The teaching competence of the teacher educator as the teacher of teachers is a complex of involved selfexisting abilities. A analysis of verifiable elements based on consultations from Delphi experts finds the teaching competence of teacher educators can be classified into a group of ability factors with a three main dimension as their logical frame. Of these abilities, “the ability of carrying out teaching activities” as the group of essential abilities refers to the teacher educators’ need for teaching the “learner”; “the ability of influencing by focusing on teaching” as the teacher educators’ exclusive ability and most professional part refers to the need for teaching “teachers” and exhibiting “how to teach”; “the ability of researching developing teaching” as the foundation and internal support of the former two ability depends on the teacher educator’s needs for practical reflection, and development of teaching studies and teaching professionalization.

teacher educators; teaching competence; higher education; college teaching