Objective: Rapid technological advancements, increasing professional complexity in architecture, and changing labor market expectations have intensified the need to revise technical and vocational teacher education programs. Evidence indicates that existing curricula for training architecture instructors are largely traditional and content-oriented, with limited alignment to real professional competencies. Competency-based education offers an effective approach for bridging the gap between academic training and workplace demands. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to design and validate a competency-based curriculum model for technical and vocational teacher education in architecture, grounded in the TAWOCK framework and adapted to the Iranian higher education context.
Materials and Methods: This study adopted a developmental–applied purpose and employed an exploratory mixed-methods design conducted in qualitative and quantitative phases. In the first qualitative phase, a systematic research synthesis of prior studies and a qualitative content analysis of national upstream policy documents were carried out to identify professional competencies and curriculum characteristics. Relevant national and international sources were examined using a census approach until theoretical saturation was reached, and data were analyzed through open, axial, and selective coding. To further elaborate the findings, semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts in curriculum studies, teacher education, architectural education, and competency models, using purposive snowball sampling. Qualitative findings were integrated through triangulation to develop the initial curriculum model. In the quantitative phase, content validity of the extracted components was examined using a three-round Delphi technique, and instrument reliability was confirmed through Cronbach’s alpha. Finally, the validity of the proposed curriculum model was assessed using descriptive statistics and expert agreement indices.
Discussion and Conclusions: The findings indicate that designing a competency-based curriculum for architecture teacher education based on the TAWOCK framework provides a coherent response to the gap between academic preparation and real workplace requirements. Identifying professional competencies and aligning curriculum objectives, content, teaching methods, and assessment with these competencies highlight the necessity of moving beyond purely knowledge-based teacher education toward an integrated development of professional knowledge, practical skills, professional attitudes, and technological capabilities. Data integration revealed that an effective architecture teacher education model in Iran should be built upon four core competencies: professional–technical expertise, technological and innovative teaching competence, educational leadership and professional interaction, and research competence with sustainable professional development. professional and technical competence is the foundation of teacher education and it refers to mastering the theoretical foundations , design skills , structure and fabrication technologies . competencies of technological and innovative education refers to the teacher 's ability to use new educational technology , digital learning design and incorporation of technological tools with active teaching methods . the competency of educational leadership and professional interaction includes communication , psychological , moral and managerial dimensions of the teacher 's profession . the fourth dimension is sustainable professional development and development , which refers to teachers ' ability to rethinking , analyze educational situations , research in practice and lifelong learning .Together, these competencies present a comprehensive profile of a future-oriented architecture teacher who is not only technically proficient but also capable of leading learning processes, effectively integrating educational technologies, engaging in professional interaction, and pursuing lifelong learning. Analysis of curriculum elements further demonstrated that program goals should be multidimensional and competency-oriented, while curriculum content should integrate architectural knowledge, educational technologies, pedagogical foundations, and authentic vocational learning experiences. Moreover, the use of active, project-based, and technology-enhanced teaching methods, along with performance-based and formative assessment approaches, plays a decisive role in realizing professional competencies. Overall, the results show that the TAWOCK framework provides a solid theoretical foundation for curriculum design in architecture teacher education, and the proposed model while theoretically coherent is adaptable to the local context of Iran’s technical and vocational education system and can serve as a transformative guide for policy-making and curriculum planning.