Challenges Affecting the Implementation of Teaching Practice: The Case of the University of Zambia

Musonda Luchembe

doi:10.7176/jep/12-27-14

Abstract

For many years, the process of training a teacher has been extensively studied and discussed in the scientific and academic community worldwide. However, very few studies have been conducted on teaching practice in the developing world, which include Zambia. Teaching practice affords student teachers an opportunity to translate theory into practice in a real classroom situation. This study investigated challenges that the University of Zambia faces in implementing teaching practice in schools. In addition, the study probed teacher educators, supervising teachers and student teachers’ views on measures that can be taken to improve the implementation of teaching practice in schools. The theoretical framework for this qualitative study was the third generation activity theory. The sample was purposely selected and comprised eight teacher educators, 10 supervising teachers and 24 student teachers. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect data. The data were analysed thematically. The study established that the whole process of teaching practice faced many challenges such as lack of collaboration between teacher educators and supervising teachers and limited learning space resulting in inadequate learning and peer teaching time. Most of the study’s findings are consistent with findings of earlier studies. This study is significant as it attempts to reduce the knowledge gap that appears to stem from a paucity of research on teaching practice in Zambia. One major recommendation is that School of Education should be separated from other schools. Keywords : Activity theory, Challenges, Teacher education, Teaching practice, Theory-practice divide. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-27-14 Publication date: September 30 th 2021

Highlights

For many years, scientists and academicians have widely studied and debated the “process of becoming a teacher” (Martinez, 2008; Caires, Almeida & Vieira, 2012; Mason, 2013)
The study established that the University of Zambia faced numerous challenges in the implementation of teaching practice, which included inadequate time for teaching methods and peer teaching, and short duration for teaching practice
The participants believed that this change would provide autonomy to the School of Education thereby allowing it to allocate more time to both students’ training at the University of Zambia and teaching practice in schools

Summary

Introduction

Scientists and academicians have widely studied and debated the “process of becoming a teacher” (Martinez, 2008; Caires, Almeida & Vieira, 2012; Mason, 2013). One of the most important parts of this process is teaching practice (Goh & Mathews, 2011; Ramanaidu, Wellington, Chew & Hassan, 2014). This is partly why the processes of school teaching practice together with the contribution it makes towards the learning of pre-service teachers has attracted the interest of the researchers, teacher educators and teachers (Lawson, Cakmak, Gunduz & Busher, 2015). For this reason, understanding current issues in teacher education is paramount for grounding research, shaping practice, and establishing a policy that is up-to-date and informed (Dooley, Dangel & Farran, 2011). The value and multifariousness of teaching practice have generated a variety of interests and means aimed at investigating its different dimensions, actors and dynamics (Caires, Almeida & Vieira, 2012)

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Conclusion