Learning in the Practicum: Shaping Professional Identity in Initial Teacher Education

Abstract

This study considers the role of the practicum in supporting professional identity development in the initial stage of teacher education. Employing an interpretative paradigm and a qualitative methodological approach (Lincoln & Guba, 2000), data were collected from a purposive sample of student teachers (n = 6) in the first year of study, using individual semi-structured interviews and episodic documents. The findings show that emerging teacher identity was informed but also challenged by the participants’ engagement with pupils, other teachers and visiting tutors. Collectively, these influences effected shifts in the participants’ constructs on teaching and prompted change in their perception of themselves and others as teachers. The study provides for an improved understanding of teacher growth in the first stage of career development. By so doing, it makes a valid contribution to the discourse on initial teacher education to better inform teacher educators and policy makers in relation to teacher professional learning.