Assessing students’ perceptions of their professors’ teaching competence through the TPACK framework

The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework explains effective teaching with technology as the integrated use of technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge. In higher education, students experience this integration directly, yet evidence based on their evaluations of professors remains comparatively limited, particularly in Malaysian teacher education. This cross-sectional survey investigated how 171 undergraduate pre-service teachers at one Malaysian public university perceived their professors’ technological knowledge (TK), pedagogical knowledge (PK), content knowledge (CK), and integrated TPACK. Using an adapted 25-item instrument, the study found high ratings across all domains: CK was highest (M = 4.45, SD = 0.59), followed by TPACK (M = 4.33, SD = 0.55), PK (M = 4.25, SD = 0.62), and TK (M = 4.12, SD = 0.62). Lower ratings for troubleshooting and using diverse technologies indicate a specific developmental priority. The findings position student perceptions as a valuable, though indirect, source of evidence for institutional professional development and quality assurance. They support capacity building that connects digital tools with content-specific pedagogy and adaptable teaching practice rather than treating technology training as a stand-alone skill.