Pre-Service Teachers' Conceptions of Literary Education - A Case Study

Abstract

Few studies focus on pre-service teachers' conceptions of literary reading and how these might shape and influence their educational practices. Understanding such conceptions is relevant for i) the impact they may have on the training of readers; ii) the reassessment of pre-service teachers training; iii) the design of training programmes specifically tailored for their needs. Bearing that in mind, we present the findings from an empirical study concerning pre-service teachers' conceptions of literary reading and their implications for teaching practices in Primary Education. We used a qualitative approach, within a multiple case study framework. The participants were 4 preservice teachers in their second year of a Master of Teaching (Early Childhood Education and Primary Education), enrolled in Supervised Teaching Practice (STP) in a Polytechnic Institute, in Portugal. The following Instruments were used to gather data: i) their lesson plans, during a nine-week period of training, focusing on the domain of Literary Education (as defined in the Programme and Curricular Goals of Portuguese in Basic Education); ii) a written report they produced at the end of their training.