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Purpose Teachers at the tertiary level play an essential role in the expansion of quality in higher education. The issue of competence and its development has particular importance in creating the new landscape of the twenty-first century. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to develop validated inventory identifying future-oriented competences required for the teaching profession in the changing environment of higher education institutions (HEIs). Design/methodology/approach In the study, teacher competences and related teacher’s behavior were theoretically defined and underwent principal factor analysis. The survey was carried out among teachers, students and graduates of HEIs in India. Findings The analysis revealed future-oriented teacher competences resulting from the globalization process of the teaching profession. Testing the inventory indicated that there was a high Cronbach’s α reliability. Results show that the inventory enjoyed proper internal consistency for four dimensions as general teaching competences. The inventory with 66 items and four factors explained 47.279 percent of the total variance and indicated a strong factor model. Practical implications Teacher competence inventory (TCI) can be used to modernize study programs of teacher education and shift focus toward future-oriented competences required for the teaching profession in HEIs in India. Therefore, TCI could be essential to prepare teachers for the changing environment of teaching. Originality/value This study is an essential step in reorienting the process of teacher education toward professional development aimed at developing future-oriented competences in the teaching profession. It proposes to develop an instrument measuring teacher competences areas and related teacher behavior.

Purpose: This study aims to identify multicultural competences (behaviours, knowledge and attitudes) specific for teaching culturally diverse students belonging to different nationalities and ethnicities, discuss their essence and importance.Methodology/approach: To explore understanding of multicultural competences a case study approach was applied. Qualitative research was based on the students' feedback survey containing open ended questions. Findings:The results of the study allow to answer the research question which multicultural competences are key for teachers. From a students' perspective teachers should be aware of special needs of individuals from different cultural backgrounds. Therefore, they should apply this knowledge to specific teaching strategies and interpersonal cues to create a supportive classroom atmosphere and to cater the needs of diverse students. Implications:The current focus in the well-established tradition of teaching and learning in India is not only on the development of professional competences, achieving higher levels of commitment and motivation, but also building multicultural competences. Today's classrooms require teachers to teach students with different cultures, languages, abilities and other characteristics. The framework of developing core multicultural competences should be built based on perspective of different groups of stakeholders.Originality/value of the paper: The results have special added value in defining key multicultural competences of academic teachers and building framework of teaching competences in global context.