Quality of teacher workforce is central to any education policy discussions because teachers are seen as a fundamental national resource for a nation’s economic competitiveness in the global society (Akiba, LeTendre, & Scribner, 2007; Hanushek, 2012). Therefore, improving teacher quality has been at the heart of educational reforms over the past fifty years and it is still a major concern of parents, educators, administrators, and policymakers (Akiba et al., 2007; Hanushek & Rivkin, 2012) fueled by a growing body of research evidence that teacher quality is critical to student learning (Darling-Hammond & Sykes, 2003; Rice, 2003). Besides, it is widely acknowledged by several stakeholders, including researchers, legal advocates, economists, and policymakers, that improving teacher quality is also key to improving the quality of schools and education (Angrist & Guryan, 2008; Cochran-Smith, 2003; Hanushek & Rivkin, 2006; Harris & Sass, 2011; Krieg, 2006).

As teachers are key players in the implementation of educational reforms and shaping future generations, teachers, as well as learners, should be equipped with essential competences to respond to the challenges of knowledge society (Caena, 2013). In the European context, they are also seen vital for preparing learners as the European Union citizens. Besides, European Union views the preparation of teachers as a high priority issue to increase its competitiveness in the globalized world (European Commission, 2005). Although preparing quality teachers has globally become a fundamental concern to the policy discussions (Goodwin, 2010), teacher education systems are not always well-developed to meet the expected demands. An OECD survey documented that almost all participating countries face with shortcomings in teaching skills and renewing the teacher competences (Commission of the European Communities, 2007).

The teacher quality problem has been located in different places. Among them, some see it as a concern about preparation (Boyd, Grossman, Lankford, Loeb, & Wyckoff, 2009; Liston, Borko, & Whitcomb, 2008) arguing that teachers are not acquiring the essential knowledge and skills during their teacher preparation process to be effective practitioners (Hodgman, 2012). Embedded in this perspective, teacher preparation programs offer much to the teacher quality and make a difference in their preparation (Berry, Hoke, & Hirsch, 2004; Boyd et al., 2009; Cooper & Alvarado, 2006; Darling-Hammond, Chung, & Frelow, 2002). Particularly, they have a substantial role in preparing teachers to possess the essential competences, undertake this complex job, and work successfully in the profession (Darling-Hammond et al., 2002).

Drawing upon these discussions, this study attempts to explore the effectiveness of the elementary teacher preparation program in Turkey through the eyes of its graduates for how well it develops desired essential competences. The study is part of a larger research study which, first, identified the essential competences for elementary teachers of the 21^st century, as perceived by teacher educators, pre-service and in-service elementary teachers, and the authorities of the Ministry of Education (MoNE) and the Council of Higher Education (CHE) in Turkey. Based on the findings of the initial study, the current study seeks to answer the following research question:

How well does elementary teacher preparation program equip elementary teachers with desired essential competences, as perceived by the graduates who started their teaching career?

This study contributes to the European Union and European Commission’s call for quality teacher preparation along with the Bologna process as it highlights the extent to which the particular teacher preparation program develops the desired competences in elementary teachers (European Commission, 2013). In doing so, the study also has implications of how teacher preparation programs could be improved, by revealing the strengths and the areas that need more support for preparing quality teachers who would be successful in educating future generations. 

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