A Critical Evaluation of Prospective Teachers' Experiences of Teaching Practicum: A Case Study of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Abstract

Teaching practicum is at the crux of teacher education, which is where theory meets practice within school and classroom contexts. It is considered a valuable opportunity for prospective teachers to face the real dynamics of their classroom activities. This mixed-methods research study aimed at exploring prospective teachers’ experiences of teaching practicum at the undergraduate level in five public universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The study was carried out considering the importance of teaching practicum in teacher education programmes, especially at the B.Ed. (Hons) level. Objectives of the study included: exploring the experiences and needed support of prospective teachers about teaching practicum and finding out their personal and professional growth in teaching practicum settings. The researcher adopted exploratory sequential mixed-methods research design for exploring the topic from different aspects. The target population of the study consisted of all prospective teachers enrolled in B.Ed. (Hons). Quantitative data were collected through simple random sampling using an extensively adapted version of Extended Practicum Learning Environment Inventory (EPLEI) from 250 prospective teachers, whereas qualitative data were gathered purposively from 05 mentor teachers and 40 prospective teachers (30 observation, 10 interviews). The quantitative data were analysed through SPSS (version 20), calculating Chi-square, P-test, and percentage while the qualitative data were analysed thematically. The findings of qualitative and quantitative strands have been integrated and discussed along with the review of the existing literature in the Discussion section. Major findings of the study show that prospective teachers received various types of support during their coursework phase, including developing the knowledge and skills of pedagogy, classroom management, peer support and lesson planning. In the placement school, they received the support of their supervisors, peers, school administration, cooperative teachers and the non-teaching staff. The findings also revealed that prospective teachers faced numerous challenges during their teaching practicum including inadequate teaching-learning resources, teaching anxieties and stress, too much expectation, engagement in relief teaching, lesson disruption and issues of the classroom management including student behaviours and discipline. Qualitative findings show that the prospective teachers got proper training and support in the development of various skills during their coursework phase, including teaching methodologies, course contents, subject matter knowledge, audio visual aids, classroom presentations, portfolios, and lesson plan development. The vital role and support of mentors, cooperative teachers and peers became evident from the data. The prospective teachers also faced various challenges during their teaching practicum, which included inadequate planning and preparation of universities, lack of triad meetings, seminars and orientation programs, non-cooperative and rude behavior of school teaching and non-teaching staff, and lack of coordination and communication between the universities and placement schools. For effective and quality training of prospective teachers, it is of utmost importance that the Higher Education Commission’s (HEC) teaching practicum manual should be followed properly, length of teaching practicum should be extended, prospective teachers should be provided access to teaching-learning resources in school and that the government should give priority to the professional degree in the recruitment of teachers at the school level. Keywords: teacher education, prospective teachers, teaching practicum, pre-service teacher support