Resumen

Teacher expertise research uses different approaches, among them competence models. The model of mathematics-specific professional competence in this study differentiates action-related and reflective competence, which pertain todifferent types of professional demandsaccording to dual processing theoriesand should positively impact teaching quality. The cross-sectional study with early childhood teachers investigates the structure of teacher competence and its relations to the quality of learning support in line with the notion of adaptive teaching when playing board games. The findings support a differentiation ofcompetences according to the model (structural validity evidence).Expected relations between competences andthequality of the learning support are partially supported (predictive validity evidence). The study hence adds to research on teacher expertiseby developinga specific understanding of competence in line with existing theories.Affordances of using competence models, as well as difficulties and open questions with relation to the emerging approach are discussed.