From University To School: Preparing Pre-Service Teachers For The Real World

Abstract

Much of the literature on programs of pre-service teacher education highlights the disparity between what is learned at university and what is actually required in the classroom. This paper outlines a new philosophy of teacher training adopted by the Faculty of Education and Creative Arts at Australia’s Central Queensland University. It describes the design, content and operation of a new practicum program, where in a unique partnership between the university and the education community in which it operates, supervising teachers are able to customise part of each practicum to suit the individual needs of the student teacher. This organisational feature is continued into a compulsory six-week Internship that is designed to enhance the education experience for each individual student teacher. The paper concludes with the preliminary findings of an investigation into what student teachers see as the major differences between their final practicum and the internship.

Improving the practicum training of the Kindergarten Program

“…Many studies demonstrate that the practicum component of teacher education must be more closely guided by accredited professional standards and that its costs and resources must be more carefully considered (Apple, 2001;Wise & Leibbrand, 2001;Huntly, 2005;Ure & Gough, 2009;Sulistiyo, Mukminin, Abdurrahman, & Haryanto, 2017).…”

“…This necessitates increasing credit hours for the practicum and allocating several hours to a theoretical course for the practicum. This was also emphasized by Huntly (2005) who concluded that "practicum is preceded by an extensive course of preparatory lectures and tutorials that cover important aspects of the work of teachers. Students are provided with detailed insights into teaching elements including handwriting, planning, classroom management, ethical behavior, and reflective practice" (p. 19).…”