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When any innovations or measurement procedures are introduced into the education system to improve or judge the quality of its teaching force, beginning teachers often have to adapt to these new concepts of what constitute a high quality teaching. This article contends that these new concepts neither necessarily match beginning teachers' own conceptions about their own competency nor has it given beginning teachers a chance to be heard. This study provides an opportunity for beginning teachers' 'voices' to be heard through phenomenography which is an interpretive research approach to discover what beginning teachers in Malaysia conceive and understand as competence in relation to what they do every day as teachers. The main finding of this study is the key role played by beginning teachers' conceptions of competency which has provided strong implications for educational policies and teacher education. The findings suggest that teachers need to be represented in any quality improvement measures. Careful attention should also be paid to the school systems and to teacher training programmes to support and encourage teachers in their professional growth as competent teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I use phenomenography, which is an interpretive research approach, to seek and to discover what beginning teachers in Malaysia conceive and understand as competence in relation to what they do everyday as teachers. Phenomenographic approach is used because of its potential to capture variation of understanding, or way of constituting, the conceptions of competency. The outcomes of this study, therefore, are: (a) Categories of description which capture the critical dimensions of how beginning teachers in Malaysia understand the conceptions of competency, and, (b) An outcome space that describes the relationships between the categories. The results show that beginning teachers' conceptions of competence fall into five qualitatively different categories: (a) Classroom and Behaviour Management, (b) Knowing Subject Matter, (c) Understanding Students; (d) Reaching out for Assistance and Support, and (e) Possessing Values of Professionalism. The relationships between these categories are represented diagrammatically as the outcome space. The empirical data through phenomenography has provided a platform for teachers and teacher educators to ask: (a) "What are the implications, for beginning teachers, of their differing ways of understanding the conceptions of competency" (b) "How can teaching institutions better prepare pre-service teachers for their early years of teaching," and, (c) "How can appraisers (e.g., Principals, Head Teachers, Course Coordinators) use the outcomes to better plan any evaluations of competency?" I discuss each question in the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]