Estonian In-Service Teachers’ and Pre-service Teachers’ Perceptions of Content, Pedagogy, and Technology Knowledge, Based on the TPACK Framework

Abstract

Teachers often supervise pre-service teachers or are mentors for beginner teachers, so it is important to know whether the teachers’ knowledge of certain areas is better than the pre-service teachers’ knowledge. The aim of this study was to describe and compare pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions of their content, pedagogical, and technological knowledge according to the TPACK framework. The sample consisted of two subgroups: 206 pre-service teachers and 256 in-service teachers from schools in Estonia. The questionnaire was based on the TPACK framework. The results showed that in-service teachers evaluated pedagogical knowledge as the highest and pre-service teachers the lowest. The opposite result was found in relation to technological knowledge. Five statistically significant differences were found between in- and pre-service teachers’ perceptions of knowledge areas. Recommendations could be made to enhance collaboration between teachers and students, where they can mutually reinforce different areas of knowledge in which they perceive themselves to be stronger.