Student Teacher Experiences of the Teaching Practicum in an Initial Teacher Education Programme in the Western Cape

Abstract

Teaching practicum effectiveness is determined by several factors: adherence to the norms and standards that govern acceptable school-based-student teacher practicum assessment and student teacher assignment to teaching schools, as prescribed under the teaching school-university partnership practicum model. At the heart of the teaching experience are two relationships: one between mentor teachers and student teachers and the other between teacher educators and student teachers in assessment of their practices. Assessment plays a multifaceted role in supporting the process of learning, in judging student achievement in relation to course requirements, and in maintaining standards of the profession. As enacted in the teacher program, assessment assists teacher educators in the formative and summative evaluation of student teachers when assigned for the practicum in teaching schools. A qualitative research phenomenological case study design, targeting 10 student teachers who completed their teaching school-based practicum after a four-year BEd foundation phase program, was adopted to explore student teacher experiences of school-based assessment. To substantiate the findings, qualitative data were collected through biographical forms, semi-structured interviews, teaching practicum portfolios, and the Teaching Practicum Manual for Sessions 1 and 2 as implemented by a selected university offering an initial teacher education (ITE) program with practicum mentorship. Content and thematic analyses were used to identify themes, with a series of common themes identified based on empirical, theoretical, and policy findings, to determine the impact of the existing practicum approach, a practicum assessment model, on student teacher levels of readiness to teach. Not all student teachers received the expected assessment experience. Several student teachers felt that the way the formative and summative evaluation processes were conducted and the feedback from the teacher educators based on only two visits were insufficient for fair performance evaluation over the 8–12 weeks of school practicum, although they regarded evaluator visits as helpful for reflection, grading, nurturing and a fair critique of their performance. Student teachers indicated to have gained considerable knowledge to improve lesson delivery and classroom management.