Voices from the Field: Pre-Service Teachers’ First Time Experiences of Teaching Physical Sciences during School-Based Experience

Abstract

School-Based Experience, commonly known as teaching practice, is widely acknowledged as an essential component of teacher education in institutions around the world. This study explored second-year pre-service teachers’ first-time experiences of teaching physical sciences during teaching practice. We contextualised the study within Dewey’s Theory of Experience to understand pre-service teachers’ experiences at a place of practice. The study utilised a qualitative phenomenological research design with 10 purposively and conveniently sampled pre-service teachers randomly chosen from a higher education institution in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Data from interviews, observations, journal reflections and document analysis were triangulated and analysed using thematic content analysis. The study found benefits and drawbacks that pre-service science teachers experienced during their first time on teaching practice, which provided important clues to understanding differences in what pre-service teachers appear to learn during teaching practices. The study has implications for faculties of universities that are engaged in teacher training to help pre-service teachers balance experiences of doing and undergoing as they progress through a teacher education programme. The study therefore recommends that universities establish partnerships with the Department of Basic Education to train all in-service teachers on specific expectations of pre-service teachers at schools during teaching practice.