Iranian Journal of Curriculum Studies

Iranian Journal of Curriculum Studies

Soft Skills in the Teaching Profession: Applying a Mixed-Methods Approach to Rank Non-Cognitive Components

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Mahdi Ghorbankhani 1
Keyvan Salehi 2
Ebrahim khodaie 3
Ali Moghadamzadeh 3
Marzieh Dehghani 4
1 University of Tehran
2 Associate professor, Division of Research and Assessment, Faculty of Psychology and Education, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
3 Curriculum Development & Instruction Methods, Faculty of Psychology & Education, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
4 Marzieh Dehghani(Ph.D) Associate Professor of the Faculty of Psychology and Education University of Tehran
10.22034/jcs.2025.391666.2056
Abstract
The current study was conducted to identify and prioritize essential soft skills in the teaching profession. The qualitative part of this study is phenomenology. Data were collected using purposive sampling and semi-structured interviews with 14 teachers. Data were analyzed by the Colaizzi method. The quantitative part was conducted using the DEMATEL technique. After identifying the criteria, the importance of each was calculated by consulting experts. Qualitative data analysis led to the identification of 7 main categories, including “Responsibility”, “Correction”, “Extraversion”, “Adaptability”, “Agency”, “Mentoring”, and “Educational agency”. Findings indicated that the first 5 criteria with the most impact, respectively, include Ethical sensitivity, Accountability, Mentoring, Commitment, and Conscientiousness. The results show that sub-themes related to educational agency and responsibility have the most effect. The results demonstrate the wide range of soft skills required for the teaching profession, and it is essential to develop a scientific, evidence-based, and integrated mechanism to accurately measure such characteristics before entering the teaching profession. Considering the importance of the criteria, as much as possible in the teacher selection process, it is necessary to consider more priority criteria such as educational agency and responsibility.
Keywords
Soft Skills
Effective Teacher
Teacher Competencies
Non-Cognitive Attributes
DEMATEL
Subjects
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  • Receive Date 16 June 2025
  • Revise Date 12 October 2025
  • Accept Date 12 November 2025