Developing a Competency Framework for Vocational Education Teachers in Nigeria: A Delphi Study

This study developed a comprehensive, nationally validated competency framework for vocational education teachers in Nigerian technical and secondary institutions, addressing a significant gap in professional standards documentation for this critical workforce. The absence of a nationally standardized competency framework has contributed to inconsistencies in teacher preparation, performance appraisal, and professional development across Nigeria's vocational education system. Using a three-round Delphi methodology, the study engaged a panel of 80 purposively selected vocational education experts including university professors, technical college principals, industry trainers, and curriculum policymakers from all six geopolitical zones. Round one generated open-ended competency nominations, rounds two and three quantified consensus through Likert-scale ratings and stability testing. The resulting Nigerian Vocational Teacher Competency Framework (NVTCF) comprises 68 competencies organized across seven domains: technical subject knowledge, pedagogical skill, practical assessment, professional ethics, entrepreneurship facilitation, digital integration, and workplace safety instruction. The framework achieved consensus thresholds of at least 80 percent expert agreement on 64 of 68 competencies. The study contributes an original, validated professional standards instrument to the Nigerian vocational education literature, with direct application in pre-service teacher education, in-service training programme design, and institutional accreditation criteria. Keywords: competency framework, vocational teachers, Nigeria, Delphi methodology, teacher standards.