessary relationship between theory and educational practice. In the Spanish context, from Organic Law 2/2006, of 3 May, of Education (LOE) [3], competences (basic, in the case of LOE, and, later, key competences) are incorporated into primary and secondary education classrooms in Spain. In the same vein, the European Higher Education Area assumes the competence approach, transforming the syllabi and changing the methodologies developed [4]. In the training of future teachers, the two aforementioned realities converge: Teachers are trained in competences, and, in turn, they train students in competences in schools. Their own training by competences must involve the development of a professional profile Societies 2021, 11, 56. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc11020056 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/societies