In the past decade, teacher education research has developed various models to explain the development of teachers, their qualifications and their ability to act ethically and effectively ("professionalization") (Cramer, 2020). One of these models, the so-called competency-based approach (e.g., Bauer et al., 2010), focuses its attention on "competencies" that describe both "individual prerequisites of learners [and] their learning outcomes - achieved in the context of, in particular, institutionalized learning and educational processes" (König, 2020, p. 163). Competencies are "context-specific cognitive performance dispositions that functionally relate to situations and requirements in specific domains" (Klieme & Leutner, 2006, p. 879); this concept refers to "the cognitive abilities and skills available in individuals or learned by them to solve specific problems, as well as the associated motivational, volitional, and social readiness and skills to be able to use the problem solutions successfully and responsibly in variable situations" (Weinert, 2001, pp. 27), i.e., in addition to professional knowledge, to other job-related characteristics, such as values, attitudes and beliefs, motivational orientations, or self-regulation.

Competency-theoretical models are often invoked when examining the impact of teacher education on teacher qualifications and actions. In this context, teacher education is understood as a series of opportunities to learn (OTL; Klemenz, König & Schaper, 2019; Kunina-Habenicht et al., 2013) that are offered to students and that they have to actively use for their professional development (Fend, 1981; Helmke, Rindermann & Schrader, 2008).

OTL can be described according to different characteristics: while initially much attention was paid to the weight of different curricular contents (subject, subject didactics, education) and their influence on competence development (cf. Schmidt et al., 2011), currently different formats of teacher education (university courses versus internships) or task elements of teachers (lesson planning, performance assessment, etc.) are frequently examined (Klemenz, König & Schaper, 2019).

In the proposed paper, we will use data of the Linz Longitudinal Study of Teacher Education (L3; Weber et al., 2021), to ask how OTL experienced by students (in the secondary teacher education programme ‘Secondary General Education‘ in the region of Cluster Mitte/Upper Austria) are related to their learning outcomes (in terms of dimensions of professional competence). In particular, we will examine the following research questions:

1. Which OTL do secondary teacher education students experience in the central profession-related university courses and internships in the third year of their studies?

1a. Which of these OTL do students experience more frequently in university courses, which more frequently in internships?

2. What is the relationship between the OTL experienced and self-reported competence growth in various dimensions of professional competence?

2a. Is there a differential relationship between OTL experienced and self-reported competence growth in university courses as opposed to internships?

2b. Is there a differential relationship between various task-related types of OTL and self-reported competence growth in various dimensions of professional competence?

To answer the research questions, data from the Linz Longitudinal Study of Teacher Education (L3; Weber et al. 2021) will be used. Students of the first cycle of the new bachelor's degree programme in secondary education (general education) in the region of Upper Austria were surveyed (online) five times during their studies. For this paper, data from 119 students who participated in the L3 study at measurement time t3 around the middle of their 5th semester and at measurement time t4 at the end of their 6th semester are used. Specifically, we want to focus on the 3rd year of study and students’ experience 2 central profession-oriented university courses in their teacher education programme and 2 internship phases. The diversity of OTL is reflected (1) by different formats (university course or internship), and (2) by the frequency of students’ experience of OTLs related to typical teacher tasks (Gröschner, 2009). Competence growth is measured in different dimensions (self-concept with respect to various teacher tasks, self-efficacy, professional beliefs; Schmitz & Schwarzer, 2002; Sharma, Loreman & Forlin, 2012; Retelsdorf, Bauer, Gebauer, Kauper & Möller, 2014) and indicated by the difference between measurements at the middle of the 5th semester and at the end of the 6th semester is presented.

The results show that OTL referring to formative and summative performance assessment are experienced least frequently in both university courses and internships of the 3rd year of study. Not surprisingly, students say that they experience teaching preparation and classroom management OTLs more often in internships than in university courses, while there are no significant differences with respect to OTLs reflecting teaching. With respect to relationships of OTL and competence dimensions we found among other results: The more OTLs (particularly in internships) are experienced by students, the better their self-concept in “interdisciplinary collaboration”. Furthermore, OTLs in university courses are associated with self-concept increases in the area of “innovation”. Contrary to expectations, a negative correlation between learning opportunities in the internship and the development of self-concept in “media use” is found. Moreover, competence growth in different competence dimensions can be associated differentially to specific OTLs: For example, students’ self concept in “innovation” is the higher, the more often they experience OTLs with respect to “reflection of teaching”, “teaching planning and teaching” and “classroom management” (all three dimensions in university courses). These and other findings are discussed in terms of their potential significance for teacher education research and for further developing teacher education curricula. Although the analyzed data come from a single European country, the results may be of broader European relevance, as similar formats and task-related features of OTL recur in many European teacher education curricula (cf. Symeonidis, 2021). Furthermore, the specific perspective and the limitations of the competency-based approach in teacher education research with regard to both research and curriculum as well as potential complements are critically discussed (Cramer, 2020; Heinrich et al. 2019).

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