The Evaluation of the Final Stage of the Teaching Practice Program by the Students of the University of Western Macedonia

Abstract

Teaching practice is an integral part of the teachers’ education program met in every Department of Primary Education. Through this, prospective teachers acquire a wide range of experiences from their contact with school, both by observing and by conducting lessons, while they focus on the practical as well as the theoretical aspect of their studies. In the Department of Primary Education of Florina, teaching practice program is divided into three phases, initially in the form of observation (Phase I) and then with personal hourly teaching in the classroom (Phase II). Phase III is the conclusion of the teaching practice and aims at acquiring direct experience of the daily work and life at school, at developing prospective teachers’ ability to self-evaluate their work as well as at becoming aware of their pedagogical responsibility towards students through teaching a school class for about two weeks. This paper presents students' views on the extent to which the main objectives of Phase III are met, on how significant it is in guiding and supporting their work and on the difficulties, they have encountered in conducting it. This research approach is part of an on-site long-term research which examines the overall teaching practice program, using all prospective teachers (126) throughout their studies as a control group, and questionnaire and semi-structured interview as research tools, providing us with both quantitative and qualitative data. By analyzing the research data, we find that students: a) consider Phase III one of the most important parts of their practical training, b) acquire direct experience of everyday school life, c) develop the ability to reflect on and self-evaluate their work, d) design and prepare teaching under real working conditions, e) develop the ability to deal in a personalized way with children with particular teaching problems, while f) they encounter significant problems with the time-consuming process of preparing the next day's lesson plan.