Anna Eva Lenski, Dirk Richter, Oliver Lüdtke

• Quality of mathematics education has gained significant attention in educational politics and among educators as mathematics advances the foundations of analytical thinking necessary to excel in today’s knowledge-based economy. Recent research on instructional quality has focused on students’ development of competencies. Competency-based instruction is believed to be an effective approach to instruction as it is closely aligned to educational standards. We use data from the National Assessment Study 2012 in Germany and apply the theory of planned behavior to determine what motivates mathematics teachers (n = 1660) to take a competency-based approach to instruction. Results indicate that competencies outlined in the educational standards are a tangible element of current mathematics instruction. Within the framework of this study, we identified teachers’ perceived behavior control as the strongest determinant of taking a competency-based approach to instruction. We conclude that advancement of competency-based instruction depends onQuality of mathematics education has gained significant attention in educational politics and among educators as mathematics advances the foundations of analytical thinking necessary to excel in today’s knowledge-based economy. Recent research on instructional quality has focused on students’ development of competencies. Competency-based instruction is believed to be an effective approach to instruction as it is closely aligned to educational standards. We use data from the National Assessment Study 2012 in Germany and apply the theory of planned behavior to determine what motivates mathematics teachers (n = 1660) to take a competency-based approach to instruction. Results indicate that competencies outlined in the educational standards are a tangible element of current mathematics instruction. Within the framework of this study, we identified teachers’ perceived behavior control as the strongest determinant of taking a competency-based approach to instruction. We conclude that advancement of competency-based instruction depends on teachers’ beliefs about their professional resources.…