Promoting quality learning experiences in teacher education: What mentor teachers expect from pre-service teachers during teaching practice

Abstract

The main goal of initial teacher educator (ITE) programmes is to prepare pre-service teachers to teach effectively in diverse classrooms. During teaching practice (TP), both in-service teachers and university tutors have expectations of pre-service teachers; the two groups however may differ in their expectations. This paper reports on findings from a case study of what teachers expect of students during TP. Data were collected from 77 teachers using a qualitative research method. Teachers were requested to complete an open-ended questionnaire. Findings from a deductive thematic content analysis indicated that teachers confused what students should know with what they should do during TP. The data indicate that teachers found it beneficial to have students at their schools for TP but expected students to have comprehensive content, curriculum and general pedagogical knowledge. Teachers also expected students to have knowledge about more generic aspects of teaching, such as knowledge of specific school context, what it means to be professional, willingness to learn, participation in school activities, being punctual and adhering to the school’s code of conduct. Teachers’ expectations of students are still technicist and unrealistic as they view skills acquisition as involving practice over time. There is thus a dichotomy with regard to the expectation of procedural and principled knowledge for students on TP. This misalignment of expectations will impact negatively on pre-service teachers.