Teachers’ Quality and Teaching Methods in Relation to Students’ Key Competency in Higher Vocational Colleges: The Mediating Role of Learning Motivation

This study investigates the relationships among teachers’ quality, teaching methods, and students’ key competency in higher vocational colleges, with learning motivation as a mediating variable. A quantitative correlational design was employed, collecting data from 384 students in Liaoning Province, China, using a structured questionnaire and stratified random sampling. Analyses were conducted with SPSS 29.0 and SmartPLS 4.0, including descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, multiple regression, and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Results indicate that teachers’ quality and teaching methods are significantly associated with students’ key competency. Learning motivation is positively related to both instructional factors and key competency, and partially mediates these relationships. These findings suggest that the impact of teachers’ quality and teaching methods on students’ competencies operates through both direct and motivational pathways. The study provides empirical evidence for enhancing competency development in higher vocational education, highlighting the importance of integrating teacher professionalism, effective pedagogy, and student motivation.