Abstract

The implementation of practical cooking classes demands proficient skills, deep pedagogical knowledge, and meticulous planning among teachers. However, challenges such as misaligned teacher placements, inadequate professional training, and excessive workloads often result in diminished teaching passion and burnout among instructors. Addressing these concerns, this study uniquely integrates the constructs of self-efficacy and teaching passion to examine their combined influence on practical teaching competence within the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) culinary context is an area that remains underexplored in existing literature. This quantitative survey involved 258 vocational college culinary arts and bakery teachers across Peninsular Malaysia, selected through stratified random sampling. The Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) and Passion Scale were employed as key instruments. Findings revealed significant positive correlations between self-efficacy and practical teaching competence (r = 0.71, p = 0.01), and between teaching passion and practical teaching competence (r = 0.35, p = 0.01). Notably, self-efficacy demonstrated a stronger relationship with practical teaching competence than teaching passion. The study highlights that culinary arts and bakery teachers exhibit high levels of self-efficacy, teaching passion, and practical teaching competence. The integration of self-efficacy and teaching passion provides a fresh perspective in understanding teachers’ professional growth in TVET culinary education. To sustain and further enhance these competencies, it is imperative to strengthen teacher welfare through continuous professional development and to cultivate a supportive institutional ecosystem that nurtures both efficacy and passion in teaching practice.