Identifying research competencies among pre-service teachers

The development of science and technology requires critical, creative, and problem-solving thinking skills. Problems can be solved one of them by research. New theories derived from the results of the research are urgently needed in the development of science. It becomes a challenge for teachers to develop researching skills. The purpose of this research was to find out the level of research capabilities of prospective teachers. The research method used was quantitative. Two hundred fifty-nine students in the Building Engineering Education, Physical Health and Creative Education and Language and Literature Education Study Program as a research sample. The data was obtained by a questionnaire. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and inference statistics (i.e., Mann Whitney tests and Wallis Kruskal tests). The results suggest that the research capabilities of prospective teachers are at a medium level. The research ability of prospective female teachers is the same as male teachers. The research capabilities of prospective teachers of the new generation are different from the old generation. The research capabilities of prospective teachers based on the fields of education are the same. Therefore, teachers should develop research skills to improve the quality of learning.